Search results for " Complement"
showing 10 items of 753 documents
A novel tumour associated leucine zipper protein targeting to sites of gene transcription and splicing
2002
We describe here the definition and characterization of antigen CT-8/HOM-TES-85 encoded by a previously unknown gene and identified by serological expression screening using antibodies from a seminoma patient. Intriguingly, the leucine zipper region of CT-8/HOM-TES-85 shows an atypical amphipathy with clusters of hydrophobic residues that is exclusively shared by the N-myc proto-oncogene. CT-8/HOM-TES-85 gene is tightly silenced in normal tissues except for testis. However, it is frequently activated in human neoplasms of different types including lung cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma and glioma. Endogenous as well as heterogeneously expressed CT-8/HOM-TES-85 targets predominantly to the nu…
Bispecific antibodies targeting tumor-associated antigens and neutralizing complement regulators increase the efficacy of antibody-based immunotherap…
2015
The efficacy of antibody-based immunotherapy is due to the activation of apoptosis, the engagement of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). We developed a novel strategy to enhance CDC using bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) that neutralize the C-regulators CD55 and CD59 to enhance C-mediated functions. Two bsAbs (MB20/55 and MB20/59) were designed to recognize CD20 on one side. The other side neutralizes CD55 or CD59. Analysis of CDC revealed that bsAbs could kill 4-25 times more cells than anti-CD20 recombinant antibody in cell lines or cells isolated from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The pharmacokinetics of the bsAbs was evaluate…
The effect of genetic complementation on the fitness and diversity of viruses spreading as collective infectious units
2019
Viruses can spread collectively using different types of structures such as extracellular vesicles, virion aggregates, polyploid capsids, occlusion bodies, and even cells that accumulate virions at their surface, such as bacteria and dendritic cells. Despite the mounting evidence for collective spread, its implications for viral fitness and diversity remain poorly understood. It has been postulated that, by increasing the cellular multiplicity of infection, collective spread could enable mutually beneficial interactions among different viral genetic variants. One such interaction is genetic complementation, whereby deleterious mutations carried by different genomes are compensated. Here, we…
CD83+ human dendritic cells transfected with tumor peptide cDNA by electroporation induce specific T-cell responses: A potential tool for gene immuno…
2000
Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent immunostimulatory cells, with the capacity to induce primary T-cell responses. Functional autologous DC can be generated from fetal calf serum-free peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence of interleukin-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and are stimulated with a defined cytokine cocktail for terminal maturation. We were able to establish a nonviral transfection protocol for these DC by electroporation. Using enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter gene, we achieved transfection efficiencies of up to 10%. FACScan analyses revealed a stable phenotype, and the expression of major histocompatibility complex class …
Divergently Transcribed Overlapping Genes Expressed in Liver and Kidney and Located in the 11p15.5 Imprinted Domain
1998
Human chromosomal band 11p15.5 has been shown to contain genes involved in the development of several pediatric and adult tumors and in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS). Overlapping P1 artificial chromosome clones from this region have been used as templates for genomic sequencing in an effort to identify candidate genes for these disorders. PowerBLAST identified several matches with expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from fetal brain and liver cDNA libraries. Northern blot analysis indicated that two of the genes identified by these ESTs encode transcripts of 1-1.5 kb with predominant expression in fetal and adult liver and kidney. With RT-PCR and RACE, full-length transcripts were isolated f…
Small but Powerful, the Primary Endosymbiont of Moss Bugs, Candidatus Evansia muelleri, Holds a Reduced Genome with Large Biosynthetic Capabilities
2014
International audience; Moss bugs (Coleorrhyncha: Peloridiidae) are members of the order Hemiptera, and like many hemipterans, they have symbiotic associations with intracellular bacteria to fulfill nutritional requirements resulting from their unbalanced diet. The primary endosymbiont of the moss bugs, Candidatus Evansia muelleri, is phylogenetically related to Candidatus Carsonella ruddii and Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum, primary endosymbionts of psyllids and whiteflies, respectively. In this work, we report the genome of Candidatus Evansia muelleri Xc1 from Xenophyes cascus, which is the only obligate endosymbiont present in the association. This endosymbiont possesses an extremely …
The Synthetic Cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 Sensitizes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL)-I…
2010
In this article, we demonstrate that the synthetic cannabinoid R-(+)-(2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrol[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl)-(1-naphthalenyl) methanone mesylate (WIN 55,212-2) sensitizes human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to apoptosis mediated by tumor necrosis-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). The apoptotic mechanism induced by treatment with WIN/TRAIL combination involved the loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and led to the activation of caspases. In HCC cells, WIN treatment induced the up-regulation of TRAIL death receptor DR5, an effect that seemed to be related to the increase in the level of p8 and CHOP, two factors implicat…
C1-esterase inhibitor in ischemia and reperfusion.
2002
Summary Myocardial injury from ischemia can be aggravated by reperfusion of the jeopardized area. The precise underlying mechanisms have not been clearly defined, but proinflammatory events including complement activation play important roles. Cardioprotection by complement inhibition inter alia C1-esterase-inhibitor (C1-INH) was examined in several experimental models and under clinical conditions with ischemia and reperfusion. C1-INH reduced local anaphylatoxin release revealing the importance of the classical complement pathway. Inhibition of local complement activation was accompanied by improvement of myocardial function and perfusion of the previously ischemic myocardium. Leukocyte en…
Understanding a Cartesian graph using the motion sensor
2008
This paper shows the experimental results of a didactical activity conducted using the motion sensor. This MBL-tool (Microcomputers-Based Laboratory) allows to study rectilinear motion of bodies moving in front of it. In a fixed time interval the motion sensor reveals the distance of bodies from it and transmits the measures to a computer that visualizes the data in tabular and Cartesian representations. This research corroborates several works about the use of MBL-tools, according to which the use of the motion sensor allows the students to read, understand and produce kinematics graphs. Moreover our analysis shows that the students acquire these competence respect to graphs of other type …
Complexity of IL-1β induced gene expression pattern in human articular chondrocytes
1997
The mRNA fingerprinting technique, differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain (DDRT-PCR), was used to detect changes in the overall pattern of gene expression in human articular knee chondrocytes-induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), the prototypical inducer of catabolic responses in degenerate joint diseases. One hundred different primer combinations generated approximately 10,000 different PCR fragments for IL-1 beta treated, as well as for untreated human chondrocytes, cultivated in alginate beads. This represented 53% of all expressed chondrocyte genes as based on statistical considerations. Side by side comparisons of differential display patterns originating from…