The relationship between the mechanical properties of cells and their molecular architecture has been the focus of extensive research for decades. The cytoskeleton, an internal polymer network, in particular determines a cell's mechanical strength and morphology. This cytoskeleton evolves during the normal differentiation of cells, is involved in many cellular functions, and is characteristically altered in many diseases, including cancer. Here we examine this hypothesized link between function and elasticity, enabling the distinction between different cells, by using a microfluidic optical stretcher, a two-beam laser trap optimized to serially deform single suspended cells by optically induced surface forces. In contrast to previous cell elasticity measurement techniques, statistically relevant numbers of single cells can be measured in rapid succession through microfluidic delivery, without any modification or contact. We find that optical deformability is sensitive enough to monitor the subtle changes during the progression of mouse fibroblasts and human breast epithelial cells from normal to cancerous and even metastatic state. The surprisingly low numbers of cells required for this distinction reflect the tight regulation of the cytoskeleton by the cell. This suggests using optical deformability as an inherent cell marker for basic cell biological investigation and diagnosis of disease.

Both the dendritic cell receptor DC-SIGN and the closely related endothelial cell receptor DC-SIGNR bind human immunodeficiency virus and enhance infection. However, biochemical and structural comparison of these receptors now reveals that they have very different physiological functions. By screening an extensive glycan array, we demonstrated that DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR have distinct ligand-binding properties. Our structural and mutagenesis data explain how both receptors bind high-mannose oligosaccharides on enveloped viruses and why only DC-SIGN binds blood group antigens, including those present on microorganisms. DC-SIGN mediates endocytosis, trafficking as a recycling receptor and releasing ligand at endosomal pH, whereas DC-SIGNR does not release ligand at low pH or mediate endocytosis. Thus, whereas DC-SIGN has dual ligand-binding properties and functions both in adhesion and in endocytosis of pathogens, DC-SIGNR binds a restricted set of ligands and has only the properties of an adhesion receptor.

Dendritic cell specific intracellular adhesion molecule-3 (ICAM-3) grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), a C-type lectin present on the surface of dendritic cells, mediates the initial interaction of dendritic cells with T cells by binding to ICAM-3. DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR, a related receptor found on the endothelium of liver sinusoids, placental capillaries, and lymph nodes, bind to oligosaccharides that are present on the envelope of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), an interaction that strongly promotes viral infection of T cells. Crystal structures of carbohydrate-recognition domains of DC-SIGN and of DC-SIGNR bound to oligosaccharide, in combination with binding studies, reveal that these receptors selectively recognize endogenous high-mannose oligosaccharides and may represent a new avenue for developing HIV prophylactics.

DC-SIGN1 (dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3 grabbing nonintegrin; CD209), a novel cell-surface C-type lectin expressed on dendritic cells, has been shown to mediate interactions between dendritic cells and T-cells by binding ICAM-3 (1). These interactions are independent of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, which is the conventional ICAM-3 ligand. DC-SIGN also binds the gp120 envelope glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus-1 and facilitates viral infection in trans of target CD4ϩ T-cells (2, 3). The DC-SIGN gene is located on human chromosome 19p13, proximal to a gene encoding a closely related protein, termed DC-SIGNR (DC-SIGN-related) (4). Possible biological roles of DC-SIGNR have recently emerged, with reports demonstrating its capacity to bind ICAM-3, and also to gp120, mediating human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection in trans (5, 6). However, it is expressed on liver sinusoidal endothelium, the endothelium of lymph node sinuses, and placental capillary endothelium, rather than on dendritic cells. Low levels of DC-SIGN are co-expressed with DC-SIGNR on lymph node sinus endothelium.2 DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR are type II transmembrane proteins that share 77% amino acid sequence identity (4). The extracellular domain of each consists of a series of seven and a half tandem repeats of a highly conserved sequence of 23 amino acids followed by a C-terminal C-type carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Both ICAM-3 and gp120 carry an abundance of N-linked high mannose oligosaccharides. Binding of ICAM-3 to DC-SIGN requires Ca 2ϩ , and interaction between DC-SIGN and gp120 is inhibited by mannan, mannose, and EGTA (1, 2). These findings indicate that ligand binding is probably mediated through binding of carbohydrates by the CRD in a Ca 2ϩ -dependent manner. This hypothesis is consistent with the presence of residues believed to be necessary for mannose-binding to a C-type CRD in both DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR (7).It has been suggested that the repeating sequences between the transmembrane region and the CRDs mediate oligomer formation by forming an ␣-helical coiled-coil (2, 4). Similar structures mediate the oligomerization of other cell surface C-type lectins such as the mammalian hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor, and the subunit organization of these oligomeric complexes is critical to their biological functions. Polymorphic variants of the DC-SIGNR cDNA have been identified in which the length of the encoded neck regions differ, indicating that the cell-surface role of DC-SIGNR could be influenced by its specific neck structure (5).In this study, soluble recombinant fragments of DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR have been used to demonstrate that the extracellular domain of each molecule is a tetramer stabilized by an ␣-helical neck and that the individual CRDs possess high affinity for mannose-containing oligosaccharides. This information suggests that DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR employ a novel mechanism of carbohydrate recognition to achieve specificity for their natural ligands by binding multiple high mannose oligosacchar...

The cryopreservation of cells, tissue and organs is fundamental to modern biotechnology, transplantation medicine and chemical biology. The current state-of-the-art method of cryopreservation is the addition of large amounts of organic solvents such as glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide, to promote vitrification and prevent ice formation. Here we employ a synthetic, biomimetic, polymer, which is capable of slowing the growth of ice crystals in a manner similar to antifreeze (glyco)proteins to enhance the cryopreservation of sheep and human red blood cells. We find that only 0.1 wt% of the polymer is required to attain significant cell recovery post freezing, compared with over 20 wt% required for solvent-based strategies. These results demonstrate that synthetic antifreeze (glyco)protein mimics could have a crucial role in modern regenerative medicine to improve the storage and distribution of biological material for transplantation.

Serum amyloid P component (SAP), a highly conserved plasma protein named for its universal presence in amyloid deposits, is the single normal circulating protein that shows specific calcium-dependent binding to DNA and chromatin in physiological conditions. The avid binding of SAP displaces H1-type histones and thereby solubilizes native long chromatin, which is otherwise profoundly insoluble at the physiological ionic strength of extracellular fluids. Furthermore, SAP binds in vivo both to apoptotic cells, the surface blebs of which bear chromatin fragments, and to nuclear debris released by necrosis. SAP may therefore participate in handling of chromatin exposed by cell death. Here we show that mice with targeted deletion of the SAP gene spontaneously develop antinuclear autoimmunity and severe glomerulonephritis, a phenotype resembling human systemic lupus erythematosus, a serious autoimmune disease. The SAP-/- mice also have enhanced anti-DNA responses to immunization with extrinsic chromatin, and we demonstrate that degradation of long chromatin is retarded in the presence of SAP both in vitro and in vivo. These findings indicate that SAP has an important physiological role, inhibiting the formation of pathogenic autoantibodies against chromatin and DNA, probably by binding to chromatin and regulating its degradation.

Synthesis of well-defined neoglycopolymer-protein biohybrid materials and a preliminary study focused on their ability of binding mammalian lectins and inducing immunological function is reported. Crucial intermediates for their preparation are well-defined maleimide-terminated neoglycopolymers (Mn ) 8-30 kDa; Mw/Mn ) 1.20-1.28) presenting multiple copies of mannose epitope units, obtained by combination of transition-metal-mediated living radical polymerization (TMM LRP) and Huisgen [2+3] cycloaddition. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was employed as single thiol-containing model protein, and the resulting bioconjugates were purified following two independent protocols and characterized by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, SDS PAGE, and SEC HPLC. The versatility of the synthetic strategy presented in this work was demonstrated by preparing a small library of conjugating glycopolymers that only differ from each other for their relative epitope density were prepared by coclicking of appropriate mixtures of mannopyranoside and galactopyranoside azides to the same polyalkyne scaffold intermediate. Surface plasmon resonance binding studies carried out using recombinant rat mannose-binding lectin (MBL) showed clear and dose-dependent MBL binding to glycopolymer-conjugated BSA. In addition, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that the neoglycopolymer-protein materials described in this work possess significantly enhanced capacity to activate complement via the lectin pathway when compared with native unmodified BSA.

The human cell surface receptors DC-SIGN (dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-grabbing nonintegrin) and DC-SIGNR (DC-SIGN-related) bind to oligosaccharide ligands found on human tissues as well as on pathogens including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The extracellular portion of each receptor contains a membrane-distal carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) and forms tetramers stabilized by an extended neck region consisting of 23 amino acid repeats. Cross-linking analysis of full-length receptors expressed in fibroblasts confirms the tetrameric state of the intact receptors. Hydrodynamic studies on truncated receptors demonstrate that the portion of the neck of each protein adjacent to the CRD is sufficient to mediate the formation of dimers, whereas regions near the N terminus are needed to stabilize the tetramers. Some of the intervening repeats are missing from polymorphic forms of DC-SIGNR. Two different crystal forms of truncated DC-SIGNR comprising two neck repeats and the CRD reveal that the CRDs are flexibly linked to the neck, which contains ␣-helical segments interspersed with non-helical regions. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicate that the neck and CRDs are independently folded domains. Based on the crystal structures and hydrodynamic data, models for the full extracellular domains of the receptors have been generated. The observed flexibility of the CRDs in the tetramer, combined with previous data on the specificity of these receptors, suggests an important role for oligomerization in the recognition of endogenous glycans, in particular those present on the surfaces of enveloped viruses recognized by these proteins.The dendritic cell receptor DC-SIGN 1 and the closely related DC-SIGNR found on endothelial cells have been of considerable interest because of their ability to enhance infection of T cells by the human immunodeficiency virus and because of their interactions with glycoproteins found on the surface of other enveloped viruses (1, 2). The physiological functions of these receptors are not known with certainty, but DC-SIGN has been ascribed roles in binding to intercellular adhesion molecule 3 on T cells and intercellular adhesion molecule 2 on endothelia, as well as in uptake of pathogens (3-7). Although DC-SIGN binds to a broad spectrum of glycans, it has highest affinity for N-linked high mannose oligosaccharides and fucose-containing structures that are found both as blood group antigens in human tissues and on the surfaces of certain parasites (7,8). DC-SIGNR binds only to the high mannose oligosaccharides, and unlike DC-SIGN, it does not mediate uptake and degradation of glycoconjugates (8).DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR share nearly 80% sequence identity and are closely similar in overall architecture. Both receptors are type II transmembrane proteins in which C-terminal C-type carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs) are projected from the cell surface by a neck comprising a series of highly conserved 23-amino acid repeats. There are seven complete re...