Search results for " Basic"

Protein-prime/modified vaccinia virus Ankara vector-boost vaccination overcomes tolerance in high-antigenemic HBV-transgenic mice

2015

Abstract Background Therapeutic vaccination is a novel treatment approach for chronic hepatitis B, but only had limited success so far. We hypothesized that optimized vaccination schemes have increased immunogenicity, and aimed at increasing therapeutic hepatitis B vaccine efficacy. Methods Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) expressing hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigens was used to boost protein-prime vaccinations in wildtype and HBV-transgenic (HBVtg) mice. Results Protein-prime/MVA-boost vaccination was able to overcome HBV-specific tolerance in HBVtg mice with low and medium but not with high antigenemia. HBV-specific antibody titers, CD8+ T-cell frequencies and polyfunctionality inverse…

Comparative analysis of variation and selection in the HCV genome

2016

AbstractGenotype 1 of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most prevalent of the variants of this virus. Its two main subtypes, HCV-1a and HCV-1b, are associated to differences in epidemic features and risk groups, despite sharing similar features in most biological properties. We have analyzed the impact of positive selection on the evolution of these variants using complete genome coding regions, and compared the levels of genetic variability and the distribution of positively selected sites. We have also compared the distributions of positively selected and conserved sites considering different factors such as RNA secondary structure, the presence of different epitopes (antibody, CD4 and C…

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: Distinct functions of dendritic cells and macrophages in the interaction of the host immune system with Leishmania major

2017

Leishmaniasis is transmitted by sand flies leading to parasite inoculation into skin. In the mammalian host, the parasite primarily resides in skin macrophages (MΦ) and dendritic cells (DC). MΦ are silently invaded by the parasite eliciting a stress response, whereas DC become activated, release IL-12, and prime antigen-specific T cells. Here we review the basics of the immune response against this human pathogen and elucidate the role and function DC and MΦ for establishment of protective immunity against leishmaniasis. We focus on cell type-specific differences in parasite uptake, phagocyte activation and processing of parasite antigens to facilitate an understanding how their respective …

A miRNA181a/NFAT5 axis links impaired T cell tolerance induction with autoimmune type 1 diabetes.

2018

Molecular checkpoints that trigger the onset of islet autoimmunity or progression to human type 1 diabetes (T1D) are incompletely understood. Using T cells from children at an early stage of islet autoimmunity without clinical T1D, we find that a microRNA181a (miRNA181a)-mediated increase in signal strength of stimulation and costimulation links nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) with impaired tolerance induction and autoimmune activation. We show that enhancing miRNA181a activity increases NFAT5 expression while inhibiting FOXP3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) induction in vitro. Accordingly, Treg induction is improved using T cells from NFAT5 knockout (NFAT5ko) animals, whereas alter…

Cylindromatosis (Cyld) gene mutation in T cells promotes the development of an IL-9-dependent allergic phenotype in experimental asthma

2016

Cylindromatosis (CYLD) is a ubiquitously expressed deubiquitinating enzyme which removes activating ubiquitin residues from important signaling molecules of the NF-κB pathway. In CYLDex7/8 transgenic mice, a naturally occurring short isoform (sCYLD) is overexpressed in the absence of full length CYLD, leading to excessive NF-κB activity. Herein, we investigated the impact of the CYLDex7/8 mutation selectively in T cells on the development of experimental allergic airway disease induced by sensitization and challenge with ovalbumin. Compared with their wildtype littermates, mice bearing the T cell-specific mutation (CD4+CYLDex7/8) display stronger eosinophilia and mucus production in the lun…

Human T cells in silico: Modelling their electrophysiological behaviour in health and disease

2016

Although various types of ion channels are known to have an impact on human T cell effector functions, their exact mechanisms of influence are still poorly understood. The patch clamp technique is a well-established method for the investigation of ion channels in neurons and T cells. However, small cell sizes and limited selectivity of pharmacological blockers restrict the value of this experimental approach. Building a realistic T cell computer model therefore can help to overcome these kinds of limitations as well as reduce the overall experimental effort. The computer model introduced here was fed off ion channel parameters from literature and new experimental data. It is capable of simu…

Opposing functions of thymic stromal lymphopoietin–responsive basophils and dendritic cells in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis

2015

A Synthetic MUC1 Anticancer Vaccine Containing Mannose Ligands for Targeting Macrophages and Dendritic Cells

2017

A MUC1 anticancer vaccine equipped with covalently linked divalent mannose ligands was found to improve the antigen uptake and presentation by targeting mannose-receptor-positive macrophages and dendritic cells. It induced much stronger specific IgG immune responses in mice than the non-mannosylated reference vaccine. Mannose coupling also led to increased numbers of macrophages, dendritic cells, and CD4+ T cells in the local lymph organs. Comparison of di- and tetravalent mannose ligands revealed an increased binding of the tetravalent version, suggesting that higher valency improves binding to the mannose receptor. The mannose-coupled vaccine and the non-mannosylated reference vaccine ind…

Stochastic Episodes of Latent Cytomegalovirus Transcription Drive CD8 T-Cell “Memory Inflation” and Avoid Immune Evasion

2021

Acute infection with murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) is controlled by CD8+ T cells and develops into a state of latent infection, referred to as latency, which is defined by lifelong maintenance of viral genomes but absence of infectious virus in latently infected cell types. Latency is associated with an increase in numbers of viral epitope-specific CD8+ T cells over time, a phenomenon known as “memory inflation” (MI). The “inflationary” subset of CD8+ T cells has been phenotyped as KLRG1+CD62L- effector-memory T cells (iTEM). It is agreed upon that proliferation of iTEM requires repeated episodes of antigen presentation, which implies that antigen-encoding viral genes must be transcribed du…

Inhibitors of β-catenin affect the immuno-phenotype and functions of dendritic cells in an inhibitor-specific manner

2015

Many tumors are characterized by mutation-induced constitutive activation of β-catenin which promotes tumor growth and survival. Consequently, the development of specific β-catenin inhibitors for tumor therapy has come into the focus of drug development. β-Catenin was also shown to contribute to the tolerance-promoting function of unstimulated dendritic cells (DCs). In response to activation, DCs acquire potent T cell stimulatory capacity and induce profound tumor antigen-specific immune responses. Here we asked for effects of pre-clinically established β-catenin inhibitors (CCT-031374, iCRT-5, PNU-75654) on mouse bone marrow-derived (BM)DCs. All three inhibitors moderately increased surfac…