Articles

Fluorescent derivatization of a protease antigen to track antigen uptake and processing in human cell lines

We have devised a simple and efficient fluorescence-based method to track antigen uptake and processing in human B lymphoblastoid cells (B-LCL). Fluorescein labelled subtilisin was used to optimize antigen upt...

Authors: Namrata S Patil, David L Wong, Katherine D Collier and Hugh C McDonald

Cloning and functional characterisation of avian transcription factor E2A

During B lymphocyte development the E2A gene is a critical regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation. With regards to the immunoglobulin genes the E2A proteins contribute to the regulation of gene re...

Authors: Thomas M Conlon and Kerstin B Meyer

NF-κB p50 facilitates neutrophil accumulation during LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation

Transcription factors have distinct functions in regulating immune responses. During Escherichia coli pneumonia, deficiency of NF-κB p50 increases gene expression and neutrophil recruitment, suggesting that p50 n...

Authors: Joseph P Mizgerd, Michal M Lupa and Matt S Spieker

Expression and functional effects of Eph receptor tyrosine kinase A family members on Langerhans like dendritic cells

The Eph receptors are the largest receptor tyrosine kinase family. Several family members are expressed in hematopoietic cells. Previously, the expression of a member of this family, EphA2, was identified on d...

Authors: Else Munthe, Eivind Farmen Finne and Hans-Christian Aasheim

Diversity and repertoire of IgW and IgM VH families in the newborn nurse shark

Adult cartilaginous fish express three immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes, IgM, IgNAR and IgW. Newborn nurse sharks, Ginglymostoma cirratum, produce 19S (multimeric) IgM and monomeric/dimeric IgM_1gj, a germline-joined,...

Authors: Lynn L Rumfelt, Rebecca L Lohr, Helen Dooley and Martin F Flajnik

Up-regulation of the chemokine CCL21 in the skin of subjects exposed to irritants

Expression of murine CCL21 by dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) has been demonstrated to be one of the most important steps in Langerhans cell emigration from skin. Previously, our group and others have...

Authors: Yanina Eberhard, Susana Ortiz, Alejandro Ruiz Lascano, Raquel Kuznitzky and Horacio Marcelo Serra

Changes in IgE- and Antigen-dependent histamine-release in peripheral blood of Schistosoma mansoni-infected Ugandan fishermen after treatment with praziquantel

Parasite-specific IgE levels correlate with human resistance to reinfection with Schistosoma spp. after chemotherapy. Although the role of eosinophils in schistosomiasis has been the focus of a great deal of impo...

Authors: Mohamed Z Satti, Pierre Cahen, Per S Skov, Sarah Joseph, Frances M Jones, Colin Fitzsimmons, Karl F Hoffmann, Claus Reimert, H Curtis Kariuki, Francis Kazibwe, Joseph K Mwatha, Gachuhi Kimani, Birgitte J Vennervald, John H Ouma, Narcis B Kabatereine and David W Dunne

Endothelial cells present antigens in vivo

Immune recognition of vascular endothelial cells (EC) has been implicated in allograft rejection, protection against pathogens, and lymphocyte recruitment. However, EC pervade nearly all tissues and predominat...

Authors: Annette L Rothermel, Yinong Wang, Jeffrey Schechner, Barry Mook-Kanamori, William C Aird, Jordan S Pober, George Tellides and David R Johnson

Erratum to: Characterisation of RT1-E2, a multigenic family of highly conserved rat non-classical MHC class I molecules initially identified in cells from immunoprivileged sites

Authors: Pierre Lau, Claire Amadou, Hélène Brun, Virginie Rouillon, Fiona McLaren, Anne-France Le Rolle, Margaret Graham, Geoffrey W Butcher and Etienne Joly

Rat pro-inflammatory cytokine and cytokine related mRNA quantification by real-time polymerase chain reaction using SYBR green

Cytokine mRNA quantification is widely used to investigate cytokine profiles, particularly in small samples. Real-time polymerase chain reaction is currently the most reliable method of quantifying low-level t...

Authors: André Peinnequin, Catherine Mouret, Olivier Birot, Antonia Alonso, Jacques Mathieu, Didier Clarençon, Diane Agay, Yves Chancerelle and Eric Multon

Quantitative differences in lipid raft components between murine CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells

Lipid rafts have been shown to play a role in T cell maturation, activation as well as in the formation of immunological synapses in CD4⁺ helper and CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells. However, the differential expression of...

Authors: Valeria de Mello Coelho, Dzung Nguyen, Banabihari Giri, Allyson Bunbury, Eric Schaffer and Dennis D Taub

Cloning and characterization of deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) cytokine and chemokine cDNAs

Sin Nombre virus (SNV) establishes a persistent infection in the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus. A strong antibody response occurs in response to SNV infection, but the role of the innate immune response is u...

Authors: Tony Schountz, Renata Green, Bennett Davenport, Amie Buniger, Tiffany Richens, J Jeffrey Root, Forbes Davidson, Charles H Calisher and Barry J Beaty

Performance of plate-based cytokine flow cytometry with automated data analysis

Cytokine flow cytometry (CFC) provides a multiparameter alternative to ELISPOT assays for rapid quantitation of antigen-specific T cells. To increase the throughput of CFC assays, we have optimized methods for...

Authors: Maria A Suni, Holli S Dunn, Patricia L Orr, Rian de Laat, Elizabeth Sinclair, Smita A Ghanekar, Barry M Bredt, John F Dunne, Vernon C Maino and Holden T Maecker

Interferon-α/β receptor-mediated selective induction of a gene cluster by CpG oligodeoxynucleotide 2006

Oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG motifs (CpG ODN) are known to exert a strong adjuvant effect on Th1 immune responses. Although several genes have been reported, no comprehensive study of the ...

Authors: Atsushi Kato, Toshiki Homma, Jonathan Batchelor, Noriko Hashimoto, Shosuke Imai, Hiroshi Wakiguchi, Hirohisa Saito and Kenji Matsumoto

Characterisation of RT1-E2, a multigenic family of highly conserved rat non-classical MHC class I molecules initially identified in cells from immunoprivileged sites

So-called "immunoprivileged sites" are tissues or organs where slow allograft rejection correlates with low levels of expression of MHC class I molecules. Whilst classical class I molecules are recognised by c...

Authors: Pierre Lau, Claire Amadou, Hélène Brun, Virginie Rouillon, Fiona McLaren, Anne-France Le Rolle, Margaret Graham, Geoffrey W Butcher and Etienne Joly

Detection in chick embryo of fetoproteins not recognized by the dam's immune system and of soluble alloantigens. Presumptive teratogenic and abortogenic capacity of their specific IgY

The aim of this work was to detect antigens, non-self to the dam, potentially present in chick embryo prior to organogenesis with a view to establishing the consequences of their neutralization on chick develo...

Authors: Antonio Rodríguez-Burgos

Genetic control of the innate immune response

Susceptibility to infectious diseases is directed, in part, by the interaction between the invading pathogen and host macrophages. This study examines the influence of genetic background on host-pathogen inter...

Authors: Christine A Wells, Timothy Ravasi, Geoffrey J Faulkner, Piero Carninci, Yasushi Okazaki, Yoshihide Hayashizaki, Matthew Sweet, Brandon J Wainwright and David A Hume

Expression of the UL16 glycoprotein of Human Cytomegalovirus protects the virus-infected cell from attack by natural killer cells

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has acquired through evolution a number of genes to try to evade immune recognition of the virus-infected cell. Many of these mechanisms act to inhibit the MHC class I antigen pres...

Authors: Mar Valés-Gómez, Helena Browne and Hugh T Reyburn

Modulation of neutrophil function by the tripeptide feG

Neutrophils are critical in the defense against potentially harmful microorganisms, but their excessive and inappropriate activation can contribute significantly to tissue damage and a worsening pathology. Thr...

Authors: Ronald D Mathison, A Dean Befus, Joseph S Davison and Richard C Woodman

Severe anaphylactic reactions to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) self peptides in NOD mice that spontaneously develop autoimmune type 1 diabetes mellitus

Insulin dependent (i.e., "type 1") diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is considered to be a T cell mediated disease in which T_H1 and T_c autoreactive cells attack the pancreatic islets. Among the beta-cell antigens implicat...

Authors: Rosetta Pedotti, Maija Sanna, Mindy Tsai, Jason DeVoss, Lawrence Steinman, Hugh McDevitt and Stephen J Galli

Human CD81 directly enhances T_h1 and T_h2 cell activation, but preferentially induces proliferation of T_h2 cells upon long-term stimulation

CD81, a cell-surface protein of the tetraspanin superfamily, has been shown to costimulate T cell activation in murine T cells, and is involved in development of Th2 immune responses in mice.

Authors: Holden T Maecker

Activation of the Syk tyrosine kinase is insufficient for downstream signal transduction in B lymphocytes

Immature B lymphocytes and certain B cell lymphomas undergo apoptotic cell death following activation of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) signal transduction pathway. Several biochemical changes occur in resp...

Authors: Robert C Hsueh, Adrienne M Hammill, Jamie A Lee, Jonathan W Uhr and Richard H Scheuermann

Flt3⁺ macrophage precursors commit sequentially to osteoclasts, dendritic cells and microglia

Macrophages, osteoclasts, dendritic cells, and microglia are highly specialized cells that belong to the mononuclear phagocyte system. Functional and phenotypic heterogeneity within the mononuclear phagocyte s...

Authors: Christine Servet-Delprat, Sylvie Arnaud, Pierre Jurdic, Serge Nataf, Marie-France Grasset, Caroline Soulas, Chantal Domenget, Olivier Destaing, Aymeric Rivollier, Magali Perret, Christiane Dumontel, Daniel Hanau, Gary L Gilmore, Marie-Françoise Belin, Chantal Rabourdin-Combe and Guy Mouchiroud

Increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enhanced T cell responses after activation of human dendritic cells with IL-1 and CD40 ligand

Various microbial, inflammatory and immune signals regulate the activation of dendritic cells (DC), determining their ability to interact with naïve T cells and to produce cytokines that direct T cell developm...

Authors: Amy Wesa and Anne Galy

Decreased inducibility of TNF expression in lipid-loaded macrophages

Inflammation and immune responses are considered to be very important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Lipid accumulation in macrophages of the arterial intima is a characteristic feature of atheroscler...

Authors: Mikko PS Ares, Maria Stollenwerk, Anneli Olsson, Bengt Kallin, Stefan Jovinge and Jan Nilsson

Stage-specific changes in fetal thymocyte proliferation during the CD4^-8^- to CD4⁺8⁺ transition in wild type, Rag1^-/-, and Hoxa3,Pax1 mutant mice

The function of the thymic microenvironment is to promote thymocyte maturation, in part via regulation of thymocyte proliferation and cell death. Defects in fetal thymic epithelial cell (TEC) development and f...

Authors: Dong-ming Su and Nancy R Manley

Increased expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, MCP-1, and MIP-1α by spinal perivascular macrophages during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in rats

T-cells extravasation and CNS parenchyma infiltration during autoimmune neurodegenerative disease can be evoked by local antigen presenting cells. Studying the chemoattracting potential of spinal perivascular ...

Authors: Nils Hofmann, Nina Lachnit, Michael Streppel, Brigitte Witter, Wolfram F Neiss, Orlando Guntinas-Lichius and Doychin N Angelov

The κB transcriptional enhancer motif and signal sequences of V(D)J recombination are targets for the zinc finger protein HIVEP3/KRC: a site selection amplification binding study

The ZAS family is composed of proteins that regulate transcription via specific gene regulatory elements. The amino-DNA binding domain (ZAS-N) and the carboxyl-DNA binding domain (ZAS-C) of a representative fa...

Authors: Carl E Allen, Chi-ho Mak and Lai-Chu Wu

Flowcytometry – A rapid tool to correlate functional activities of human peripheral blood lymphocytes with their corresponding phenotypes after in vitro stimulation.

While dealing with mixed in vitro lymphocyte cultures one is faced with the problem of relative contributions of different populations to the activity being studied. This is especially true in the controversy rel...

Authors: R Nirmala and PR Narayanan

Polarized Th2 like cells, in the absence of Th0 cells, are responsible for lymphocyte produced IL-4 in high IgE-producer schistosomiasis patients

Human resistance to re-infection with S. mansoni is correlated with high levels of anti-soluble adult worm antigens (SWAP) IgE. Although it has been shown that IL-4 and IL-5 are crucial in establishing IgE respon...

Authors: Walderez O Dutra, Rodrigo Correa-Oliveira, David Dunne, Luiza Fosenca Cecchini, Lúcia Fraga, Morven Roberts, Alda Maria Soares-Silveira, Michelle Webster, Hans Yssel and Kenneth J Gollob

IL-4 dependent alternatively-activated macrophages have a distinctive in vivo gene expression phenotype

"Alternatively-activated" macrophages are found in Th2-mediated inflammatory settings such as nematode infection and allergic pulmonary inflammation. Due in part to a lack of markers, these cells have not been...

Authors: P'ng Loke, Meera G Nair, John Parkinson, David Guiliano, Mark Blaxter and Judith E Allen

Activation of macrophages by silicones: phenotype and production of oxidant metabolites

The effect of silicones on the immune function is not fully characterized. In clinical and experimental studies, immune alterations associated with silicone gel seem to be related to macrophage activation. In ...

Authors: Pablo Iribarren, Silvia G Correa, Natalia Sodero and Clelia M Riera

Transcriptional response of human mast cells stimulated via the FcεRI and identification of mast cells as a source of IL-11

In asthma and other allergic disorders, the activation of mast cells by IgE and antigen induces the cells to release histamine and other mediators of inflammation, as well as to produce certain cytokines and c...

Authors: Koichi Sayama, Maximilian Diehn, Kentaro Matsuda, Carolina Lunderius, Mindy Tsai, See-Ying Tam, David Botstein, Patrick O Brown and Stephen J Galli

Efficient adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into primary T cells and thymocytes in a new coxsackie/adenovirus receptor transgenic model

Gene transfer studies in primary T cells have suffered from the limitations of conventional viral transduction or transfection techniques. Replication-defective adenoviral vectors are an attractive alternative...

Authors: Vincent Hurez, Robin Dzialo-Hatton, James Oliver, R James Matthews and Casey T Weaver

Auto-protective redox buffering systems in stimulated macrophages

Macrophages, upon encounter with micro-organisms or stimulated by cytokines, produce various effector molecules aimed at destroying the foreign agents and protecting the organism. Reactive oxygen species (ROS)...

Authors: Pierre-Jacques Ferret, Emmanuelle Soum, Olivier Negre and Didier Fradelizi

Enhanced immunogenicity of a functional enzyme by T cell epitope modification

T helper epitopes are necessary for the induction of high titers of antigen-specific IgG antibodies. We are interested in the epitope modification of intact proteins as a method to enhance their immunogenicity...

Authors: Jeanette M Mucha, Marcia M Stickler, AJ Poulose, Grant Ganshaw, Mae Saldajeno, Kathy Collier, Manley T Huang and Fiona A Harding

Phorbol esters and CAMP differentially regulate the expression of CD4 and CD8 in human thymocytes

Intrathymic development and selection of the T lymphocyte repertoire is restricted by the interactions of the T cell antigen receptor and CD4 or CD8 co-receptors with self major histocompatibility complex mole...

Authors: Hector Martinez-Valdez, Vicente Madrid-Marina and Amos Cohen

Macrophages exposed continuously to lipopolysaccharide and other agonists that act via toll-like receptors exhibit a sustained and additive activation state

Macrophages sense microorganisms through activation of members of the Toll-like receptor family, which initiate signals linked to transcription of many inflammation associated genes. In this paper we examine w...

Authors: David A Hume, David M Underhill, Matthew J Sweet, Adrian O Ozinsky, Foo Y Liew and Alan Aderem

HIV infection and aging: enhanced Interferon- and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha production by the CD8⁺ CD28^- T subset

T cells from HIV⁺ and aged individuals show parallels in terms of suppressed proliferative activity and interleukin-2 (I1-2) production and an increased number of CD8⁺ CD28^- T cells. In order to compare cytokine ...

Authors: Edward H Eylar, Carmen E Lefranc, Yasuhiro Yamamura, Ineabely Báez, Sol Luis Colón-Martinez, Nayra Rodriguez and T B Breithaupt

Improvements to parallel plate flow chambers to reduce reagent and cellular requirements

The parallel plate flow chamber has become a mainstay for examination of leukocytes under physiologic flow conditions. Several design modifications have occurred over the years, yet a comparison of these diffe...

Authors: David C Brown and Richard S Larson

Role of CD28/B7 costimulation and IL-12/IL-10 interaction in the radiation-induced immune changes

The present paper aims at studying the role of B7/CD28 interaction and related cytokine production in the immunological changes after exposure to different doses of ionizing radiation.

Authors: Shu-Zheng Liu, Shun-Zi Jin, Xiao-Dong Liu and Yi-Min Sun

Alterations induced by chronic stress in lymphocyte subsets of blood and primary and secondary immune organs of mice

The immune system is particularly sensitive to stress. Although acute stress generally has positive effects, chronic stress typically provokes immunosuppression. The elucidation of the mechanisms involved in i...

Authors: Lourdes Domínguez-Gerpe and Manuel Rey-Méndez

Flow cytometric assessment of the reactivity of a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against two populations of human dendritic cells (DC)

The identification of antigens on human DC has been a very difficult and elusive task because of the lack of appropriate reagents. Therefore, we evaluated by flow cytometry a panel of mAb that recognize antige...

Authors: Rafael Nunez and Luis Filgueira

Peptide binding characteristics of the non-classical class Ib MHC molecule HLA-E assessed by a recombinant random peptide approach

Increasing evidence suggests that the effect of HLA-E on Natural Killer (NK) cell activity can be affected by the nature of the peptides bound to this non-classical, MHC class Ib molecule. However, its reduced...

Authors: James Stevens, Etienne Joly, John Trowsdale and Geoffrey W Butcher

A conditional form of Bruton's tyrosine kinase is sufficient to activate multiple downstream signaling pathways via PLC Gamma 2 in B cells

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) is essential for B cell development and function. Mutations of Btk elicit X-linked agammaglobulinemia in humans and X-linked immunodeficiency in the mouse. Btk has been proposed ...

Authors: Michael G Tomlinson, Douglas B Woods, Martin McMahon, Matthew I Wahl, Owen N Witte, Tomohiro Kurosaki, Joseph B Bolen and James A Johnston

Requirements for activation and RAFT localization of the T-lymphocyte kinase Rlk/Txk

The Tec family kinases are implicated in signaling from lymphocyte antigen receptors and are activated following phosphorylation by Src kinases. For most Tec kinases, this activation requires an interaction be...

Authors: Mario Chamorro, Michael J Czar, Jayanta Debnath, Genhong Cheng, Michael J Lenardo, Harold E Varmus and Pamela L Schwartzberg

Changes in human lymphocyte subpopulations in tonsils and regional lymph nodes of human head and neck squamous carcinoma compared to control lymph nodes

Lymphoid tissues constitute basic structures where specific immune responses take place. This leads to the development of germinal centres (GCs), migration of cells and the generation of memory cells. Here, we...

Authors: Berta Vidal-Rubio, Marta Sanchez-Carril, Josefina Oliver-Morales, África González-Femandez and Francisco Gambón-Deza

In vitro production of peroxynitrite by haemocytes from marine bivalves: C-ELISA determination of 3-nitrotyrosine level in plasma proteins from Mytilus galloprovincialis and Crassostrea gigas

Peroxynitrite is increasingly proposed as a contributor to defence system in marine bivalve. It can be formed by combinaison of superoxide and nitric oxide, and can react with tyrosine residues of proteins giv...

Authors: Jean Torreilles and Bernard Romestand

Characterization of DNA binding, transcriptional activation, and regulated nuclear association of recombinant human NFATp

NFATp is one member of a family of transcriptional activators whose nuclear accumulation and hence transcriptional activity is regulated in mammalian cells. Human NFATp exists as a phosphoprotein in the cytopl...

Authors: Loree J Kim, Heather A Ferguson, Anita G Seto and James A Goodrich