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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (ERK)
 95,504 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Progress in dendritic cell research has been overwhelming in the past few years. This was made possible by the recent development of simple methods to generate large numbers of dendritic cells. These methods use as starting populations for culture either CD34+ progenitor cells from cord blood or bone marrow, or monocytes from peripheral blood. The latter approach is critically dependent on the combination of GM-CSF and interleukin 4. Such "priming cultures" yield populations of immature dendritic cells (CD83-/CD86 +/- /CD115+/antigen uptake high/antigen processing high/T cell sensitization low). In order to generate mature dendritic cells a subsequent "differentiation culture" has to be added whereby monocyte-conditioned medium appears to be the optimal stimulus for maturation. This results in terminally mature dendritic cells (CD83+/CD86++/CD115-/antigen uptake low/antigen processing low/T cell sensitization high). We investigated the expression of some molecules involved in maturation and migration on human monocyte-derived dendritic cells from blood in comparison with dermal dendritic cells and epidermal Langerhans cells. We present a method to highly enrich epidermal Langerhans cells. Survival of purified Langerhans cells in culture is dependent on the presence of GM-CSF and TNF-alpha. During maturation a substantial part of the Langerhans cells loses expression of the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA); mature dendritic cells from the dermis are completely devoid of CLA. Similarly, CLA as well as CD15s (Sialyl Lewis x) and CD31 (PECAM-1) that can be readily detected on immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells are down-regulated upon maturation. CD68 expression is very low in cutaneous dendritic cells; in monocyte-derived dendritic cells this molecule is abundantly present. Subsets of monocyte-derived dendritic cells express E-cadherin; CD87 (urokinase plasminogen activator receptor) is weakly expressed on both immature and mature monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Taken together, these data suggest that the phenotype of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (E-cadherin low to negative, CD68++) is not indicative for a cutaneous destiny. Furthermore, the downregulation upon maturation of molecules involved in migration through vessel walls (CD31, CLA, CD15s) indicates that the entry of mature dendritic cells into lymphatic vessels may not be as rigidly regulated by adhesion molecules as the process of extravasation from blood vessels.
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PMID:Expression of maturation-/migration-related molecules on human dendritic cells from blood and skin. 956 74

Epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) play a critical role in host defense. Still we know rather little about the development and functional specialization of these bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) located in the most peripheral ectodermal tissue of the mammalian organism. How LC develop from their primitive progenitors in bone marrow and to what extent LC are related in their development to other lineages of the hemopoietic system is still under debate. There are currently 3 major areas of debate: 1) which are the signals required for LC development and differentiation to occur, 2) what are the (molecular) characteristics of the intermediate stages of LC differentiation, and 3) how are LC related in their development and/or function to other cells of the hemopoietic system? A better understanding of LC development and answers to these questions can be expected from recently developed technologies which allow the in vitro generation of DC with the typical molecular, morphological and functional features of LC from purified CD34+ progenitor cells under defined serum-free culture conditions. TGF-beta 1 was found to be an absolute requirement for in vitro LC development under serum-free conditions upon stimulation with the classical DC growth and differentiation factors GM-CSF, TNF-alpha and SCF. The recently identified cytokine FLT3 ligand further dramatically enhanced in vitro LC development and even allowed efficient in vitro generation of LC colonies from serum-free single cell cultures of CD34+ hemopoietic progenitor cells.
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PMID:Epidermal Langerhans cell development and differentiation. 956 75

We have developed an efficient serum free culture model for cloning human erythroid progenitors. Accordingly, human bone marrow or cord blood CD34+ cells if plated in our serum free medium and stimulated with a mixture of EpO + KL, grow erythroid colonies exclusively. Cells isolated from these cultures express glycophorin-A (GPA-A), are CD33-, IIb/IIIa-, and finally all become hemoglobinized. By employing this system we also found out that cord blood CD34+ mononuclear cells (MNC) contain more BFU-E than adult marrow CD34+ MNC, moreover, the erythroid colonies formed by cord blood progenitors are significantly larger then the ones formed by the marrow cells. We have also compared the influence of different cytokines and growth factors, which were reported in the literature to costimulate BFU-E growth on cloning efficiency of human BFU-E cultured in our serum free medium. We found that from 20 different growth factors and cytokines tested, EpO dependent bone marrow BFU-E growth is costimulated only by KL, and to lesser degree also by IL-3, GM-CSF, TpO and IL-9. In contrast to marrow cells we observed that cord blood BFU-E in addition to KL, IL-3, GM-CSF, TpO, LIF and IL-9 were also costimulated by NGF-beta, FGF-1, FGF-2 and STK-IL. We found simultaneously that TPO which possess only negligible costimulatory effect on erythroid colony formation by bone marrow CD34+ cells, significantly costimulated the formation of erythroid colonies grown by cord blood CD34+ cells. Therefore, the cord blood CD34+ cells are largely committed to erythroid differentiation, and, moreover, they respond to a wider spectrum of the growth factors than their bone marrow counterparts.
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PMID:An improved serum free system for cloning human "pure" erythroid colonies. The role of different growth factors and cytokines on BFU-E formation by the bone marrow and cord blood CD34+ cells. 960 18

Flt3 ligand (FL) is a recently identified cytokine having a central role in the proliferation, survival and differentiation of early murine and human hematopoietic precursor/stem cells. FL acts synergistically in vitro with a number of other hematopoietic growth factors such as IL-3, IL-6, IL-11, IL-12, KIT Ligand and GM-CSF. Recently, it has been shown the in vivo administration of FL results in a significant alteration of hematopoiesis in murine bone marrow (BM), spleen, peripheral blood, liver and lymph nodes. In addition, treatment with FL resulted in a significant accumulation of functionally active dendritic cells within murine lymphoid tissues. The possible applications of FL in dendritic cell-based immunotherapies are discussed.
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PMID:FLT3: receptor and ligand. Biology and potential clinical application. 972 Jul 55

Beta-1 integrins have essential functions in hemopoietic and immune systems by controlling phenomenons such as cell homing and cell activation. The function alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins is regulated by divalent cations and, as demonstrated more recently, by mitogenic cytokines which activate them by "inside-out" mechanisms. Using the adhesive interaction of a cytokine-dependent human hemopoietic cell line to immobilized fibronectin, we have analyzed the requirements in divalent cations Mn2+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ for alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 activation by "inside-out" mechanisms triggered by cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor or KIT ligand, or by external conformational constraints with the function-activating anti-beta 1 integrin monoclonal antibody 8A2. The intrinsic difference between these two modes of beta 1 integrin activation was revealed by their different requirements in divalent cations. We found that in the absence of any divalent cations, alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 were non-functional even after further stimulation by cytokines or 8A2. However, whilst either Ca2+, Mg2+ or Mn2+ were able to restore adhesive functions of alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 when activated by 8A2, only Mg2+ and Mn2+ were able to support activation of alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 by cytokines. Furthermore, high concentrations of Ca2+ exceeding 20 mM dramatically inhibited cell adhesion to fibronectin induced by Mn2+ and cytokines but not by 8A2. On the contrary, in the presence of both Ca2+ and Mg2+, Mn2+ had an additive effect on the activation of alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 by mitogenic cytokines. The presence of the absence of these divalent cations did not inhibit early tyrosine phosphorylation induced by the binding of KIT ligand to its tyrosine-kinase receptor KIT. Therefore, we propose that in hemopoietic cells, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Mn2+ may modulate in vivo alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 regulation by mitogenic cytokines, a phenomenon involved in the regulation of hemopoietic progenitor cell homing within the bone marrow.
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PMID:Dual control by divalent cations and mitogenic cytokines of alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrin avidity expressed by human hemopoietic cells. 978 83

The receptors for the I1-3/IL-5/GM-CSF cytokine family are composed of a heterodimeric complex of a cytokine-specific alpha chain and a common beta chain (betac). Binding of IL-3/IL-5/GM-CSF to their respective receptors rapidly induces activation of multiple intracellular signalling pathways, including the Ras-Raf-ERK, the JAK/STAT, the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase PKB, and the JNK/SAPK and p38 signalling pathways. This review focuses on recent advancements in understanding how these different signalling pathways are activated by IL-3/IL-5/GM-CSF receptors, and how the individual pathways contribute to the pleiotropic effects of IL-3/IL-5/GM-CSF on their target cells, including proliferation, differentiation, survival, and effector functions.
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PMID:Regulation of proliferation, differentiation and survival by the IL-3/IL-5/GM-CSF receptor family. 979 43

Dendritic Cell (DC)-based vaccination approaches in man require a reproducible DC generation method that can be performed in conformity with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) guidelines and that circumvents the need for multiple blood drawings to generate DC. To this end we modified our previously described method to generate mature DC from CD14 + monocytes by a two step method (priming in GM-SF + IL-4 followed by maturation in monocyte conditioned medium) for use with leukapheresis products as a starting population. Several adaptations were necessary. We established, for example, a modified adherence step to reliably enrich CD14 + DC precursors from apheresis mononuclear cells. The addition of GM-CSF + IL-4 at the onset of culture proved disadvantageous and was, therefore, delayed for 24 h. DC development from apheresis cells occurred faster than from fresh blood or buffy coat, and was complete after 7 days. Monocyte conditioned medium when added on day 6 resulted in fully mature and stable DC (veiled, highly migratory and T cell sensitizing cells with a characteristic phenotype such as 85% CD83 + , p55/fascin + , CD115/M-CSF-R - , CD86 + ) already after 24 h. The mature DC progeny were shown to remain stable and viable if cultured for another 1-2 days in the absence of cytokines, and to be resistant to inhibitory effects of IL-10. Freezing conditions were established to generate DC from frozen aliquots of PBMC or to freeze mature DC themselves for later use. The approach yields large numbers of standardized DC (5-10 x 10(8) mature CD83 + DC/leukapheresis) that are suitable for performing sound DC-based vaccination trials that can be compared with each other.
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PMID:Generation of large numbers of fully mature and stable dendritic cells from leukapheresis products for clinical application. 1003 30

FLT3 ligand (FL) acting through its tyrosine kinase receptor FLT3 has pleiotropic and potent effects on hematopoietic cells. The well-described involvement of this ligand-receptor pair in physiological hematopoiesis raised the question whether FL and FLT3 also play a role in the pathobiology of leukemia. Following the early discovery of high receptor expression by myeloid leukemia cells, several investigators have focused their attention on these cells, both primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and continuous human myeloid leukemia cell lines. Regardless of the morphological FAB subtype, the vast majority of AML cases were FLT3-positive both at the mRNA and protein level; among the myeloid cell lines, predominantly the monocytic and myelocytic cell lines were FLT3-positive whereas the erythrocytic and megakaryocytic cell lines were FLT3-negative. Virtually all cell lines studied expressed FL transcripts; the finding that some cell lines displayed both ligand and receptor indicates the possibility of autocrine, intracrine or paracrine stimulatory loops. In vitro growth assays showed that FL caused a proliferative response in a high percentage of AML cases. Only constitutively growth factor-dependent myelocytic cell lines increased their proliferation upon incubation with FL whereas all growth factor-independent cell lines were refractory to FL stimulation. Combinations of FL with various cytokines (e.g. G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-3, M-CSF, PIXY-321, SCF) had synergistic or additive mitogenic effects. Finally, FL had significant anti-apoptotic, survival-promoting effects on primary AML cells and myeloid cell lines under serum-free culture conditions. On the strength of the above findings, it can be concluded that the FL-FLT3 signaling system may play a certain, albeit probably not causal role in the development of human leukemias. Dissection of the exact molecular pathways that lead to proliferation and/or anti-apoptosis of myeloid leukemia cells as well as the detailed elucidation of the possible contribution of the FL-FLT3 genes to leukemogenesis remain future challenges.
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PMID:Effects of FLT3 ligand on proliferation and survival of myeloid leukemia cells. 1019 24

Protein tyrosine kinases play a major role in promoting cell growth, and their activity in solid tumors is well established. Inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinases are now in advanced clinical trials for the treatment of breast and brain cancers. Because Src-related PTK have been shown to be activated in leukemic cell lines, we studied their activation in human myeloid leukemia. Blasts from the majority of patients with acute leukemia showed constitutive activity of the Src kinase Lyn. In contrast, no patient samples showed constitutive activation of Jak2. Genetic and pharmacologic targeting of Lyn was used to determine its contribution to leukemic cell growth. Antisense Lyn oligonucleotide treatment resulted in the inhibition of tritiated thymidine incorporation following GM-CSF stimulation of the factor-dependent line MO7e. The Src kinase inhibitor PD166285 inhibited the growth of human leukemic cell lines and leukemic blasts. When combined with doxorubicin, an additive effect on the inhibition of leukemic cell growth occurred. These studies demonstrate the importance of Src kinases in promoting leukemic cell growth and suggests that further development of agents which target Src kinases and their inclusion in multidrug regimens are warranted for novel therapies of myeloid leukemia.
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PMID:Therapeutic targeting of Src-kinase Lyn in myeloid leukemic cell growth. 1036 Mar 72

Permanent human osteosarcoma cell lines are important tools for the study of bone cancer. As representative of an osteoblastic phenotype, they partly reflect their normal osteoblastic counterparts and, thus, may represent appropriate models to investigate the mechanisms involved in bone remodelling and in haematopoietic differentiation. In the present work, we describe a new human cell line, CAL 72, obtained from an osteosarcoma of the knee of a 10-year-old boy. These cells grow in continuous culture, and karyotypic analysis has revealed clonal abnormalities in number and structure, especially loss of chromosome Y. These cells exhibit morphological, immuno-histochemical and molecular characteristics of the osteoblastic lineage. Using RT-PCR, we have shown that the CAL 72 cell line expresses high levels of mRNA coding for several cytokines, such as G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-1beta and IL-6. In view of this expression profile, the CAL 72 phenotype appears to be closer to normal primary osteoblasts than other reported osteosarcomas. Moreover, these cells express mRNA for both HGF and its receptor c-MET, suggesting that this autocrine loop might contribute to the invasiveness of the tumour from which CAL 72 originated.
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PMID:Establishment, characterisation and partial cytokine expression profile of a new human osteosarcoma cell line (CAL 72). 1038 64


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