参考文献

Manipulation of the CD28/CTLA-4 pathway is at the heart of a number of immunomodulatory approaches used in both autoimmunity and cancer. Although it is clear that CTLA-4 is a critical regulator of T cell responses,the immunological contexts in which CTLA-4 controls immune responses are not well defined. In this study,we show that whereas CD80/CD86-dependent activation of resting human T cells caused extensive T cell proliferation and robust CTLA-4 expression,in this context CTLA-4 blocking Abs had no impact on the response. In contrast,in settings where CTLA-4(+) cells were present as regulators� View Publication

BACKGROUND Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) limits T-cell activation and is expressed on T-regulatory cells. Human CTLA-4 deficiency results in severe immune dysregulation. Abatacept (CTLA-4 Ig) is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its mechanism of action is attributed to effects on T-cells. It is known that CTLA-4 modulates the expression of its ligands CD80 and CD86 on antigen presenting cells (APC) by transendocytosis. As B-cells express CD80/CD86 and function as APC,we hypothesize that B-cells are a direct target of abatacept. OBJECTIVES To investigate direct effects of abatacept on human B-lymphocytes in vitro and in RA patients. METHODS The effect of abatacept on healthy donor B-cells' phenotype,activation and CD80/CD86 expression was studied in vitro. Nine abatacept-treated RA patients were studied. Seven of these were followed up to 24 months,and two up to 12 months only and treatment response,immunoglobulins,ACPA,RF concentrations,B-cell phenotype and ACPA-specific switched memory B-cell frequency were assessed. RESULTS B-cell development was unaffected by abatacept. Abatacept treatment resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of CD80/CD86 expression on B-cells in vitro,which was due to dynamin-dependent internalization. RA patients treated with abatacept showed a progressive decrease in plasmablasts and serum IgG. While ACPA-titers only moderately declined,the frequency of ACPA-specific switched memory B-cells significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS Abatacept directly targets B-cells by reducing CD80/CD86 expression. Impairment of antigen presentation and T-cell activation may result in altered B-cell selection,providing a new therapeutic mechanism and a base for abatacept use in B-cell mediated autoimmunity. View Publication

Primitive hematopoietic cells from several species are known to efflux both Hoechst 33342 and Rhodamine-123. We now show that murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) defined by long-term multilineage repopulation assays efflux both dyes variably according to their developmental or activation status. In day 14.5 murine fetal liver,very few HSCs efflux Hoechst 33342 efficiently,and they are thus not detected as side population" (SP) cells. HSCs in mouse fetal liver also fail to efflux Rhodamine-123. Both of these features are retained by most of the HSCs present until 4 weeks after birth but are reversed by 8 weeks of age or after a new HSC population is regenerated in adult mice that receive transplants with murine fetal liver cells. Activation of adult HSCs in vivo following 5-fluorouracil treatment� View Publication

B cell-activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family,or BAFF,is mainly produced in monocytes and dendritic cells,and indispensable for proliferation,differentiation and survival of B cells. BAFF is a type II membrane-bound protein and the extracellular C-terminal fragment is released from the cells as soluble BAFF (sBAFF),which binds to specific receptors on B cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that BAFF plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases,such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study,we developed a sensitive sandwich ELISA system to quantify the amount of sBAFF using our own mAb. Treatment of peripheral T cells of SLE patients with an anti-CD3 antibody triggered robust expression of BAFF and subsequent release of sBAFF from the cells. On the other hand,the stimulus induced only marginal elevation of sBAFF from normal T cells. These data indicate that BAFF is expressed in T cells upon stimulation at least under pathological conditions. Expression of BAFF was also largely induced in a human T cell line,Loucy (American Type Tissue Collection CRL-2629),in response to several stimuli,while other T cell lines so far examined produced the cytokine almost constitutively. These data suggest that Loucy recapitulates some of the characteristics of SLE T cells. Investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms of production of BAFF in Loucy demonstrated that expression of BAFF was regulated through a signal transduction pathway which involves c-jun NH2-terminal kinase and p38,and that shedding of BAFF was catalyzed by a membrane-bound protease,furin. View Publication

Preferential activation of regulatory T (Treg) cells limits autoimmune tissue damage during chronic immune responses but can also facilitate tumor growth. Here,we show that tissue-produced inflammatory mediators prime maturing dendritic cells (DC) for the differential ability of attracting anti-inflammatory Treg cells. Our data show that prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)),a factor overproduced in chronic inflammation and cancer,induces stable Treg-attracting properties in maturing DC,mediated by CCL22. The elevated production of CCL22 by PGE(2)-matured DC persists after the removal of PGE(2) and is further elevated after secondary stimulation of DC in a neutral environment. This PGE(2)-induced overproduction of CCL22 and the resulting attraction of FOXP3(+) Tregs are counteracted by IFN alpha,a mediator of acute inflammation,which also restores the ability of the PGE(2)-exposed DC to secrete the Th1-attracting chemokines: CXCL9,CXCL10,CXCL11,and CCL5. In accordance with these observations,different DCs clinically used as cancer vaccines show different Treg-recruiting abilities,with PGE(2)-matured DC,but not type 1-polarized DC,generated in the presence of type I and type II IFNs,showing high Treg-attracting activity. The current data,showing that the ability of mature DC to interact with Treg cells is predetermined at the stage of DC maturation,pave the way to preferentially target the regulatory versus proinflammatory T cells in autoimmunity and transplantation,as opposed to intracellular infections and cancer. View Publication

Prior experimental strategies to induce transplantation tolerance have focused largely on modifying adaptive immunity. However,less is known concerning the role of innate immune signaling in the induction of transplantation tolerance. Using a highly immunogenic murine skin transplant model that resists transplantation tolerance induction when innate immunity is preserved,we show that absence of MyD88,a key innate Toll like receptor signal adaptor,abrogates this resistance and facilitates inducible allograft acceptance. In our model,absence of MyD88 impairs inflammatory dendritic cell responses that reduce T cell activation. This effect increases T cell susceptibility to suppression mediated by CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells. Therefore,this study provides evidence that absence of MyD88 promotes inducible allograft acceptance and implies that inhibiting innate immunity may be a potential,clinically relevant strategy to facilitate transplantation tolerance. View Publication

Disruption of pathways leading to programmed cell death plays a major role in most malignancies,including multiple myeloma (MM). ABT-737 is a BH3 mimetic small-molecule inhibitor that binds with high affinity to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL,preventing the sequestration of proapoptotic molecules and shifting the cell survival/apoptosis balance toward apoptosis induction. In this study,we show that ABT-737 is cytotoxic to MM cell lines,including those resistant to conventional therapies,and primary tumor cells. Flow cytometric analysis of intracellular levels of Bcl-2 family proteins demonstrates a clear inversion of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio leading to induction of apoptosis. Activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was indicated by mitochondrial membrane depolarization and caspase cleavage. Additionally,several signaling pathways known to be important for MM cell survival are disrupted following treatment with ABT-737. The impact of ABT-737 on survival could not be overcome by the addition of interleukin-6,vascular endothelial growth factor or insulin-like growth factor,suggesting that ABT-737 may be effective in preventing the growth and survival signals provided by the microenvironment. These data indicate that therapies targeting apoptotic pathways may be effective in MM treatment and warrant clinical evaluation of ABT-737 and similar drugs alone or in combination with other agents in the setting of MM. View Publication

Patients with sepsis are immune compromised,as evidenced by their failure to clear their primary infection and their propensity to develop secondary infections with pathogens that are often not particularly virulent in normal healthy individuals. A potential mechanism for immunosuppression in sepsis is lymphocyte apoptosis,which may occur by either a death receptor or a mitochondrial-mediated pathway. A prospective study of blood samples from 71 patients with sepsis,55 nonseptic patients,and 6 healthy volunteers was undertaken to quantitate lymphocyte apoptosis and determine cell death pathways and mechanisms of apoptosis. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry and Western blotting. Lymphocyte apoptosis was increased in CD4 and CD8 T cells,B cells (CD20),and NK cells (CD56) in septic vs nonseptic patients. Samples taken sequentially from 10 patients with sepsis showed that the degree of CD3 T cell apoptosis correlated with the activity of his/her sepsis. In septic patients,apoptotic lymphocytes were positive for active caspases 8 and 9,consistent with death occurring by both mitochondrial-mediated and receptor-mediated pathways. In support of the concept that both death pathways were operative,lymphocyte apoptosis occurred in cells with markedly decreased Bcl-2 (an inhibitor of mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis) as well as cells with normal concentrations of Bcl-2. In conclusion,apoptosis occurs in a broad range of lymphocyte subsets in patients with sepsis and correlates with the activity of the disease. Lymphocyte loss occurs by both death receptor and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis,suggesting that there may be multiple triggers for lymphocyte apoptosis. View Publication

The purpose of these studies is to determine why an immunogenic tumor grows unchecked in the anterior chamber (a.c.) of the eye. The OVA-expressing EL4 tumor,E.G7-OVA,was injected into the a.c. or skin of immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Tumor growth and tumor-specific immune responses were monitored. Ocular tumor-infiltrating leukocytes were characterized phenotypically and functionally. Growth of E.G7-OVA was inhibited when limiting numbers of cells were injected in the skin but not in the a.c. of C57BL/6 mice,although both routes primed OVA-specific immune responses,which prevented the growth of a subsequent injection with E.G7-OVA in the skin or opposite eye. Tumor regression was OVA-specific because growth of the parental EL-4 tumor was not inhibited in primed mice. E.G7-OVA growth in the skin was not inhibited in immunodeficient Rag(-/-) or CD8 T cell-deficient mice,suggesting that CD8(+) CTLs mediate tumor elimination. CD8(+) T cell numbers were significantly increased in eyes of mice primed with E.G7-OVA,but few were detected in primary ocular tumors. Nevertheless,growth of E.G7-OVA was retarded in the a.c. of TCR-transgenic OT-I mice,and CD8(+) T cell numbers were increased within eyes,suggesting that tumor-specific CD8(+) CTLs migrated into and controlled primary ocular tumor growth. E.G7-OVA did not lose antigenicity or become immunosuppressive after 13 days of growth in the eye. However,CD11b(+) cells accumulated in primary ocular tumors and contained potent immunosuppressive activity when assayed in vitro. Thus,CD11b(+) cells that accumulate within the eye as tumors develop in the a.c. may contribute to immune evasion by primary ocular tumors by inhibiting CTLs within the eye. View Publication

The germinal center (GC) reaction in Peyer's patches (PP) requires continuous access to antigens,but how this is achieved is not known. Here we show that activated antigen-specific CCR6+CCR1+GL7- B cells make close contact with M cells in the subepithelial dome (SED). Using in situ photoactivation analysis of antigen-specific SED B cells,we find migration of cells towards the GC. Following antigen injection into ligated intestinal loops containing PPs,40{\%} of antigen-specific SED B cells bind antigen within 2 h,whereas unspecifc cells do not,indicating B cell-receptor involvment. Antigen-loading is not observed in M cell-deficient mice,but is unperturbed in mice depleted of classical dendritic cells (DC). Thus,we report a M cell-B cell antigen-specific transporting pathway in PP that is independent of DC. We propose that this antigen transporting pathway has a critical role in gut IgA responses,and should be taken into account when developing mucosal vaccines. View Publication