scholarly journals Characterization of Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses Elicited by Meningococcal Carriage

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1301-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Robinson ◽  
K. R. Neal ◽  
C. Howard ◽  
J. Stockton ◽  
K. Atkinson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In order to study the immune response elicited by asymptomatic carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, samples of serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and saliva were collected from a cohort of more than 200 undergraduate students in Nottingham, United Kingdom, who were subject to high rates of acquisition and carriage of meningococci. Serum immunoglobulin G levels were elevated following increases in the rate of carriage, and these responses were specific for the colonizing strains. In order to investigate T-cell responses, PBMCs from 15 individuals were stimulated with a whole-cell lysate of the H44/76 meningococcal strain (B:15:P1.7,16), stained to detect cell surface markers and intracellular cytokines, and examined by flow cytometry. The cells were analyzed for expression of CD69 (to indicate activation), gamma interferon (IFN-γ) (a representative T-helper 1 subset [Th1]-associated cytokine), and interleukin-5 (IL-5) (a Th2-associated cytokine). Following a brief meningococcal stimulation, the numbers of CD69+ IFN-γ+ CD56/16+ NK cells were much higher than cytokine-positive CD4+ events. Both IFN-γ+ and IL-5+ events were detected among the CD69+ CD4+ population, leading to the conclusion that an unbiased T-helper subset response was elicited by meningococcal carriage.

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynsey M Mills ◽  
Heather Wilson ◽  
Frank Thies

Increased lycopene intake might have cardiovascular benefits, potentially through anti-inflammatory mechanisms. We recently showed that lycopene can influence lymphocyte activity by modulating processes involved in early cellular activation. T lymphocytes comprise different subsets, T cytotoxic, T helper 1 (Th1), T helper 2 (Th2) and T regulatory cells (Treg). We aimed to determine whether lycopene could specifically modulate T-cell subsets function and activity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 11 healthy adults were cultured for 18hr to 60h in the presence of lycopene-enriched liposomes (0-1.18μg lycopene/ml) with or without mitogens. The secretion of cytokines representative of Th1,Th2 and Treg activities were measured by ELISA (IL-2, IL-1β, IL-10, IFN-γ and TGF-β) or cytometric bead array (IL-4, IL-10, IL17 and IFN-γ). The population profile of Tc (CD3+/CD8+), Th (CD3+/CD4+), Treg (CD4+/CD25+), and the Treg subsets nTreg (CD4+/CD25+/FoxP3+) and iTreg (CD4+/CD25+/IL-10+) was determined by flow cytometry. After 18h incubation, IL-2 concentration in the medium was significantly reduced (-29%, p=0.001) in the presence of lycopene (1.18μg/mL). Similar effects were observed after 36h and 60h culture for IFN-γ (-23%, p=0.015), Il-10 (-30%, p=0.023), IL-17 (-30%, p=0.019) but not IL-4 or TGF-β. The proportion of Treg cell was also significantly increased by 36% (p=0.001) in the presence of lycopene (1.18μg/mL) compared with non-treated activated cells. Furthermore, the proportions of iTreg cells were significantly increased by after incubation with lycopene while the proportion of nTreg cells decreased (-20.5 %, p=0.049). We conclude that increased lycopene intake may be beneficial against atherogenesis by modulating T lymphocyte function, particularly in relation toTh1 and Treg.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3165-3171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Michailowsky ◽  
Keith Luhrs ◽  
Manoel Otávio C. Rocha ◽  
David Fouts ◽  
Ricardo T. Gazzinelli ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Sera and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients displaying different clinical symptoms as well as from normal uninfected individuals (NI) were used to evaluate the humoral and cellular responses of Chagas' disease patients to Trypanosoma cruzi-derived paraflagellar rod proteins (PFR). Our results show that sera from both asymptomatic Chagas' disease patients (ACP) and cardiac Chagas' disease patients (CCP) have higher levels of antibodies to PFR than sera from NI. Immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG3 were the main Ig isotypes that recognized PFR. We also tested three recombinant forms of PFR, named rPAR-1, rPAR-2, and rPAR-3, by Western blot analysis. Sera from seven out of eight patients with Chagas' disease recognized one of the three rPAR forms. Sera from 75, 50, and 37.5% of Chagas' disease patients tested recognized rPAR-3, rPAR-2, and rPAR-1, respectively. PFR induced proliferation of 100 and 70% of PBMC from ACP and CCP, respectively. Further, stimulation of cells from Chagas' disease patients with PFR enhanced the frequencies of both small and large CD4+ CD25+ and CD4+ CD69+ lymphocytes, as well as that of small CD8+ CD25+ lymphocytes. Finally, we evaluated the ability of PFR to elicit the production of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) by PBMC from patients with Chagas' disease. Fifty percent of the PBMC from ACP as well as CCP produced IFN-γ upon stimulation with PFR. PFR enhanced the percentages of IFN-γ-producing cells in both CD3+ and CD3− populations. Within the T-cell population, large CD4+ T lymphocytes were the main source of IFN-γ.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 3873-3873
Author(s):  
Godfrey ChiFung Chan ◽  
W.K. Chan ◽  
H.K. Law ◽  
Z.B. Lin ◽  
Y.L. Lau

Abstract Background: Purified polysaccharides extracted from plants and fungi have been shown to induce immune responses in-vivo and vitro over the past decade. Currently, most of these polysaccharides are found to be glucan but with different branch structure and sizes. Their relative potency and effect on human immune cells remains unknown. This study aims to compare their relative effect on human dendritic cell, the most potent antigen presenting cell. Materials & Methods: We selected 2 prototypes of purified polysaccharides extracted from: 1) Ganoderma lucidum (GL, Lingzhi, Reishi) mycelium, a widely used herb with long and branching β (1® 3), (1® 6) glucan structure (provided by Prof. Lin ZB, Beijing) and 2) Barley with shorter and different branching β (1® 3), (1® 4) structure (provided by Prof. Cheung VNK, NY). Their characteristics and chemical properties had been reported previously. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proliferation was studied by XTT assay. Human dendritic cells (DCs) were derived from monocytes and maturation of DCs were determined by: a) immunophenotypic shift using flow cytometer; 2) dextran endocytosis assay and 3) mixed lymphocytes reaction. Cytokine secretions were determined by ELISA test. Comparisons between means were by nonparametric Student’s t test (2-tailed). Results: We found that purified polysaccharides from GL but not barley could induce PBMCs proliferation and maturation of DCs. GL polysaccharides could enhance phenotypic and functional maturation of DCs with significant IL-12 and IL-10 production. DCs were relatively inert to Barley glucans stimulation. However, both polysaccharides did not polarize T cells into the direction of T helper 1, T helper 2 or regulatory T cells. Conclusions: Our study shown that purified polysaccharides extracted from plants and fungi have different effect on human DCs and their potency and effects are probably affected by their respective sources and structures.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.W. Liu ◽  
T.Y. Fu ◽  
W.S. Peng ◽  
Y.H. Chen ◽  
Y.M. Cao ◽  
...  

The efficacy of Lactobacillus paracasei V0151 (V0151), isolated from the faeces of a child, to modulate immune responses was investigated. In RAW 264.7 cells expressing an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-directed luciferase gene, heat-inactivated V0151 stimulated iNOS expression followed by nitric oxide production. V0151 significantly elevated interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, tumour necrosis factor alpha, and IL-1β production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In splenocytes isolated from ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitised BALB/c mice treated with OVA and V0151 at different bacterium-to-cell ratios (1:1, 10:1, and 20:1) for 96 h, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 production was dose-dependently downregulated, whereas IL-12 was dose-dependently upregulated. Collectively, our findings indicate that V0151 might regulate pro-inflammatory factors in macrophages and splenocytes. Furthermore, the T helper 1/T helper 2 (Th1/Th2) balance was also skewed toward Th1 dominance through the elevation of Th1 cytokine production.


2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 1888-1893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taufiqur Rahman Bhuiyan ◽  
Samuel B. Lundin ◽  
Ashraful Islam Khan ◽  
Anna Lundgren ◽  
Jason B. Harris ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Considerable effort is being made to understand the acute and memory antibody responses in natural cholera infection, while rather less is known about the roles of cellular immune responses involving T and B lymphocytes. We studied responses in adult patients hospitalized with cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae O1. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients (n = 15) were analyzed by flow cytometry after stimulation with V. cholerae O1 membrane protein (MP) or toxin-coregulated pilus antigen (TcpA). The gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) responses in stimulated-lymphocyte supernatants were studied. The responses were compared with those of healthy controls (n = 10). Patients responded with increased frequencies of gut-homing CD4+ T cells (CD4+ β7+), gut-homing CD8+ T cells (CD8+ β7+), and gut-homing B cells (CD19+ β7+) at the early and/or late convalescent stages compared to the acute stage. After stimulation with MP or TcpA, proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was increased at the acute stage and/or early convalescent stage compared to healthy controls. Increased IL-13 and IFN-γ responses were observed after antigenic stimulation at the acute and convalescent stages compared to healthy controls. Thus, increases in the levels of gut-homing T and B cells, as well as involvement of CD8 and CD4 Th1-mediated (IFN-γ) and CD4 Th2-mediated (IL-13) cytokine responses, take place in acute dehydrating disease caused by V. cholerae O1. Further studies are needed to determine if such responses are also stimulated after immunization with oral cholera vaccines and if these responses play a role in protection following exposure to cholera.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 00025-2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice C-H. Chen ◽  
Yang Xi ◽  
Melanie Carroll ◽  
Helen L. Petsky ◽  
Samantha J. Gardiner ◽  
...  

Protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) in young children is a common cause of prolonged wet cough and may be a precursor to bronchiectasis in some children. Although PBB and bronchiectasis are both characterised by neutrophilic airway inflammation and a prominent interleukin (IL)-1β signature, the contribution of the IL-1β pathway to host defence is not clear.This study aimed to compare systemic immune responses against common pathogens in children with PBB, bronchiectasis and control children and to determine the importance of the IL-1β pathway.Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from control subjects (n=20), those with recurrent PBB (n=20) and bronchiectasis (n=20) induced high concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-10. Blocking with an IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) modified the cellular response to pathogens, inhibiting cytokine synthesis by NTHi-stimulated PBMCs and rhinovirus-stimulated PBMCs (in a separate PBB cohort). Inhibition of IFN-γ production by IL-1Ra was observed across multiple cell types, including CD3+ T cells and CD56+ NK cells.Our findings highlight the extent to which IL-1β regulates the cellular immune response against two common respiratory pathogens. While blocking the IL-1β pathway has the potential to reduce inflammation, this may come at the cost of protective immunity against NTHi and rhinovirus.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Torres ◽  
Teresa Herrera ◽  
Hector Villareal ◽  
Elizabeth A. Rich ◽  
Eduardo Sada

ABSTRACT Patients with active tuberculosis (TB) have a stronger humoral but a poorer cellular immune response to the secreted 30-kDa antigen (Ag) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis than do healthy household contacts (HHC), who presumably are more protected against disease. The basis for this observation was studied by examining the Th1 (interleukin 2 [IL-2] and gamma interferon [IFN-γ])- and Th2 (IL-10 and IL-4)-type cytokines produced in response to the 30-kDa Ag by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with active pulmonary TB (n = 7) and from HHC who were tuberculin (purified protein derivative) skin test positive (n = 12). Thirty-kilodalton-Ag-stimulated PBMC from TB patients produced significantly lower levels of IFN-γ (none detectable) than did those from HHC (212 ± 73 pg/ml, mean ± standard error) (P < 0.001). Likewise, 30-kDa-Ag-stimulated PBMC from TB patients failed to express IFN-γ mRNA by reverse transcription-PCR, whereas cells from HHC expressed the IFN-γ gene. In contrast, 30-kDa-Ag-stimulated PBMC from TB patients produced significantly higher levels of IL-10 (403 ± 80 pg/ml) than did those from HHC (187 ± 66 pg/ml) (P < 0.013), although cells from both groups expressed the IL-10 gene. IL-2 and IL-4 were not consistently produced, and their genes were not expressed by 30-kDa-Ag-stimulated cells from either TB patients or HHC. After treatment with antituberculous drugs, lymphocytes from four of the seven TB patients proliferated and three of them expressed IFN-γ mRNA in response to the 30-kDa Ag and produced decreased levels of IL-10.


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