Scientific Resources

We have previously reported that an anti-human transferrin receptor IgG3-avidin fusion protein (anti-hTfR IgG3-Av) inhibits the proliferation of an erythroleukemia-cell line. We have now found that anti-hTfR IgG3-Av also inhibits the proliferation of additional human malignant B and plasma cells. Anti-hTfR IgG3-Av induces internalization and rapid degradation of the TfR. These events can be reproduced in cells treated with anti-hTfR IgG3 cross-linked with a secondary Ab,suggesting that they result from increased TfR cross-linking. Confocal microscopy of cells treated with anti-hTfR IgG3-Av shows that the TfR is directed to an intracellular compartment expressing the lysosomal marker LAMP-1. The degradation of TfR is partially blocked by cysteine protease inhibitors. Furthermore,cells treated with anti-hTfR IgG3-Av exhibit mitochondrial depolarization and activation of caspases 9,8,and 3. The mitochondrial damage and cell death can be prevented by iron supplementation,but cannot be fully blocked by a pan-caspase inhibitor. These results suggest that anti-hTfR IgG3-Av induces lethal iron deprivation,but the resulting cell death does not solely depend on caspase activation. This report provides insights into the mechanism of cell death induced by anti-TfR Abs such as anti-hTfR IgG3-Av,a molecule that may be useful in the treatment of B-cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma. View Publication

Activation of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity requires adhesion and formation of a conjugate with a susceptible target cell,followed by actin polymerization,and polarization of the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) and cytolytic granules to the NK cell immune synapse. Here,by using the YTS NK cell line as a model,CD28 is shown to be an activating receptor. It signals cytotoxicity in a process dependent on phosphoinositide-3 kinase activation,leading to sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) phosphorylation. ERK and phospho-ERK localize to microtubule filaments. Neither conjugation with targets nor actin polymerization is affected by blocking ERK2 activation. However,both polarization of the MTOC and cytolytic granules to the synaptic region and NK cell cytotoxicity are strongly reduced by blocking ERK2 activation. A role for the CD28/CD80 interaction in cytotoxicity of human peripheral NK cells also was established. By contrast,lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) ligation transduces only a transient ERK2 activation and fails to induce killing in YTS cells. Thus,in YTS cells,a CD28 signal is used to polarize the MTOC and cytolytic granules to the NK cell immune synapse by stimulating sustained ERK2 activation. View Publication

Respiratory failure during Pneumocystis pneumonia is mainly a consequence of exaggerated inflammatory responses to the organism. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent APCs in the lung and are key to the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. However,their participation in the inflammatory response directed against Pneumocystis infection has not been fully elucidated. Therefore,we studied the role of Pneumocystis carinii,as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae,cell wall-derived beta-glucans,in DC costimulatory molecule expression. We further studied the impact of beta-glucans on subsequent T cell activation. Because cytokine secretion by DCs has recently been shown to be regulated by Fas ligand (FasL),its role in beta-glucan activation of DCs was also investigated. beta-Glucan-induced DC activation occurred in part through dectin-1 receptors. We demonstrated that DC activation by beta-glucans elicits T cell activation and polarization into a Th1 patterned response,but with the conspicuous absence of IL-12. These observations differed from LPS-driven T cell polarization,suggesting that beta-glucans and LPS signal DC activation through different mechanisms. We additionally determined that IL-1beta and TNF-alpha secretion by beta-glucan-stimulated DCs was partially regulated by Fas-FasL. This suggests that dysregulation of FasL could further enhance exuberant and prolonged cytokine production by DCs following DC-T cell interactions,further promoting lung inflammation typical of Pneumocystis pneumonia. View Publication

The repertoire of receptors that is expressed by NK cells is critical for their ability to kill virally infected or transformed cells. However,the molecular mechanisms that determine whether and when NK receptor genes are transcribed during hemopoiesis remain unclear. In this study,we show that hypomethylation of a CpG-rich region in the mouse NKG2A gene is associated with transcription of NKG2A in ex vivo NK cells and NK cell lines. This observation was extended to various developmental stages of NK cells sorted from bone marrow,in which we demonstrate that the CpGs are methylated in the NKG2A-negative stages (hemopoietic stem cells,NK progenitors,and NKG2A-negative NK cells),and hypomethylated specifically in the NKG2A-positive NK cells. Furthermore,we provide evidence that DNA methylation is important in maintaining the allele-specific expression of NKG2A. Finally,we show that acetylated histones are associated with the CpG-rich region in NKG2A positive,but not negative,cell lines,and that treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A alone is sufficient to induce NKG2A expression. Treatment with the methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine only is insufficient to induce transcription,but cotreatment with both drugs resulted in a significantly greater induction,suggesting a cooperative role for DNA methylation and histone acetylation status in regulating gene expression. These results enhance our understanding of the formation and maintenance of NK receptor repertoires in developing and mature NK cells. View Publication