CD8<Superscript>+</Superscript> T cell response mediates the therapeutic effects of oncolytic adenovirus in an immunocompetent mouse model

The role of anti-tumor immune responses in oncolytic adenoviral therapy has not been well studied due to lack of efficacious tu- mor model in immunocompetent mice.Here,we evaluated the contributions of immune components to the therapeutic effects of oncolytic adenoviruse in an immunocompetent murine tumor model permissive for infection and replication of adenovirus.We found that CD8+T cells were critical mediator for antitumor efficacy by oncolytic adenovirus.Intratumoral viral therapy induced intensive infiltration of CD8+T cells in tumor,increased tumor-specific IFN-?(interferon-?)production and CTL(cytotoxic T lymphocyte)activity of lymphocytes,and generated a long-term tumor-specific immune memory.Boosting CD8+T cell responses by agonistic anti-4-1BB(cluster differentiation 137,CD137)antibody showed synergistic anticancer effects with oncolytic viro- therapy.Our results provide insight into antitumor mechanisms of oncolytic adenovirus in addition to their direct oncolytic effect.     

STAT1 signaling is required for optimal Th1 cell differentiation in mice

Although IFN-γ alone does not prime type I T helper cell (Th1) differentiation, the loss of IFN-γ signaling leads to impaired Th1 phenotype: IFN-γ receptor-deficient (Ifngr-/-) Th1 cells fail to permanently repress IL-4 expression. They can differentiate into IL-4-producing cells under Th2-inducing conditions. These observations suggest that IFN-γ signaling plays a critical role in si- lencing Il4 gene in Th1 cells and stabilizing Th1 phenotype. IFN-γ signaling has been further shown to inhibit IL-4 express...     

模拟微重力大鼠T淋巴细胞发育异常的初步研究

对模拟空间微重力条件下大鼠T细胞发育受阻的神经免疫调节机理进行初步探究.采用流式细胞检测技术测定模拟微重力大鼠胸腺中不同发育阶段T淋巴细胞的数量变化,用ELISA法测定胸腺组织中去甲肾上腺素(NE)和内源性糖皮质激素(GC)的含量.结果表明模拟微重力模型大鼠出现明显胸腺萎缩(p<0.05),CD3⁺CD4⁺CD8^-和CD3⁺CD4^-CD8⁺T细胞数量明显减少(p<0.05);模拟微重力大鼠胸腺中NE和GC含量有升高的趋势.模拟微重力大鼠胸腺中发生了从双阳性T细胞向单阳性T细胞的发育阻滞,这种异常可能与神经内分泌免疫调控相关.     

Prophylaxis of tumor through oral administration of IL-12 GM-CSF gene carried by live attenuated salmonella

A live attenuated AraA^- autotrophic mutant ofSalmonella typhimurium (SL3261) was used as carrier for eukaryotic expression vectors EGFPN1, pCMVmIL-12, pCMVhIL-12, pCMVmGM-CSF and pCMVhGM-CSF and was administered orally to BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. After 6 weeks, these mice were challenged with 4T1 and Lewis tumor cells respectively. GFP expression and gene integration could be detected in mice’s livers, spleens, intestines, kidneys and tumors. The serum level of cytokines increased significantly in treated mice, so did the ratio of CD ₈ ⁺ /CD ₄ ⁺ , which resulted in the tumor regression and prolongation of the survival time of those mice. These researches laid an experimental foundation for the tumor gene therapy using live attenuated salmonella.     

Phenotypic analysis of the medullary-type CD4−CD8+ thymocytes in mice

Phenotypic analysis of the medullary-type CD4 CD8⁺ (CD8SP) thymocytes has revealed phenotypic heterogeneity within this cell population. The phenotype of mature peripheral CDS⁺T cells is TCRαβ⁺CD3⁺Qa-2⁺HSA 3G11⁻6C10, whereas in the medullary-type CD8SP thymocytes, 20% are Qa-2⁺; 33%, HAS; 30%, 3G11; and 70% are 6C10. The disparate expression patterns of these four cell surface markers suggest that medullary-type CD8SP thymocytes may undergo phenotypic maturation process. According to the distribution of these four cell surface markers, six subgroups of CD8SP thymocytes have been identified. The precursor-progeny relationship along with developmental pathway is postulated as follows: 6C10⁺HSA⁺3G11 Qa-2→ 6C10⁺HSA⁺ 3G11⁺Qa-2 → 6C10 HSA⁺3G11⁺Qa-2 → 6C10⁻HSA⁻3G11⁺Qa-2 → 6C10⁻HSA⁻3G11 Qa-2 → 6C10⁻HA S 3G11 Qa-2⁺, the cells in the last subgroup exit the thymus and home into periphery.     

Circular dichroism spectroscopic studies on structures formed by telomeric DNA sequencesin vitro

Telomere plays an important role in cellular processes, such as cell aging, death and carcinogenisis. Having special sequences, it can form quadruplex structurein vitro. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic studies show that TTAGGG, (TTAGGG)₂ and (TTAGGG)₄ can all form quadruplexin vitro and exist mainly as parallel quadruplex without metal ions. Both K⁺ and Na⁺ can stabilize the tetrameric structure and facilitate the forming of anti-parallel conformation. Furthermore, the conformations of quadruplex can also be affected by sequence length, the nature and concentration of metal ions.     

CD4^＋CD25^＋调节性T细胞在肺癌患者外周血中的表达

目的探讨肺癌患者外周血中CD4^＋CD25^＋调节性T细胞的变化及其与临床病理因素的关系。方法用流式细胞术检测60例肺癌患者和60例健康对照者的CD4^＋CD25^＋调节性T细胞数量变化。结果肺癌患者外周血中CD4^＋CD25^＋调节性T细胞水平明显高于正常组（P〈0．05）,其变化与病理分期和是否有转移有关（P〈0．05）,而和性别、家族史、病理类型和肿瘤体积等无关。结论CD4^＋CD25^＋调节性T细胞可能在肿瘤免疫中发挥重要作用,导致和促进肺癌的发生和转移。     

一种中药复方对小鼠脾脏淋巴细胞PD-1/PD-L1表达的影响

为了探讨中药复方对小鼠脾脏淋巴细胞PD-1/PD-L1的表达情况,以及CD3~+CD4~+和CD3~+CD8~+T淋巴细胞比例的影响,采用传统熬制中药的方法得到中药复方提取液,按低、中、高3个浓度对小鼠灌胃给药(1次/d),2周后,采用脑脊髓脱臼法处死小鼠,利用Real-time PCR和流式细胞仪检测脾脏PD-1/PD-L1的表达情况以及淋巴细胞亚型的变化。结果表明,随着中药提取液浓度的增加,脾脏淋巴细胞PD-1的表达显著降低,而PD-L1的表达无显著变化;CD3~+CD4~+型和CD3~+CD8~+型T淋巴细胞的比例均显著增加。所研制的中药复方能抑制淋巴细胞PD-1的表达,激活免疫辅助细胞和效应细胞,有望应用于抗肿瘤的免疫治疗。     

Carboxymethytl Pachymaram Up-Regulates Dendritic Cell＇s Function in Hepatitis B Virus Transgenic Mice

The effect of carboxymethytl pachymaram (CMP) on the function of dendritic cells(DCs) derived from spleens of hepatitis B virus transgenic mice are studied in vitro. The phenotypes of DCs are tested by flow cytometry (FCM), cytokines measured by ELISA. The expression of DCs’ phenotypes in HBV transgenic mice are low (CD80⁺CD11c⁺:59.12±11.53 vs 9.60±4.53, p<0.01; CD80⁺ MHC-II⁺: 44.86±12.31 vs 9.80±5.72, p<0.01, normal mice vs HBV transgenic mice), the ability of DCs stimulating T lymphocytes proliferation decreases (0.37±0.11 vs 0.20±0.11, p<0.05, normal mice vs HBV transgenic mice), levels of IL-12 and IFN-γ decrease whereas the level of IL-10 increases; CMP can enhance DCs’ ability of stimulating T lymphocytes proliferation, facilitate the secretion of IL-12 and IFN-γ, inhibit the secretion of IL-10, thus up regulates DCs function. The results show a good prospective use of CMP on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Biography: HOU Anji (1963–), male, Ph.D. candidate, Associate professor, research direction: clinical virology.     

Reciprocal developmental pathways for the generation of pathogenic effector TH17 and regulatory T cells

On activation, T cells undergo distinct developmental pathways, attaining specialized properties and effector functions. T-helper (T(H)) cells are traditionally thought to differentiate into T(H)1 and T(H)2 cell subsets. T(H)1 cells are necessary to clear intracellular pathogens and T(H)2 cells are important for clearing extracellular organisms. Recently, a subset of interleukin (IL)-17-producing T (T(H)17) cells distinct from T(H)1 or T(H)2 cells has been described and shown to have a crucial role in the induction of autoimmune tissue injury. In contrast, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (T(reg)) cells inhibit autoimmunity and protect against tissue injury. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a critical differentiation factor for the generation of T(reg) cells. Here we show, using mice with a reporter introduced into the endogenous Foxp3 locus, that IL-6, an acute phase protein induced during inflammation, completely inhibits the generation of Foxp3+ T(reg) cells induced by TGF-beta. We also demonstrate that IL-23 is not the differentiation factor for the generation of T(H)17 cells. Instead, IL-6 and TGF-beta together induce the differentiation of pathogenic T(H)17 cells from naive T cells. Our data demonstrate a dichotomy in the generation of pathogenic (T(H)17) T cells that induce autoimmunity and regulatory (Foxp3+) T cells that inhibit autoimmune tissue injury.     

Effect of MTEC1 on the functional expression of TCRaβ+ 3G11− 6C10− CD4+ CD8− thymocyte subset

A murine CD4⁺ thymocyte subset with phenotype of TCRαβ⁺ 3G11⁻ 6C10⁻ CD4⁺ CD8⁻ CD69^+/- HSA^med/lo contains the cells in relatively functional matured status. The functional property of the cells in this subset is characterized by the unique pattern of cytokine production at transitional stage from Th0 to Th2 type with the latter being the dominant type. After being co-cultured with murine thymic medullary epithelial cell line (MTEC1) cells, a murine thymic medullary type epithelial cell line, the TCRαβ⁺ 3G11⁻ 6C10⁻ CD4⁺ CD8⁻ CD69^+/- HSA^med/lo thymocytes, has exhibited significantly higher levels of proliferation capability and IL-6 production, whereas the production of IL-4 and IL-10 is suppressed after co-culturing with MTECl. By contrast, MTECl could not induce thymocytes to secrete Thl type of cytokines. The results suggest that MTECl can regulate functional status of this thymocyte subset and induce them to develop into a specialized Th2 subset.     

Effect of kinase-negativeEGFR gene on differentiation of embryonic germ cell line EG4

EG4 cells derived from primordial germ cells (PGCs) of 10.5 d post coitum 129/svJ mouse embryos can be used as a model system for in vitro differentiation study due to their pluripotential development ability. EG4 cell lines with stable expression of kinase-negative EGFR cDNA, designated EG4-EGFR^d, were generated by gene transfection. We found that: (ⅰ) EG4-EGFR^d cells share the similar morphology and growing character with wildtype cells that can maintain undifferentiated state in long term culture. (ⅱ) Treatment of EG4 cells with RA resulted in differentiation of adipocyte, while in mutant clones of EG4-EGFR^d, adipocytes were sparse or absent under the same condition, indicating the role of EGFR expressed during adipocyte development. (ⅲ) Histological analysis showed that predominant tissues in teratocarcinomas derived from EG4-EGFR^d cells and wildtype cells are different. A large amount of undifferentiated cells was present in those coming from mutant cell clones. In addition some cardiac and skeletal muscles are prominently differentiated cell types. EG4 wildtype cells produced multiple differentiated cell types of three primary germ layers such as cartilage, epithelia and neural tube. These studies suggested that EGFR-dependent differentiation was inhibited in kinase-negative EG4 cells.     

Effect of polyvinyl butyrate nanoparticles incorporated with immune suppressing vitamins on alteration of population of intestinal immune cells

The nanoparticles (NPs) from polyvinyl butyrate (PVBu) which can work as an orally applicable donor of butyrate for intestine were prepared. Immunotolerance inducing molecules such as vitamin D₃ and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) were incorporated into PVBu NPs. The alteration in populations and numbers of DC103⁺ dendritic cells (DC) and regulatory T (Treg) cells in intestinal immune tissues were examined after oral administration of NPs. It was found that NPs reduced the population of CD103⁺ DC and Treg cells in Peyer’s patched in lower part of the intestine and inversely increased the population of CD103⁺ DC in mesenteric lymph node (MLN), while the population of Treg cells in MLN was unchanged. These observations indicate that NPs may enhance the immunotolerance at MLN and lamina propria toward luminal antigens, indicating the promising features of PVBu NPs as therapeutics of allergy and autoimmune diseases.     

Recombinant sTRAIL induces cell death of tumor cell lines as well as primary cancer cells

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a new member of TNF family. It was reported that TRAIL could induce apoptosis of tumor cells but not normal cells in tissue culture system. To further study the biological activity and potential clinical significance, a recombinant soluble TRAIL (rsTRAIL) has been expressed stably in E. coli after transformation of pET28b vector containing the extracellular domain of TRAIL. The yield of rsTRAIL is approximately as high as 60% of whole bacterial proteins. The rsTRAIL, purified by Ni+ -agarose affinity chromatography, could remarkably trigger apoptosis at the concentrations of 0.1-1 μg/mL in all 7 tumor cell lines tested in vitro. However, this killing activity has not been observed in mouse fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3) as normal control. Further investigation shows that the rsTRAIL could also kill primary tumor cells isolated freshly from patients with cardiac cancer, breast cancer and malignant thymoma, while the normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes are not killed under the same conditions. These results provide new evidence that rsTRAIL could induce apoptosis of tumor cells specifically and it could be a new promising medicine for tumor therapy.     

The molecular mechanism of embryonic stem cell pluripotency maintenance

In vitro cultured embryonic stem （ES） cells are derived from the inner cell mass （ICM） of pre-implantation embryos, and are capable of giving rise to all cell and tissue types of the three germ layers upon being injected back into blastocysts. These ceils are therefore said to possess pluripotency that can be maintained infinitely in culture under optimal conditions. Such pluripotency maintenance is believed to be due to the symmetrical cleavage of the cells in an undifferentiated state. The pluripotency of ES cells is the basis for their various practical and potential applications. ES cells can be used as donor cells to generate knockout or transgenic animals, as in vitro models of mammalian development, and as cell resources for cell therapy in regenerative medicine. The further success in these applications, particularly in the last two, is dependent on the establishment of a culture system with components in the medium clearly defined and the subsequent procedures for controlled differentiation of the cells into specific lineages. In turn, elucidating the molecular mechanism for pluripotency maintenance of ES cells is the prerequisite. This paper summarizes the recent progresses in this area, focusing mainly on the LIF/STAT3, BMPs/Smads, canonical Wnt, TGFβ/activin/nodal, PI3K and FGF signaling pathways and the genes such as oct4, nanog that are crucial in ES cell pluripotency maintenance. The regulatory systems of pluripotency maintenance in both mouse and human ES cells are also discussed. We believe that the cross-talkings between these signaling pathways, as well as the regulatory system underlying pluripotency maintenance will be the main focus in the area of ES cell researches in the future.