Search results for "mice"
showing 10 items of 6027 documents
β1-Integrin– and K(V)1.3 channel–dependent signaling stimulates glutamate release from Th17 cells
2020
Although the impact of Th17 cells on autoimmunity is undisputable, their pathogenic effector mechanism is still enigmatic. We discovered soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor attachment receptor (SNARE) complex proteins in Th17 cells that enable a vesicular glutamate release pathway that induces local intracytoplasmic calcium release and subsequent damage in neurons. This pathway is glutamine dependent and triggered by binding of β1-integrin to vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) on neurons in the inflammatory context. Glutamate secretion could be blocked by inhibiting either glutaminase or K(V)1.3 channels, which are known to be linked to integrin expression and highly expressed…
Peptide Processing Is Critical for T-Cell Memory Inflation and May Be Optimized to Improve Immune Protection by CMV-Based Vaccine Vectors.
2016
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) elicits long-term T-cell immunity of unparalleled strength, which has allowed the development of highly protective CMV-based vaccine vectors. Counterintuitively, experimental vaccines encoding a single MHC-I restricted epitope offered better immune protection than those expressing entire proteins, including the same epitope. To clarify this conundrum, we generated recombinant murine CMVs (MCMVs) encoding well-characterized MHC-I epitopes at different positions within viral genes and observed strong immune responses and protection against viruses and tumor growth when the epitopes were expressed at the protein C-terminus. We used the M45-encoded conventional epitope HGI…
The Mouse Cytomegalovirus Gene m42 Targets Surface Expression of the Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase CD45 in Infected Macrophages
2016
The receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase CD45 is expressed on the surface of cells of hematopoietic origin and has a pivotal role for the function of these cells in the immune response. Here we report that following infection of macrophages with mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) the cell surface expression of CD45 is drastically diminished. Screening of a set of MCMV deletion mutants allowed us to identify the viral gene m42 of being responsible for CD45 down-modulation. Moreover, expression of m42 independent of viral infection upon retroviral transduction of the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line led to comparable regulation of CD45 expression. In immunocompetent mice infected with an m42 del…
Murine cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection via the intranasal route offers a robust model of immunity upon mucosal CMV infection
2016
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous virus, causing the most common congenital infection in humans, yet a vaccine against this virus is not available. Experimental studies of immunity against CMV in animal models of infection, such as the infection of mice with mouse CMV (MCMV), have relied mainly on parenteral infection protocols, although the virus naturally transmits by mucosal routes via body fluids. To characterize the biology of infections by mucosal routes, we compared the kinetics of virus replication, latent viral load and CD8 T-cell responses in lymphoid organs upon experimental intranasal (targeting the respiratory tract) and intragastric (targeting the digestive tract) infectio…
The murine cytomegalovirus M35 protein antagonizes type I IFN induction downstream of pattern recognition receptors by targeting NF-κB mediated trans…
2017
The type I interferon (IFN) response is imperative for the establishment of the early antiviral immune response. Here we report the identification of the first type I IFN antagonist encoded by murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) that shuts down signaling following pattern recognition receptor (PRR) sensing. Screening of an MCMV open reading frame (ORF) library identified M35 as a novel and strong negative modulator of IFNβ promoter induction following activation of both RNA and DNA cytoplasmic PRR. Additionally, M35 inhibits the proinflammatory cytokine response downstream of Toll-like receptors (TLR). Using a series of luciferase-based reporters with specific transcription factor binding sites, …
Myeloid cell populations and fibrogenic parameters in bleomycin- and HOCl-induced fibrosis
2016
Mouse models resembling systemic sclerosis can be chemically induced by application of bleomycin or hypochloric acid (HOCl). To date, little is known about inflammatory cells and their potential role in scleroderma (Scl)-related fibrosis. Therefore, we compared both Scl models to define the early immune cell subsets in relation to fibrosis-related parameters. Both agents induced a significant increase in dermal thickness and collagen deposition after 4 weeks, as hallmarks of Scl. However, clinical skin thickness, densely packed, sirius red-stained collagen bundles and collagen cross-links were more pronounced in HOCl-induced Scl. In parallel, there was a significant upregulation of procolla…
Mesenchymal Transition of High-Grade Breast Carcinomas Depends on Extracellular Matrix Control of Myeloid Suppressor Cell Activity
2016
SummaryThe extracellular matrix (ECM) contributes to the biological and clinical heterogeneity of breast cancer, and different prognostic groups can be identified according to specific ECM signatures. In high-grade, but not low-grade, tumors, an ECM signature characterized by high SPARC expression (ECM3) identifies tumors with increased epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), reduced treatment response, and poor prognosis. To better understand how this ECM3 signature is contributing to tumorigenesis, we expressed SPARC in isogenic cell lines and found that SPARC overexpression in tumor cells reduces their growth rate and induces EMT. SPARC expression also results in the formation of a h…
Myeloid cell-synthesized coagulation Factor X dampens anti-tumor immunity
2019
Immune evasion in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a crucial barrier for effective cancer therapy, and plasticity of innate immune cells may contribute to failures of targeted immunotherapies. Here, we show that rivaroxaban, a direct inhibitor of activated coagulation factor X (FX), promotes antitumor immunity by enhancing infiltration of dendritic cells and cytotoxic T cells at the tumor site. Profiling FX expression in the TME identifies monocytes and macrophages as crucial sources of extravascular FX. By generating mice with immune cells lacking the ability to produce FX, we show that myeloid cell-derived FX plays a pivotal role in promoting tumor immune evasion. In mouse models of ca…
An siRNA-based screen in C2C12 myoblasts identifies novel genes involved in myogenic differentiation
2017
International audience; AbstractMyogenesis is a highly regulated multi-step process involving myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Although studies over the last decades have identified several factors governing these distinct major phases, many of them are not yet known. In order to identify novel genes, we took advantage of the C2C12 myoblastic line to establish a functional siRNA screen combined with quantitative-imaging analysis of a large amount of differentiated myoblasts. We knocked down 100 preselected mouse genes without a previously characterized role in muscle. Using image analysis, we tracked gene-silencing phenotypes by quantitative assessment of cellular density, myotub…
Arsenic promotes NF-Κb-mediated fibroblast dysfunction and matrix remodeling to impair muscle stem cell function
2016
Abstract Arsenic is a global health hazard that impacts over 140 million individuals worldwide. Epidemiological studies reveal prominent muscle dysfunction and mobility declines following arsenic exposure; yet, mechanisms underlying such declines are unknown. The objective of this study was to test the novel hypothesis that arsenic drives a maladaptive fibroblast phenotype to promote pathogenic myomatrix remodeling and compromise the muscle stem (satellite) cell (MuSC) niche. Mice were exposed to environmentally relevant levels of arsenic in drinking water before receiving a local muscle injury. Arsenic-exposed muscles displayed pathogenic matrix remodeling, defective myofiber regeneration …