技术资料

Persistent pulmonary infection with Cryptococcus neoformans in C57BL/6 mice results in chronic inflammation that is characterized by an injurious Th2 immune response. In this study,we performed a comparative analysis of cryptococcal infection in wild-type versus CD40-deficient mice (in a C57BL/6 genetic background) to define two important roles of CD40 in the modulation of fungal clearance as well as Th2-mediated immunopathology. First,CD40 promoted microanatomic containment of the organism within the lung tissue. This protective effect was associated with: i) a late reduction in fungal burden within the lung; ii) a late accumulation of lung leukocytes,including macrophages,CD4+ T cells,and CD8+ T cells; iii) both early and late production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ by lung leukocytes; and iv) early IFN-γ production at the site of T cell priming in the regional lymph nodes. In the absence of CD40,systemic cryptococcal dissemination was increased,and mice died of central nervous system infection. Second,CD40 promoted pathological changes in the airways,including intraluminal mucus production and subepithelial collagen deposition,but did not alter eosinophil recruitment or the alternative activation of lung macrophages. Collectively,these results demonstrate that CD40 helps limit progressive cryptococcal growth in the lung and protects against lethal central nervous system dissemination. CD40 also promotes some,but not all,elements of Th2-mediated immunopathology in response to persistent fungal infection in the lung. View Publication

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRs or miRNAs) regulate several biological processes in the cell. However,evidence for miRNAs that control the differentiation program of specific neural cell types has been elusive. Recently,we have shown that apoptosis-associated factors,such as p53 and caspases participate in the differentiation process of mouse neural stem (NS) cells. To identify apoptosis-associated miRNAs that might play a role in neuronal development,we performed global miRNA expression profiling experiments in NS cells. Next,we characterized the expression of proapoptotic miRNAs,including miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a in distinct models of neural differentiation,including mouse embryonic stem cells,PC12 and NT2N cells. In addition,the expression of antiapoptotic miR-19a and 20a was also evaluated. RESULTS The expression of miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a was consistently upregulated in neural differentiation models. In contrast,expression of miR-19a and miR-20a was downregulated in mouse NS cell differentiation. Importantly,differential expression of specific apoptosis-related miRNAs was not associated with increased cell death. Overexpression of miR-34a increased the proportion of postmitotic neurons of mouse NS cells. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion,the identification of miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a,whose expression patterns are conserved in mouse,rat and human neural differentiation,implicates these specific miRNAs in mammalian neuronal development. The results provide new insights into the regulation of neuronal differentiation by apoptosis-associated miRNAs. View Publication

CCR7 binds to its cognate ligand,CCL21,to mediate the migration of circulating naive T lymphocytes to the lymph nodes. T lymphocytes can bind to fibronectin,a constituent of lymph nodes,via their β1 integrins,which is a primary mechanism of T lymphocyte migration; however,the signaling pathways involved are unclear. We report that rapid (within 2 min) and transient phosphorylation of ERK1/2 is required for T cell migration on fibronectin in response to CCL21. Conversely,prevention of ERK1/2 phosphorylation by inhibition of its kinase,MAPK/MEK,prevented T lymphocyte migration. Previous studies have suggested that phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) can mediate phosphorylation of ERK1/2,which is required for β1 integrin activation. Paradoxically,we found that inhibition of PLCγ1 phosphorylation by the general PLC inhibitor U73122 was associated with a delayed and reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and reduced migration of T lymphocytes on fibronectin. To further characterize the relationship between ERK1/2 and PLCγ1,we reduced PLCγ1 levels by 85% using shRNA and observed a reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and a significant loss of CCR7-mediated migration of T lymphocytes on fibronectin. In addition,we found that inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation by U0126 resulted in a decreased phosphorylation of PLCγ1,suggesting a feedback loop between ERK1/2 and PLCγ1. Overall,these results suggest that the CCR7 signaling pathway leading to T lymphocyte migration on fibronectin is a β1 integrin-dependent pathway involving transient ERK1/2 phosphorylation,which is modulated by PLCγ1. View Publication

BACKGROUND: Combining MEK inhibitors with other signalling pathway inhibitors or conventional cytotoxic drugs represents a promising new strategy against cancer. RDEA119/BAY 869766 is a highly potent and selective MEK1/2 inhibitor undergoing phase I human clinical trials. The effects of RDEA119/BAY 869766 as a single agent and in combination with rapamycin were studied in 3 early passage primary pancreatic cancer xenografts,OCIP19,21,and 23,grown orthotopically. METHODS: Anti-cancer effects were determined in separate groups following chronic drug exposure. Effects on cell cycle and downstream signalling were examined by flow cytometry and western blot,respectively. Plasma RDEA119 concentrations were measured to monitor the drug accumulation in vivo. RESULTS: RDEA119/BAY 869766 alone or in combination with rapamycin showed significant growth inhibition in all the 3 models,with a significant decrease in the percentage of cells in S-phase,accompanied by a large decrease in bromodeoxyuridine labelling and cell cycle arrest predominantly in G1. The S6 ribosomal protein was inhibited to a greater extent with combination treatment in all the three models. Blood plasma pharmacokinetic analyses indicated that RDEA119 levels achieved in vivo are similar to those that produce target inhibition and cell cycle arrest in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Agents targeting the ERK and mTOR pathway have anticancer activity in primary xenografts,and these results support testing this combination in pancreatic cancer patients. View Publication

The recent discovery of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology provides an invaluable tool for creating in vitro representations of human genetic conditions. This is particularly relevant for those diseases that lack adequate animal models or where the species comparison is difficult,e.g. imprinting diseases such as the neurogenetic disorder Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). However,recent reports have unveiled transcriptional and functional differences between iPSCs and embryonic stem cells that in cases are attributable to imprinting errors. This has suggested that human iPSCs may not be useful to model genetic imprinting diseases. Here,we describe the generation of iPSCs from a patient with PWS bearing a partial translocation of the paternally expressed chromosome 15q11-q13 region to chromosome 4. The resulting iPSCs match all standard criteria of bona fide reprogramming and could be readily differentiated into tissues derived from the three germ layers,including neurons. Moreover,these iPSCs retain a high level of DNA methylation in the imprinting center of the maternal allele and show concomitant reduced expression of the disease-associated small nucleolar RNA HBII-85/SNORD116. These results indicate that iPSCs may be a useful tool to study PWS and perhaps other genetic imprinting diseases as well. View Publication

The physiologic roles of angiopoietin-like proteins (Angptls) in the hematopoietic system remain unknown. Here we show that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in Angptl3-null mice are decreased in number and quiescence. HSCs transplanted into Angptl3-null recipient mice exhibited impaired repopulation. Bone marrow sinusoidal endothelial cells express high levels of Angptl3 and are adjacent to HSCs. Importantly,bone marrow stromal cells or endothelium deficient in Angptl3 have a significantly decreased ability to support the expansion of repopulating HSCs. Angptl3 represses the expression of the transcription factor Ikaros,whose unregulated overexpression diminishes the repopulation activity of HSCs. Angptl3,as an extrinsic factor,thus supports the stemness of HSCs in the bone marrow niche. View Publication

Cell-based therapies against HIV/AIDS have been gaining increased interest. Natural killer (NK) cells are a key component of the innate immune system with the ability to kill diverse tumor cells and virus-infected cells. While NK cells have been shown to play an important role in the control of HIV-1 replication,their functional activities are often compromised in HIV-1-infected individuals. We have previously demonstrated the derivation of NK cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) with the ability to potently kill multiple types of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. We now demonstrate the derivation of functional NK cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). More importantly,both hESC- and iPSC-derived NK cells are able to inhibit HIV-1 NL4-3 infection of CEM-GFP cells. Additional studies using HIV-1-infected human primary CD4(+) T cells illustrated that hESC- and iPSC-derived NK cells suppress HIV-1 infection by at least three distinct cellular mechanisms: killing of infected targets through direct lysis,antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity,and production of chemokines and cytokines. Our results establish the potential to utilize hESC- and iPSC-derived NK cells to better understand anti-HIV-1 immunity and provide a novel cellular immunotherapeutic approach to treat HIV/AIDS. View Publication

CD4(+)Vβ5(+) peripheral T cells in C57BL/6 mice respond to encounter with a peripherally expressed endogenous superantigen by undergoing either deletion or TCR revision. In this latter process,cells lose surface Vβ5 expression and undergo RAG-dependent rearrangement of endogenous TCRβ genes,driving surface expression of novel TCRs. Although postrevision CD4(+)Vβ5(-)TCRβ(+) T cells accumulate with age in Vβ5 transgenic mice and bear a diverse TCR Vβ repertoire,it is unknown whether they respond to homeostatic and antigenic stimuli and thus may benefit the host. We demonstrate in this study that postrevision cells are functional. These cells have a high rate of steady-state homeostatic proliferation in situ,and they undergo extensive MHC class II-dependent lymphopenia-induced proliferation. Importantly,postrevision cells do not proliferate in response to the tolerizing superantigen,implicating TCR revision as a mechanism of tolerance induction and demonstrating that TCR-dependent activation of postrevision cells is not driven by the transgene-encoded receptor. Postrevision cells proliferate extensively to commensal bacterial Ags and can generate I-A(b)-restricted responses to Ag by producing IFN-γ following Listeria monocytogenes challenge. These data show that rescued postrevision T cells are responsive to homeostatic signals and recognize self- and foreign peptides in the context of self-MHC and are thus useful to the host. View Publication

Recent findings indicate that NK cells are involved in cardiac repair following myocardial infarction. The aim of this study is to investigate the role NK cells in infarct angiogenesis and cardiac remodeling. In normal C57BL/6 mice,myelomonocytic inflammatory cells invaded infarcted heart within 24 h followed by a lymphoid/NK cell infiltrate by day 6,accompanied by substantial expression of IL-2,TNF-α,and CCL2. In contrast,NOD SCID mice had virtually no lymphoid cells infiltrating the heart and did not upregulate IL-2 levels. In vitro and in vivo,IL-2-activated NK cells promoted TNF-α-stimulated endothelial cell proliferation,enhanced angiogenesis and reduced fibrosis within the infarcted myocardium. Adoptive transfer of IL-2-activated NK cells to NOD SCID mice improved post-myocardial infarction angiogenesis. RNA silencing technology and neutralizing Abs demonstrated that this process involved α4β7 integrin/VCAM-1 and killer cell lectin-like receptor 1/N-cadherin-specific binding. In this study,we show that IL-2-activated NK cells reduce myocardial collagen deposition along with an increase in neovascularization following acute cardiac ischemia through specific interaction with endothelial cells. These data define a potential role of activated NK cells in cardiac angiogenesis and open new perspectives for the treatment of ischemic diseases. View Publication

Conventionally,researchers remove spontaneously differentiated areas in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) colonies by using a finely drawn glass pipette or a commercially available syringe needle. However,when extreme differentiation occurs,it is inefficient to purify the remaining undifferentiated cells,as these undifferentiated areas are too small to be isolated completely with the mechanical method. Antibodies can be utilized to purify the rare undifferentiated cells; however,this type of purification cannot be used in xeno-free culture systems. To avoid the loss of valuable hPSCs,we developed a novel method to isolate undifferentiated hPSCs from extremely differentiated colonies that could be easily adapted to xeno-free culture conditions. This protocol involves dissecting away differentiated areas,dissociating the remaining colony into clumps,seeding small clumps into new dishes,and picking undifferentiated colonies for expansion. Using this method,we routinely achieve completely undifferentiated colonies in one passage without the use of antibody-based purification. View Publication

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 induces a progressive deterioration of the immune system that ultimately leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Murine models indicate that the common γ-chain (γ(c))-sharing cytokine interleukin (IL)-21 and its receptor (IL-21R) play a crucial role in maintaining polyfunctional T cell responses during chronic viral infections. Therefore,we analyzed the ability of this cytokine to modulate the properties of human CD8 T cells in comparison with other γ(c)-sharing cytokines (IL-2,IL-7,and IL-15). CD8 T cells from healthy volunteers were stimulated in vitro via T cell receptor signals to mimic the heightened status of immune activation of HIV-infected patients. The administration of IL-21 upregulated cytotoxic effector function and the expression of the costimulatory molecule CD28. Notably,this outcome was not accompanied by increased cellular proliferation or activation. Moreover,IL-21 promoted antiviral activity while not inducing HIV-1 replication in vitro. Thus,IL-21 may be a favorable molecule for immunotherapy and a suitable vaccine adjuvant in HIV-infected individuals. View Publication

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are fibroblast-like multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into cell types of mesenchymal origin. Because of their immune properties and differentiation,potential MSCs are discussed for the use in tissue regeneration and tolerance induction in transplant medicine. This cell type can easily be obtained from the umbilical cord tissue (UCMSC) without medical intervention. Standard culture conditions include fetal bovine serum (FBS) which may not be approved for clinical settings. Here,we analyzed the phenotypic and functional properties of UCMSC under xeno-free (XF,containing GMP-certified human serum) and serum-free (SF) culture conditions in comparison with standard UCMSC cultures. Phenotypically,UCMSC showed no differences in the expression of mesenchymal markers or differentiation capacity. Functionally,XF and SF-cultured UCMSC have comparable adipogenic,osteogenic,and endothelial differentiation potential. Interestingly,the UCMSC-mediated suppression of T cell proliferation in an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) is more effective in XF and SF media than in standard FBS-containing cultures. Regarding the mechanism of action of MLR suppression,transwell experiments revealed that in neither UCMSC culture a direct cell-cell contact is necessary for inhibiting T cell proliferation,and that the major effector molecule is prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂). Taken together,GMP-compliant growth media qualify for long-term cultures of UCMSC which is important for a future clinical study design in regenerative and transplant medicine. View Publication