D endritic cells (DCs) have a central role in the initiation and control of T cell-mediated immunity. Immature DCs residing in tissues endocytose soluble antigens, microbes, or apoptotic cells, and receive microbial or inflammatory maturation cues depending on the type of pathogen and the nature and extent of tissue damage (1-3). Maturing DCs migrate to lymph nodes via afferent lymphatics where they complete their maturation and present peptides derived from protein degradation on MHC class I and class II molecules to CD8 and CD4 T cells, respectively (2). The type and composition of maturation signals received by DCs determine whether they induce productive T cell responses or tolerance (4, 5).Because of their potent immunostimulatory capacity, there is much interest in employing DCs as tumor vaccines to induce effector and long-term memory CD4 and CD8 T cells with broad tumor antigen (TA) specificities (6-8). Early-stage trials using ex vivo TA-loaded and matured monocyte-or CD34 ϩ progenitorderived DCs have provided some evidence for clinically beneficial immunostimulatory effects (9, 10). However, many variables remain to be explored, including antigen sources and modes of DC antigen-loading. Most commonly, DCs are pulsed with synthetic TA-derived MHC-binding peptides (11,12). This approach is constrained by limited knowledge of TA, their natural and immunoselected variation within and among tumors, and by the MHC allele-specific restrictions of peptide-binding, thus producing narrow repertoires of antigen-specific T cells. Other methods include transfection of DCs with tumor-derived RNA, the use of viral vectors for expression of TA, and facilitating DC uptake of tumorderived exosomes, apoptotic tumor cells, or recombinant proteins for antigen processing and presentation (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Moreover, DC expression of Ig Fc receptors (Fc␥R) can be exploited for targeting immune complexes and antibody-coated tumor cells to DCs (20,21). Exposure of DCs to anti-syndecan mAb-opsonized myeloma cells promotes efficient in vitro cross-priming of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, yielding results that are superior to cross-presentation of TA from apoptotic tumor cells (22).This immunization mode is appealing because it may operate in vivo and contribute to the beneficial effects of some antibody-based cancer therapies (23,24). Hence, antibody targeting of surface molecules that are absent from most cell types and tissues but are frequently tumor-associated could be a viable approach to inducing tumor immunity. Suitable candidate molecules are MHC class I chain-related proteins A (MICA) and B (MICB), which are distantly related to MHC class I and function as ligands of the NKG2D receptor on natural killer cells and T cell subsets (25,26). In healthy individuals, the tissue distribution of MIC is restricted to variable areas of gastrointestinal epithelium (25, 27). However, MICs are abundantly expressed in many lung, breast, kidney, ovarian, prostate, gastric, and colon carcinomas, and melanomas, as well as in certai...

Background: RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular pathway of gene silencing in a sequence-specific manner at the messenger RNA level. The basic mechanism behind RNAi is the breaking of a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) matching a specific gene sequence into short pieces called short interfering RNA, which trigger the degradation of mRNA that matches its sequence. In this study, we explored the effects of RNAi in reducing the target gene expression in human myeloid leukemia cell lines. Methods: Four myeloid leukemia cell lines (HL-60, U937, THP-1, and K562) were transfected with dsRNA duplexes corresponding to the endogenous c-raf and bcl-2 genes and the gene expression inhibition was assessed. The effect of RNAi on cell differentiation was studied; the apoptosis induction and the sensitization of the leukemia cell lines to etoposide and daunorubicin were quantified by flowcytometric methods. Results: Transfection of the myeloid leukemia cell lines with dsRNA corresponding to c-raf and bcl-2 genes decreased the expression of Raf-1 and Bcl-2 proteins. RNAi for c-raf gene blocked the appearance of the monocytic differentiation induced by treatment with TPA. Combined RNAi for c-raf and bcl-2 induced apoptosis in HL-60, U937, and THP-1 cells and increased chemosensitivity to etoposide and daunorubicin. Conclusions: RNAi is a functional pathway in human myeloid leukemia cell lines and combined RNAi of c-raf and bcl-2 genes may represent a novel approach to leukemia, providing a means to overcome the resistance to chemotherapeutic agents and ultimately to augment the efficacy of chemotherapy in myeloid leukemia.

One of the most striking changes in the primary lymphoid organs during human aging is the progressive involution of the thymus. As a consequence, the rate of naïve T cell output dramatically declines with age and the peripheral T cell pool shrinks. These changes lead to increased incidence of severe infections and decreased protective effect of vaccinations in the elderly. Little is, however, known of the composition and function of the residual naïve T cell repertoire in elderly persons. To evaluate the impact of aging on the naïve T cell pool, we investigated the quantity, phenotype, function, composition, and senescence status of CD45RA(+)CD28(+) human T cells--a phenotype generally considered as naïve cells--from both young and old healthy donors. We found a significant decrease in the number of CD45RA(+)CD28(+) T cells in the elderly, whereas the proliferative response of these cells is still unimpaired. In addition to their reduced number, CD45RA(+)CD28(+) T cells from old donors display significantly shorter telomeres and have a restricted TCR repertoire in nearly all 24 Vbeta families. These findings let us conclude that naïve T cells cannot be classified with conventional markers in old age.

BACKGROUND Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) results in the inhibition of proliferation of various cancer cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of cell growth inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines by the PPARγ ligand, troglitazone. METHODS Six HCC cell lines were used to study the effects of troglitazone on cell growth by 3‐[4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl]‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, on cell cycle by flow cytometry, and on the cell cycle‐regulating factors of late G1 phase by Western blotting. Apoptosis assays were performed by flow cytometry using membrane, nuclear, cytoplasmic, and mitochondrial markers. Caspase inhibitors were used to analyze the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by troglitazone. RESULTS Troglitazone showed a potent dose‐dependent effect on the growth inhibition of all six HCC cell lines, which were suppressed to under 50% of control at the concentration of 10 μmol/L. The growth inhibition was linked to the G1 phase cell cycle arrest through the up‐expression of the cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitors, p21 and p27 proteins, and the hypophosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. Troglitazone induced apoptosis by caspase‐dependent (mitchondrial transmembrane potential decrease, cleavage of poly [adenosine diphosphate ribose] polymerase, 7A6 antigen exposure, Bcl‐2 decrease, and activation of caspase 3) and caspase‐independent (phosphatidylserine externalization) mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that ligand activation of PPARγ by troglitazone or modified analogs of the thiazolidinedione class of drugs is a novel target for effective therapy against HCC, because of the significant antiproliferative and programmed cell death induction capabilities demonstrated by troglitazone. Cancer 2002;95:2243–51. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10906

We have recently described an IL-2/IL-4-producing CD8+CD25+ nonregulatory memory T cell population that occurs in a subgroup of healthy elderly persons who characteristically still have a good humoral response after vaccination. The present study addresses this specific T cell subset and investigates its origin, clonal composition, Ag specificity, and replicative history. We demonstrate that CD8+CD25+ memory T cells frequently exhibit a CD4+CD8+ double-positive phenotype. The expression of the CD8 αβ molecule and the occurrence of signal-joint TCR rearrangement excision circles suggest a thymic origin of these cells. They also have longer telomeres than their CD8+CD25− memory counterparts, thus indicating a shorter replicative history. CD8+CD25+ memory T cells display a polyclonal TCR repertoire and respond to IL-2 as well as to a panel of different Ags, whereas the CD8+CD25− memory T cell population has a more restricted TCR diversity, responds to fewer Ags, and does not proliferate in response to stimulation with IL-2. Molecular tracking of specific clones with clonotypic primers reveals that the same clones occur in CD8+CD25+ and CD8+CD25− memory T cell populations, demonstrating a lineage relationship between CD25+ and CD25− memory CD8+ T cells. Our results suggest that CD25-expressing memory T cells represent an early stage in the differentiation of CD8+ cells. Accumulation of these cells in elderly persons appears to be a prerequisite of intact immune responsiveness in the absence of naive T cells in old age.

Based on the combined expression of CD27 and CD28, a putative model of T cell differentiation has been previously proposed. We used CD27 and CD28 expression in order to comparatively study the size, cytokine production capacity and proliferative response of CD4+ T cell sub-populations from healthy young and elderly volunteers. Elderly persons had a lower percentage of CD27+CD28+ but a higher percentage of CD27-CD28+ and CD27-CD28-CD4+ T cells than the young persons. CD27-CD28-CD4+ T cells were present, although at relatively low numbers, in the vast majority of the healthy elderly donors but were only sporadically detected in young persons. Each CD4+ T cell sub-population exhibited a distinct phenotype and cytokine production profile, which were not affected by age. When purified CD27+CD28+ were stimulated by staphylococcal enterotoxin B, they proliferated to a greater extent than CD27-CD28+ and CD27-CD28-CD4+ T cells. However, we did not observe age-related differences in proliferative response of each sub-population. We concluded that although the size of the different sub-populations differed between the young and the old group, the functional characteristics of each sub-population were the same in both age groups. This suggests that on a per cell basis there is no functional impairment of CD4 memory T cells in elderly persons. Consequently, potential differences in the function of the total CD4+ T cell population are most likely due to different composition of repertoire.

Jaspamide (asplakinolide) is a natural peptide isolated from marine sponges of Jaspis species and has fungicidal and growth-inhibiting activities. We characterized the jasplakinolide-induced loss of viability by programmed cell death in the HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line and found that this process was accompanied by neutral endopeptidase (NEP)/CD10 expression on the surface of the apoptotic cells. HL-60 cells do not normally express detectable amounts of NEP/CD10 on their surface or intracytoplasmically, but upon jaspamide treatment, CD10 was synthesized de novo, its expression being inhibited by cycloheximide pretreatment. Once synthesized, NEP/CD10 interfered with the jasplakinolide signal delivered to HL-60 cells. Inhibition of NEP/CD10 by the NEP inhibitor phosphoramidon or by an anti-CD10 monoclonal antibody significantly increased apoptosis induction. The appearance of CD10 on the cell surface was blocked by preincubation of the cells with the monocytic/macrophage-differentiating agents vitamin D3 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, but not by the granulocytic differentiating agents retinoic acid or dimethyl sulfoxide. Moreover, in the promonocytic U937 and mature monocytic THP-1 cell lines, jaspamide induced apoptosis but not CD10 expression. In HL-60 cells, CD10 expression was partially but not totally blocked by the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor benzyloxacarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone, indicating a connection between apoptosis induction and CD10 synthesis. Our findings suggest that the CD10 expression is related to the programmed cell death induction by jaspamide, and also with the process of granulocytic differentiation in HL-60 cells.

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