Search results for "chemical and pharmacologic phenomena"
showing 10 items of 616 documents
Hsp60 in Modifications of Nervous System Homeostasis and Neurodegeneration
2019
Hsp60 is a critical chaperonin for its role in preserving cell survival and protecting mitochondria against stress conditions. Indeed, mutations or malfunctions of Hsp60 are involved in several human diseases, either genetic or acquired, some of them affecting also the brain. In this chapter, we present several experimental observations supporting the role of Hsp60 in some neurodegenerative diseases. Further, Hsp60, as multifunctional protein, contributes to the protein folding system, to protect mitochondria and is involved in several other cellular pathways that are known to be affected in these diseases. Furthermore, due to its role outside of the mitochondria and in the extracellular fl…
Smad7 controls resistance of colitogenic T cells to regulatory T cell-mediated suppression.
2008
Background & Aims Foxp3-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in the maintenance of the gut immune homeostasis, and an intact transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling is required for their function. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the TGF-β signaling is impaired because of high expression of the inhibitory molecule Smad7. Although no intrinsic defects in Tregs function have been shown in IBD, it is still unknown whether colitogenic T cells are susceptible to Treg-mediated suppression. In this study, we have investigated whether IBD mucosal CD4+ T cells are resistant to Tregs and whether Smad7 is involved in this process. Methods IBD lamina propria mononuclear cells …
Cooperation between Different CRISPR-Cas Types Enables Adaptation in an RNA-Targeting System
2021
CRISPR-Cas systems are immune systems that protect bacteria and archaea against their viruses, bacteriophages. Immunity is achieved through the acquisition of short DNA fragments from the viral invader’s genome.
The Complement System: Activation and Control
1985
One of the hallmarks of immunology has been analysis and characterization of the C system in biological fluids. It is composed of 11 proteins of the “classical” pathway:1 C1q, C1r, C1s, C4, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7, C8, and C9. There are three proteins of the “alternative” pathway (IUIS-WHO Nomenclature Committee 1981) B, D, and P. Finally, there are four control proteins: C1 inhibitor (Cl¯ INH) and C4b binding protein (C4b-bp) for the classical pathway, I (C3b inactivator or C3b INA) and H (β1 or C3b INA accelerator) for the alternative pathway, and anaphylatoxin inactivator. Due to the dramatic advances in protein chemistry, these 19 distinct serum proteins have been highly purified and charact…
Mucin Glycopeptide-Protein Conjugates - Promising Antitumor Vaccine Candidates
2015
Recent efforts towards the development of synthetic glycopeptide vaccines, which aim at the active immunization of patients against their own tumor tissues, are outlined. To achieve sufficient tumor selectivity, glycopeptides of the tandem repeat region of tumor-associated mucin, MUC1, have been synthesized. Since the endogenous structures usually exert low immunogenicity, these glycopeptide antigens, as B-cell epitopes, were conjugated with immunostimulating components. In the present short review, work is outlined in which the MUC1 B-cell epitope peptides are conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), or tetanus toxoid (TTox). In particular, the synthetic…
ChemInform Abstract: Mucin Glycopeptide-Protein Conjugates - Promising Antitumor Vaccine Candidates
2015
Recent efforts towards the development of synthetic glycopeptide vaccines, which aim at the active immunization of patients against their own tumor tissues, are outlined. To achieve sufficient tumor selectivity, glycopeptides of the tandem repeat region of tumor-associated mucin, MUC1, have been synthesized. Since the endogenous structures usually exert low immunogenicity, these glycopeptide antigens, as B-cell epitopes, were conjugated with immunostimulating components. In the present short review, work is outlined in which the MUC1 B-cell epitope peptides are conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), or tetanus toxoid (TTox). In particular, the synthetic…
Evolution and Immune Function of Fish Lectins
2016
Abstract Lectins are sugar-binding proteins widely distributed among animals, plants, and microbial taxon, involved in diverse biological processes. In both invertebrates and vertebrates, they play key roles in nonself recognition and immune responses, such as nonself recognition, inflammatory processes, and immunomodulation. In fish, many lectin families have been identified, and their tissue-specific expression and localization of the various lectin repertoires and their ligands are consistent with their distinct biological roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Here, we discuss the involvement of F-type lectins, rhamnose-binding lectins, galectins, and C-type lectins in pathogen recognit…
In Vitro Stimulation and Expansion of Human Tumour-Reactive CD8+ Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes by Anti-CD3/CD28/CD137 Magnetic Beads
2011
Adoptive immunotherapy with tumour-reactive CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) requires efficient in vitro approaches allowing the expansion of CTLs to large numbers prior infusion. Here, we investigated the antigen-independent activation and the expansion of human T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in tumour-reactive CTLs using Dynabeads coated with monoclonal antibodies to CD3 and to the costimulatory molecules CD28 and CD137 (4-1BB). T cells in PBMCs showed an increased expansion rate of 15- to 17-fold during a 2-week culture period using antibody-conjugated beads with interleukin-2 (IL-2) added versus IL-2 alone. No significant difference between CD3/CD28 beads…
Immunoelectron Microscopy of Hemocyanin from the Keyhole Limpet (Megathura crenulata): A Parallel Subunit Model
1993
Abstract Immunoelectron microscopy has been performed using negatively stained immune complexes of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) subunit 2 di- and multidecamers with domain-specific monoclonal antibodies. One antibody (KLH2 a macr 1) links the hemocyanin molecules in a side-to-side pattern, whereas the other antibody (KLH2 fg macr 1) links the molecules end-to-end. From existing knowledge of the domain sequence of KLH subunit 2, these data provide support for a parallel arrangement of subunits within each decamer. Ten N-terminal a macr: domains are then present at the noncollar region of each decamer with 10 C-terminal g macr domains at the collar region. The immunonegative staining data …
Donor and host B cell-derived IL-10 contributes to suppression of graft-versus-host disease
2014
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a frequent life-threatening complication following allogeneic HSC transplantation (HSCT). IL-10 is a regulatory cytokine with important roles during GvHD, yet its relevant sources, and mode of action, remain incompletely defined in this disease. Using IL-10-deficient donor or host mice (BALB/c or C57BL/6, respectively) in a MHC-mismatched model for acute GvHD, we found a strongly aggravated course of the disease with increased mortality when either donor or host cells could not produce this cytokine. A lack of IL-10 resulted in increased allogeneic T-cell responses and enhanced activation of host DCs in spleen and MLNs. Remarkably, IL-10 was prominently p…