Search results for "ligand"
showing 10 items of 2559 documents
Nanoparticles as Contrast Agents for MRI of Atherosclerotic Lesions
2008
Nanoparticle contrast agents for MRI may aid in identifying atherosclerotic lesions that give rise to ischemic events by means of penetration and retention in the plaque. These imaging agents may provide valuable information regarding plaque characteristics which can help determine the risk of plaque rupture. By increasing molecular flexibility or adding a means of specifically targeting ligands via antibody or peptide, nanoparticles can enhance certain regions of the atherosclerotic plaque. The development of single contrast agents detectable with multiple imaging modalities may further improve our ability to detect and characterize atherosclerosis in clinical and preclinical applications.…
Osteoclast Immunosuppressive Effects in Multiple Myeloma: Role of Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1
2018
Immunomodulatory drugs and monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapies have significantly improved the prognosis of the patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in the recent years. These new classes of reagents target malignant plasma cells (PCs) and further modulate the immune microenvironment, which prolongs anti-MM responses and may prevent tumor occurrence. Since MM remains an incurable cancer for most patients, there continues to be a need to identify new tumor target molecules and investigate alternative cellular approaches using gene therapeutic strategies and novel treatment mechanisms. Osteoclasts (OCs), as critical multi-nucleated large cells responsible for bone destruction in >80% …
Editorial: Understanding Gamma Delta T Cell Multifunctionality - Towards Immunotherapeutic Applications.
2020
Introduction: gd T cells have been characterized by the expression of a gd T cell receptor (TCR).When the gd TCR and the corresponding ab TCR were first discovered it was assumed that the corresponding cell types were likely to be functionally very similar. However, some 30 years later, we have realized that they are not. Unlike ab T cells, gd T cells (i) sense target antigens independent of MHC molecules; (ii) display NK-cell like innate reactivities, including killing of infected cells as well as microbes; (iii) are able to take up large particulates, including bacteria, and (iv) can act as professional antigen presenting cells. The “stress sensing” abilities of gd T cells have led to a g…
Macrophages as an Emerging Source of Wnt Ligands: Relevance in Mucosal Integrity
2019
The Wnt signaling pathway is a conserved pathway involved in important cellular processes such as the control of embryonic development, cellular polarity, cellular migration, and cell proliferation. In addition to playing a central role during embryogenesis, this pathway is also an essential part of adult homeostasis. Indeed, it controls the proliferation of epithelial cells in different organs such as intestine, lung, and kidney, and guarantees the maintenance of the mucosa in physiological conditions. The origin of this molecular pathway is the binding between Wnt ligands (belonging to a family of 19 different homologous secreted glycoproteins) and their specific membrane receptors, from …
CD11b Regulates Fungal Outgrowth but Not Neutrophil Recruitment in a Mouse Model of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis
2019
Abstract Background and Aims: In immunosuppressed individuals Aspergillus (A.) fumigatus is a frequent cause of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) which is highly associated with relevant morbidity and mortality. Moreover, it often occurs in patients suffering from leukocyte-adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD1) which is triggered by a functional loss of CD18 in ß2 integrin receptors as these receptors consist of an alpha subunit (CD11a-CD11d) and CD18 as the common beta subunit. ß2 integrin receptors are differentially expressed by leukocytes, and are required for cell-cell interaction, transendothelial migration, uptake of opsonized pathogens, and cell signaling processes. Here, we asked …
Prediction of Specific TCR-Peptide Binding From Large Dictionaries of TCR-Peptide Pairs
2019
Abstract The T cell repertoire is composed of T cell receptors (TCR) selected by their cognate MHC-peptides and naive TCR that do not bind known peptides. While the task of distinguishing a peptide-binding TCR from a naive TCR unlikely to bind any peptide can be performed using sequence motifs, distinguishing between TCRs binding different peptides requires more advanced methods. Such a prediction is the key for using TCR repertoires as disease-specific biomarkers. We here used large scale TCR-peptide dictionaries with state-of-the-art natural language processing (NLP) methods to produce ERGO (pEptide tcR matchinG predictiOn), a highly specific classifier to predict which TCR binds to which…
Nivolumab Enhances In Vitro Effector Functions of PD-1+ T-Lymphocytes and Leishmania-Infected Human Myeloid Cells in a Host Cell-Dependent Manner
2017
Functional impairment of T-cells and a concomitant augmented expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1) have been observed in visceral leishmaniasis patients, as well as in experimental models for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis. The PD-1/PD-1-ligand (PD-1/PD-L) interaction negatively regulates T-cell effector functions, which are required for parasite control during leishmaniasis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the impact of the PD-1/PD-L axis in a human primary in vitro infection model of Leishmania major (Lm). Blocking the PD-1/PD-L interaction with nivolumab increased T-cell proliferation and release of the proinflammatory cytokines TNFα and IFNγ during the cocultivation of Lm…
Structural characterization of site-modified nanocapsid with monodispersed gold clusters
2017
AbstractHepatitis E Virus-like particles self-assemble in to noninfectious nanocapsids that are resistant to proteolytic/acidic mucosal delivery conditions. Previously, the nanocapsid was engineered to specifically bind and enter breast cancer cells, where successful tumor targeting was demonstrated in animal models. In the present study, the nanocapsid surface was modified with a solvent-exposed cysteine to conjugate monolayer protected gold nanoclusters (AuNC). Unlike commercially available gold nanoparticles, AuNCs monodisperse in water and are composed of a discrete number of gold atoms, forming a crystalline gold core. Au102pMBA44 (Au102) was an ideal conjugate given its small 2.5 nm s…
Structure and dynamics of the membrane attaching nitric oxide transporter nitrophorin 7 [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/508]
2015
Nitrophorins represent a unique class of heme proteins that are able to perform the delicate transportation and release of the free-radical gaseous messenger nitric oxide (NO) in a pH-triggered manner. Besides its ability to bind to phospholipid membranes, the N-terminus contains an additional Leu-Pro-Gly stretch, which is a unique sequence trait, and the heme cavity is significantly altered with respect to other nitrophorins. These distinctive features encouraged us to solve the X-ray crystallographic structures of NP7 at low and high pH and bound with different heme ligands (nitric oxide, histamine, imidazole). The overall fold of the lipocalin motif is well preserved in the different X-r…
Structure and dynamics of the membrane attaching nitric oxide transporter nitrophorin 7 [v2; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/5p1]
2015
Nitrophorins represent a unique class of heme proteins that are able to perform the delicate transportation and release of the free-radical gaseous messenger nitric oxide (NO) in a pH-triggered manner. Besides its ability to bind to phospholipid membranes, the N-terminus of NP7, a member of the NO transporter nitrophorin family, contains an additional Leu-Pro-Gly stretch, which is a unique sequence trait, and the heme cavity is significantly altered with respect to other nitrophorins. These distinctive features encouraged us to solve the X-ray crystallographic structures of NP7 at low and high pH and bound with different heme ligands (nitric oxide, histamine, imidazole). The overall fold of…