scholarly journals Prions and the lymphoreticular system

2001 ◽  
Vol 356 (1406) ◽  
pp. 177-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Weissmann ◽  
Alex J. Raeber ◽  
Fabio Montrasio ◽  
Ivan Hegyi ◽  
Rico Frigg ◽  
...  

Following intracerebral or peripheral inoculation of mice with scrapie prions, infectivity accumulates first in the spleen and only later in the brain. In the spleen of scrapie–infected mice, prions were found in association with T and B lymphocytes and to a somewhat lesser degree with the stroma, which contains the follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) but not with non–B, non–T cells; strikingly, no infectivity was found in lymphocytes from blood of the same mice. Transgenic PrP knockout mice expressing PrP restricted to either B or T lymphocytes show no prion replication in the lymphoreticular system. Therefore, splenic lymphocytes either acquire prions from another source or replicate them in dependency on other PrP–expressing cells. The essential role of FDCs in prion replication in spleen was shown by treating mice with soluble lymphotoxin–β receptor, which led to disappearance of mature FDCs from the spleen and concomitantly abolished splenic prion accumulation and retarded neuroinvasion following intraperitoneal scrapie inoculation.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ronkina ◽  
K. Schuster-Gossler ◽  
F. Hansmann ◽  
H. Kunze-Schumacher ◽  
I. Sandrock ◽  
...  

AbstractMAPK6/ERK3 is an atypical member of the MAPKs. An essential role has been suggested by the perinatal lethal phenotype of ERK3 knockout mice carrying a lacZ insertion in exon 2 due to pulmonary disfunction and by defects in function, activation and positive selection of T cells. To study the role of ERK3 in vivo, we generated mice carrying a conditional Erk3 allele with exon3 flanked by LoxP sites. Loss of ERK3 protein was validated after deletion of Erk3 in the female germ line using zona pellucida 3 (Zp3)-cre and a clear reduction of the protein kinase MK5 is detected, providing first evidence for the existence of the ERK3/MK5 signaling complex in vivo. In contrast to the previously reported Erk3 knockout phenotype, these mice are viable and fertile, do not display pulmonary hypoplasia, acute respiratory failure, abnormal T cell development, reduction of thymocyte numbers or altered T cells selection. Hence, ERK3 is dispensable for pulmonary and T-cell functions. The perinatal lethality, lung and T-cell defects of the previous ERK3 knockout mice are likely due to ERK3-unrelated effects of the inserted lacZ-neomycin-resistance-cassette. The knockout mouse of the closely related atypical MAPK ERK4/MAPK4 is also normal suggesting redundant functions of both protein kinases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Lisk ◽  
Rachel Yuen ◽  
Jeff Kuniholm ◽  
Danielle Antos ◽  
Michael L. Reiser ◽  
...  

Vaccines have played a pivotal role in improving public health, however, many infectious diseases lack an effective vaccine. Controlling the spread of infectious diseases requires continuing studies to develop new and improved vaccines. Our laboratory has been investigating the immune enhancing mechanisms of Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand-based adjuvants, including the TLR2 ligand Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane protein, PorB. Adjuvant use of PorB increases costimulatory factors on antigen presenting cells (APC), increases antigen specific antibody production, and cytokine producing T cells. We have demonstrated that macrophage expression of MyD88 (required for TLR2 signaling) is an absolute requirement for the improved antibody response induced by PorB. Here-in, we specifically investigated the role of subcapsular CD169+ marginal zone macrophages in antibody production induced by the use of TLR-ligand based adjuvants (PorB and CpG) and non-TLR-ligand adjuvants (aluminum salts). CD169 knockout mice and mice treated with low dose clodronate treated animals (which only remove marginal zone macrophages), were used to investigate the role of these macrophages in adjuvant-dependent antibody production. In both sets of mice, total antigen specific immunoglobulins (IgGs) were diminished regardless of adjuvant used. However, the greatest reduction was seen with the use of TLR ligands as adjuvants. In addition, the effect of the absence of CD169+ macrophages on adjuvant induced antigen and antigen presenting cell trafficking to the lymph nodes was examined using immunofluorescence by determining the relative extent of antigen loading on dendritic cells (DCs) and antigen deposition on follicular dendritic cells (FDC). Interestingly, only vaccine preparations containing PorB had significant decreases in antigen deposition in lymphoid follicles and germinal centers in CD169 knockout mice or mice treated with low dose clodronate as compared to wildtype controls. Mice immunized with CpG containing preparations demonstrated decreased FDC networks in the mice treated with low dose clodronate. Conversely, alum containing preparations only demonstrated significant decreases in IgG in CD169 knockout mice. These studies stress that importance of subcapsular macrophages and their unique role in adjuvant-mediated antibody production, potentially due to an effect of these adjuvants on antigen trafficking to the lymph node and deposition on follicular dendritic cells.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 4575-4581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Makino ◽  
Satoshi Shimokubo ◽  
Shin-Ichi Wakamatsu ◽  
Shuji Izumo ◽  
Masanori Baba

ABSTRACT The development of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is closely associated with the activation of T cells which are HTLV-1 specific but may cross-react with neural antigens (Ags). Immature dendritic cells (DCs), differentiated from normal donor monocytes by using recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and recombinant interleukin-4, were pulsed with HTLV-1 in vitro. The pulsed DCs contained HTLV-1 proviral DNA and expressed HTLV-1 Gag Ag on their surface 6 days after infection. The DCs matured by lipopolysaccharides stimulated autologous CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells in a viral dose-dependent manner. However, the proliferation level of CD4+ T cells was five- to sixfold higher than that of CD8+ T cells. In contrast to virus-infected DCs, DCs pulsed with heat-inactivated virions activated only CD4+ T cells. To clarify the role of DCs in HAM/TSP development, monocytes from patients were cultured for 4 days in the presence of the cytokines. The expression of CD86 Ag on DCs was higher and that of CD1a Ag was more down-regulated than in DCs generated from normal monocytes. DCs from two of five patients expressed HTLV-1 Gag Ag. Furthermore, both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from the patients were greatly stimulated by contact with autologous DCs pulsed with inactivated viral Ag as well as HTLV-1-infected DCs. These results suggest that DCs are susceptible to HTLV-1 infection and that their cognate interaction with T cells may contribute to the development of HAM/TSP.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Hailfinger ◽  
Klaus Schulze-Osthoff

Abstract Psoriasis is a frequent autoimmune-related skin disease, which involves various cell types such as T cells, keratinocytes and dendritic cells. Genetic variations, such as mutations of CARD14, can promote the development of the disease. CARD14 mutations as well as the stimulation of immune and cytokine receptors activate the paracaspase MALT1, a potent activator of the transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1. The disease-promoting role of MALT1 for psoriasis is mediated by both its protease activity as well as its molecular scaffold function. Here, we review the importance of MALT1-mediated signaling and its therapeutic implications in psoriasis.


Immunology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Janke ◽  
Esther J. Witsch ◽  
Hans W. Mages ◽  
Andreas Hutloff ◽  
Richard A. Kroczek

Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 1962-1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Granziero ◽  
Paola Circosta ◽  
Cristina Scielzo ◽  
Elisa Frisaldi ◽  
Stefania Stella ◽  
...  

Growth and survival of chronic B-cell tumors are favored by the malignant cell's capacity to respond to selected microenvironmental stimuli provided by nontumoral bystander cells. To investigate which mechanisms operate in these crosstalks and whether they are malignancy-related or reproduce the mechanisms used by normal B cells we have studied the expression and functional role of semaphorin CD100 (now called Sema4D) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells and normal CD5+ B cells. We demonstrate here that (1) leukemic and normal CD5+ B lymphocytes uniformly express CD100; (2) the CD100 high-affinity receptor Plexin-B1 is expressed by bone marrow stromal cells, follicular dendritic cells, and activated T lymphocytes, and is thus available to CD100+ lymphocytes in different specific microenvironments; and (3) upon interaction between CD100 and Plexin-B1 both CLL and normal CD5+ B cells increase their proliferative activity and extend their life span. These findings establish that Plexin-B1 is an easily accessible receptor for CD100 within the immune system. The encounter of CD100+ leukemic cells with Plexin-B1 may promote the proliferation and survival of malignant cells. The crosstalk operated by the CD100/Plexin-B1 interaction is not malignancy related but reproduces a mechanism used by normal CD5+ B cells.


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