Citations

Abstract A human IgM Ab, serum-derived human IgM 12 (sHIgM12), is identified that binds mouse and human dendritic cells (DC), inducing dramatic immunopotentiation following treatment of the mouse DC in vitro. Competition, transfection, and knockout studies identified the ligand on mouse DC as the costimulatory molecule family member B7-DC. Potent T cell responses are stimulated by Ag-pulsed DC treated with the sHIgM12 Ab in vitro and upon adoptive transfer of Ab-treated Ag-pulsed DC into animals. The multivalent structure of pentameric IgM provides the potential for cross-linking cell surface targets, endowing the soluble Abs with biological potential not normally associated with immune function. The ability of the sHIgM12 Ab to potentiate the immune response is dependent on the multimeric structure of IgM, as bivalent monomers do not retain this property. Furthermore, pretreatment of DC with IgM monomers blocks subsequent potentiation by intact IgM pentamers, an indication that cross-linking of B7-DC on the cell surface is critical for potentiation of Ag presentation. These findings imply that, in addition to known costimulatory roles, B7-DC can function as a receptor for signals delivered by cells expressing B7-DC ligands.

Abstract Androgen has been implicated as a negative regulator of host immune function and a factor contributing to the gender dimorphism of autoimmunity. Conversely, androgen deprivation has been suggested to potentiate male host immunity. Studies have shown that removal of androgen in postpubertal male mice produces an increase in size and cellularity of primary and peripheral lymphoid organs, and enhances a variety of immune responses. Yet, few details are known about the effect of androgen removal on T cell-mediated immunity. In this study, we demonstrate two pronounced and independent alterations in T cell immunity that occur in response to androgen deprivation, provided by castration, in postpubertal male mice. First, we show that levels of T cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues of mice are increased by androgen deprivation. Second, T cells from these mice transiently proliferate more vigorously to TCR- and CD28-mediated costimulation as well as to Ag-specific activation. In addition, androgen deprivation accelerates normalization of host T and B cell levels following chemotherapy-induced lymphocyte depletion. Such alterations induced by androgen deprivation may have implications for enhancing immune responses to immunotherapy and for accelerating the recovery of the immune system following chemotherapy.

Abstract B7-H3 is a B7 family molecule with T cell costimulatory function in vitro. The in vivo role of B7-H3 in the stimulation of tumor immunity is unclear. We report here that expression of B7-H3 by transfection of the mouse P815 tumor line enhances its immunogenicity, leading to the regression of tumors and amplification of a tumor-specific CD8+ CTL response in syngeneic mice. Tumor cells engineered to express B7-H3 elicit a rapid clonal expansion of P1A tumor Ag-specific CD8+ CTL in lymphoid organs in vivo and acquire the ability to directly stimulate T cell growth, division, and development of cytolytic activity in vitro. Our results thus establish a role for B7-H3 in the costimulation of T cell immune responses in vivo.

Abstract The role of human bone marrow (BM) CD8+ T cells in the immune response to viral Ags is poorly defined. We report here the identification and characterization of a functionally enhanced effector memory CD8+ T cell population (TEM) in the BM of patients undergoing total joint replacement for osteoarthritis. These BM-derived TEM differ strikingly from correlate cells in peripheral blood (PB), expressing elevated levels of CD27, HLA-DR, CD38, CD69, and unique patterns of chemokine receptors. Interestingly, while BM TEM have low levels of resting perforin and granzyme B, these molecules evidence profound up-regulation in response to TCR stimulation resulting in enhanced cytotoxic potential. Moreover, compared with the TEM subset in PB, BM CD8+ TEM cells demonstrate a more vigorous recall response to pooled viral Ags. Our results reveal that human BM serves as a repository for viral Ag-specific TEM with great therapeutic potential in vaccine development.

Abstract Development of effective vaccination approaches to treat established tumors represents a focus of intensive research because such approaches offer the promise of enhancing immune system priming against tumor Ags via restimulation of pre-existing (memory) antitumoral helper and effector immune cells. However, inhibitory mechanisms, which function to limit the recall responses of tumor-specific immunity, remain poorly understood and interfere with therapies anticipated to induce protective immunity. The mouse renal cell carcinoma (RENCA) tumor model was used to investigate variables affecting vaccination outcomes. We demonstrate that although a whole cell irradiated tumor cell vaccine can trigger a functional antitumor memory response in the bone marrows of mice with established tumors, these responses do not culminate in the regression of established tumors. In addition, a CD103+ regulatory T (Treg) cell subset accumulates within the draining lymph nodes of tumor-bearing mice. We also show that B7-H1 (CD274, PD-L1), a negative costimulatory ligand, and CD4+ Treg cells collaborate to impair the recall responses of tumor-specific memory T cells. Specifically, mice bearing large established RENCA tumors were treated with tumor cell vaccination in combination with B7-H1 blockade and CD4+ T cell depletion (triple therapy treatment) and monitored for tumor growth and survival. Triple treatment therapy induced complete regression of large established RENCA tumors and raised long-lasting protective immunity. These results have implications for developing clinical antitumoral vaccination regimens in the setting in which tumors express elevated levels of B7-H1 in the presence of abundant Treg cells.

Abstract Biliary epithelial cells (cholangiocytes) respond to proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and actively participate in the regulation of biliary inflammatory response in the liver. B7-H1 (also known as CD274 or PD-L1) is a member of the B7 costimulatory molecules and plays a critical immunoregulatory role in cell-mediated immune responses. In this study, we show that resting human cholangiocytes in culture express B7-H1 mRNA, but not B7-H1 protein. IFN-γ induces B7-H1 protein expression and alters the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile in cholangiocytes. Of those IFN-γ-down-regulated miRNAs, we identified microRNA-513 (miR-513) with complementarity to the 3′-untranslated region of B7-H1 mRNA. Targeting of the B7-H1 3′-untranslated region by miR-513 results in translational repression. Transfection of cholangiocytes with an antisense oligonucleotide to miR-513 induces B7-H1 protein expression. Additionally, transfection of miR-513 precursor decreases IFN-γ-induced B7-H1 protein expression and consequently influences B7-H1-associated apoptotic cell death in cocultured Jurkat cells. Thus, miR-513 regulates B7-H1 translation and is involved in IFN-γ-induced B7-H1 expression in human cholangiocytes, suggesting a role for miRNA-mediated gene silencing in the regulation of cholangiocyte response to IFN-γ.

The free solution mobilities of ssDNA and dsDNA molecules with variable charge densities have been measured by CE. DNA charge density was modified either by appending positively or negatively charged groups to the thymine residues in a 98 bp DNA molecule, or by replacing some of the negatively charged phosphate internucleoside linkers in small ssDNA or dsDNA oligomers with positively charged phosphoramidate linkers. Mobility ratios were calculated for each dataset by dividing the mobility of a charge variant by the mobility of its unmodified parent DNA. Mobility ratios essentially eliminate the effect of the BGE on the observed mobility, making it possible to compare analytes measured under different experimental conditions. Neutral moieties attached to the thymine residues in the 98‐bp DNA molecule had little or no effect on the mobility ratios, indicating that bulky substituents in the DNA major groove do not affect the mobility significantly. The mobility ratios observed for the thymine‐modified and linker‐modified DNA charge variants increased approximately linearly with the logarithm of the fractional negative charge of the DNA. Mobility ratios calculated from previous studies of linker‐modified DNA charge variants and small multicharged organic molecules also increased approximately linearly with the logarithm of the fractional negative charge of the analyte. The results do not agree with the Debye–Hückel–Onsager theory of electrophoresis, which predicts that the mobility of an analyte should depend linearly on analyte charge, not the logarithm of the charge, when the frictional coefficient is held constant.