Hexagonally closed packed monolayers of colloids have found more and more applications, e.g. as lithographic masks. The monolayers are usually produced with the help of a self-organizing process where a suspension of colloids is applied to the desired substrate and left to dry. This method requires a good wettability and smoothness of the substrate, which severely limits the number of possible substrates. We present a new method for the application of colloid monolayers to almost any surface where these difficulties are circumvented. At first the monolayers are fabricated on glass substrates and afterwards floated off on a water surface. From there, they are transferred to the desired substrate. Examples where transferred monolayers were used as lithographic masks are shown on glass, indium tin oxide, and tungsten diselenide. The transfer of a colloid monolayer to a copper grid for transmission electron microscopy demonstrates the applicability of the technique to curved surfaces as well.
Blood consists of different cell populations with distinct functions and correspondingly, distinct gene expression profiles. In this study, global miRNA expression profiling was performed across a panel of nine human immune cell subsets (neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, B cells, NK cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, mDCs and pDCs) to identify cell-type specific miRNAs. mRNA expression profiling was performed on the same samples to determine if miRNAs specific to certain cell types down-regulated expression levels of their target genes. Six cell-type specific miRNAs (miR-143; neutrophil specific, miR-125; T cells and neutrophil specific, miR-500; monocyte and pDC specific, miR-150; lymphoid cell specific, miR-652 and miR-223; both myeloid cell specific) were negatively correlated with expression of their predicted target genes. These results were further validated using an independent cohort where similar immune cell subsets were isolated and profiled for both miRNA and mRNA expression. miRNAs which negatively correlated with target gene expression in both cohorts were identified as candidates for miRNA/mRNA regulatory pairs and were used to construct a cell-type specific regulatory network. miRNA/mRNA pairs formed two distinct clusters in the network corresponding to myeloid (nine miRNAs) and lymphoid lineages (two miRNAs). Several myeloid specific miRNAs targeted common genes including ABL2, EIF4A2, EPC1 and INO80D; these common targets were enriched for genes involved in the regulation of gene expression (p<9.0E-7). Those miRNA might therefore have significant further effect on gene expression by repressing the expression of genes involved in transcriptional regulation. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles reported in this study form a comprehensive transcriptome database of various human blood cells and serve as a valuable resource for elucidating the role of miRNA mediated regulation in the establishment of immune cell identity.
Ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a transcription factor mediating the effects of dioxin, favor Th17 differentiation and exacerbate autoimmunity in mice. We investigated how AHR ligands affected human T-cell polarization. We found that the high affinity and stable AHR-ligand dioxin as well as the natural AHR-ligand 6-formylinolo [3,2-b] carbazole induced the downstream AHR-target cytochrome P450A1, and without affecting IFN-c, they enhanced IL-22 while simultaneously decreasing IL-17A production by CD4 1 T cells. The specific AHRinhibitor CH-223191 abolished these effects. Furthermore, blockade of IL-23 and IL-1, important for Th17 expansion, profoundly decreased IL-17A but not IL-22 production. AHR agonists reduced the expression of the Th17 master transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor C (RORC), without affecting T-bet, GATA-3 and Foxp3. They also decreased the expression of the IL-23 receptor. Importantly, AHR-ligation did not only decrease the number of Th17 cells but also primed naïve CD4 1 T cells to produce IL-22 without IL-17 and IFN-c. Furthermore, IL-22 single producers did not express CD161, which distinguished them from the CD161 1 Th17 cells. Hence, our data provide compelling evidence that AHR activation participates in shaping human CD4 1 T-cell polarization favoring the emergence of a distinct subset of IL-22-producing cells that are independent from the Th17 lineage. IntroductionLocal cytokine milieu during antigen presentation profoundly affects the differentiation program of CD4 1 T cells [1]. In the mouse, TGF-b, in the presence of IL-6 and pro-inflammatory cytokines, favors the emergence of Th17 cells that produce IL-17 and express the master transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)gt [2][3][4][5][6]. Th17 cells are expanded and terminally differentiated in the presence of . Human Th17 cells may be generated in the presence of IL-1 and IL-23; IL-1 and IL-6; or . Th17 cells express CCR6 and 2450produce the CCR6-ligand CCL20, thereby amplifying Th17 cell recruitment at sites of inflammation [11]. IL-22, a member of the IL-10-family, is produced by Th17 cells, and to some extent by Th1 cells, NKT cells, NK cells and lymphoid tissue inducer-like cells [12]. IL-22 signals via a receptor consisting of IL-22R and IL-10R2 subunits [11]. Cells of hemapoietic origin do not express IL-22R; instead, IL-2R is highly expressed by epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract and the skin. In the mouse, IL-23 was shown to drive preferential expansion of cells that co-express IL-22 and IL-17, that may synergize to augment the expression of genes involved in defense against microbial pathogens [13,14]. However, several mouse models of infection and autoimmunity suggested distinct roles for .In addition to cytokines, other mediators may impact CD4 1 T-cell differentiation. We and others have shown that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) favors human Th17 expansion [20][21][22]. Furthermore, ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) exert a role. AHR is a...
The bone marrow constitutes a favorable environment for long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells, providing blood-circulating antibody. Plasma cells are also present in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) to mediate local frontline immunity, but how plasma cell survival there is regulated is not known. Here we report that a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) promoted survival of human upper and lower MALT plasma cells by upregulating expression of the antiapoptotic proteins bcl-2, bcl-x L , and mcl-1. The in situ localization of APRIL was consistent with such a prosurvival role in MALT. In upper MALT, tonsillar epithelium produced APRIL. Upon infection, APRIL production increased considerably when APRIL-secreting neutrophils recruited from the blood infiltrated the crypt epithelium. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) retained secreted APRIL in the subepithelium of the infected zone to create APRIL-rich niches, wherein IgG-producing plasma cells accumulated. In lower MALT, neutrophils were the unique source of APRIL, giving rise to similar niches for IgA-producing plasmocytes in villi of lamina propria. Furthermore, we found that mucosal humoral immunity in APRIL-deficient mice is less persistent than in WT mice. Hence, production of APRIL by inflammation-recruited neutrophils may create plasma cell niches in MALT to sustain a local antibody production.
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