Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Lymphocytes of female carriers of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID; McKusick 300400; HGM genetic locus designation SCIDX1) exhibit nonrandom X chromosome inactivation. This phenomenon reflects a tissue-specific selective disadvantage for lymphocyte progenitors with an XSCID mutation on the active X chromosome and presumably is analogous to the process that inhibits T-cell development in affected boys with a single XSCID-bearing X chromosome. We investigated the specificity of T-cell X chromosome inactivation pattern as an indicator of immunodeficiency carrier status, as follows: X-inactivation ratios determined in a control group of noncarrier women exhibited a wide range, 20%-86% of T-cells with the paternal X active. Maximum-likelihood analysis of these data suggested that, in humans, mature T-cells are derived from a small pool of only about 10 randomly inactivated stem cells. Despite the wide variability in normal X-inactivation ratios, X inactivation in XSCID carriers appeared far more markedly skewed. Therefore a maximum-likelihood odds-ratio test was developed and proved to be successful in predicting the carrier status of women in XSCID pedigrees. This test has made it possible to identify XSCID carriers among mothers of boys with the heterogeneous syndrome of sporadic severe combined immunodeficiency.
 ...
PMID:Maximum-likelihood analysis of human T-cell X chromosome inactivation patterns: normal women versus carriers of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency. 155 Jan 18

We have isolated lentivirus strains that are related to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops; AGM). Although immunologically related, these SIVagm are clearly distinct from other simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolates, including isolates from Macaca mulatta (SIVmac) or even from other AGM. The SIVagm strains described in this communication grow well in a limited number of human T-lymphoma lines. Virus density, morphology, and reverse transcriptase activity are characteristic of the lentivirus group. SIVagm exhibits the following pattern of major virus proteins: p18, p28, gp45, p64, gp140. They appear to bind to the target cell via the CD4 or its primate analogue. Four virus isolates have already been molecularly cloned for detailed genomic analysis and within this SIV agm group they exhibit the genomic variability that is typical of lentiviruses. AGMs infected with this virus apparently remain healthy and therefore SIVagm not only provides a virus model for vaccine studies but also allows investigation of the defense mechanisms (immunological and others) that keep the AGMs healthy. Furthermore, precise genomic analysis of these and other SIV strains will lead to a better understanding of the evolution and pathogenicity of human lentiviruses like HIV.
 ...
PMID:Isolation of human immunodeficiency virus-related simian immunodeficiency viruses from African green monkeys. 246 60

We have purified a 10,774-dalton protein from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 that is encoded in the protease domain of the pol open reading frame (ORF). Radiochemical amino acid microsequencing identified 12 amino acids from the stretch of 39 N-terminal residues of this protein, beginning with a PQITLW sequence at position 69 of the pol ORF. Radiosequencing of selected tryptic peptides of the protein identified 11 additional residues (Leu-9 and Val-2) in six peptides encompassing the entire molecule of 99 residues. A protein of similar size and identical N-terminal sequence (determined through the first 39 residues) was present among the processed HIV pol gene products in Escherichia coli which expressed the entire HIV pol ORF. The C terminus of both the viral and E. coli-expressed proteins was inferred to be contiguous with the N terminus of the p64-p51 reverse transcriptase on the basis of tryptic mapping and specific immunoreactivity with an antiserum against a dodecapeptide located upstream of the reverse transcriptase. Thus, the initial processing of the pol precursor that generates the native protease is apparently preserved across phylogenetic barriers. Although the purified viral protease lacked measurable proteolytic activity, the bacterial extracts were capable of processing an HIV gag precursor protein synthesized in E. coli.
 ...
PMID:Purification and structural characterization of the putative gag-pol protease of human immunodeficiency virus. 329 93

Sera from hemophiliacs were analyzed for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by using radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP), western blotting (WB) with nonreducing buffer (NR), and WB with reducing buffer (R). We analyzed envelope gp160, gp120, and gp41; pol gene proteins p64, p53, and p34; and gag gene protein p24. Of 215 samples positive for reactivity to gp160 and gp120(RIP), antibodies to p24 were undetectable in 2 (0.9%), to gp41 in 9 (4.2%), to the pol antigens in 5 (2.3%), to gp120(NR) in 3 (1.4%), and to gp120(R) in 55 (25.6%). By sequential analysis of samples, antibodies to gp120(NR), gp120(R), p24, gp41, p64/53, and p34 were observed later in the course of infection than were antibodies to gp120(RIP) or gp160. This result suggests caution against reliance on WB as the "gold standard." A significantly higher rate of progression to AIDS-related complex was found for individuals lacking antibodies to gp120(R). It is possible that antigenic domains represented by gp120(R) may play a role in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection.
 ...
PMID:Antibody responses in early human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in hemophiliacs. 334 72

Electrophoretic immunoblotting (EIB [Western blotting]) has emerged as the major method for verification of seropositivity for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and therefore needs to be thoroughly characterized. The specificities of three EIB systems, our own and two commercial systems, were studied with anticellular sera and serial dilutions of human sera. We demonstrated that in one system, anti-HLA classes I and II gave bands comigrating with viral proteins, which can be controlled by EIB with uninfected H9 cells. In addition, animal antisera, including anti-immunoglobulin enzyme conjugates, occasionally reacted with HIV gag proteins, necessitating appropriate controls. Whereas none of 10 blood donors reacted at the standard dilution in serum (1/100 or 1/400) in any of the three systems, 6, 1, and 2 of 10 donors reacted with p24, p55, or both at a dilution of 1/10 for the three systems tested. Thus, nonspecific reactions can arise in several ways and justify critical EIB interpretation. The sensitivity of the three systems was studied by comparative titrations and direct quantification of bound immunoglobulin G (IgG). In the titrations with all three, the minor anti-HIV bands p53 and p64, coded from pol, were often detectable in higher dilutions than were antibodies to any other HIV protein. The minimum visible amounts of IgG bound per HIV protein band estimated by extra- and interpolation in densitometric curves and liquid scintillation counting of radiolabeled patient IgG were approximately 0.1, 0.05, and 0.02 ng per band in the three systems. One of the commercial systems had both the highest sensitivity and highest specificity.
 ...
PMID:Specificities and sensitivities of three systems for determination of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus by electrophoretic immunoblotting. 342 44

X chromosome-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCIDX1) is characterized by the absence of T-cell and natural killer cell development and results from molecular mutations of the interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) gamma chain. The IL-2R gamma chain is a common component of the IL-2, IL-4, and IL-7 receptor systems, which may explain the severe immunophenotype in SCIDX1. We have previously described an atypical SCIDX1 syndrome demonstrating poorly functioning peripheral T cells, which we hypothesized to represent a variant allele at the SCIDX1 locus. We now demonstrate that a splice site mutation in the IL-2R gamma gene is responsible for this atypical SCIDX1. Aberrant RNA splicing resulted in the generation of two IL-2R gamma transcripts: an abundant, nonfunctional isoform containing a small intronic insertion and a second functional isoform with a single amino acid substitution present in limited amounts. Radiolabeled IL-2 binding studies revealed a 5-fold decreased level of expression of functional high-affinity IL-2Rs, which correlated with the quantity of full-length IL-2R gamma transcripts. Further analysis of the T-cell antigen receptor beta-chain repertoire of the patient's T cells demonstrated oligoclonality in multiple V beta families, thus strongly suggesting that the defect in the IL-2R gamma chain generated a limited number of peripheral T-cell clones. This atypical SCIDX1 patient demonstrates that certain IL-2R gamma chain abnormalities can also result in partial immunodeficiency phenotypes, potentially through differential effects on the IL-2, IL-4, or IL-7 receptor systems.
 ...
PMID:Defective human interleukin 2 receptor gamma chain in an atypical X chromosome-linked severe combined immunodeficiency with peripheral T cells. 793 90

The recent discovery of molecular defects in three forms of X-linked immunodeficiency has quickly transformed the study of immunodeficiency into one of the most exciting in basic and clinical immunology. The identification of defects in the IL-2R gamma chain in the etiology of X-linked SCID has suggested a heretofore unanticipated functional role of the gamma chain in immunologic development. While new and novel cytokines and cytokine receptors continue to be identified, it has become clear that our knowledge of IL-2, one of the best understood cytokine/receptor systems, is far from complete. Clarifying the molecular interactions between IL-2 and its receptor complex will improve the sophistication with which these interactions are manipulated in the clinic for the treatment of autoimmune disorders and allograft rejection, treatment of lymphoid malignancies, and cytokine-based therapies for immunotherapeutic treatment of nonlymphoid cancers. Recent gene therapy approaches to the treatment of children with the ADA-deficient form of SCID offers yet another exciting path for investigation. The use of retrovirally infected cord blood hematopoietic progenitor cells in attempts to reconstitute the immune system of ADA-deficient SCID children with ADA-producing cells raises the possibility of similarly "correcting" the defect in X-linked SCID. Such approaches almost certainly loom on the near horizon for other diseases. However, in view of the complexity and potentially pleiomorphic nature of defects in the IL-2R gamma chain, both in terms of their identification and correction, gene therapy for treatment of X-linked SCID will require a thorough understanding of the molecular nature of the respective defects. Effective therapy will require precise knowledge of the defects, in terms of their influence on the ligand, receptor, and signaling apparatus, as well as their potential effects on cells of multiple lineages. However, these caveats aside, the potential for understanding and correcting a disease that robs infants at so early an age of the potential for a normal life will continue to make these exciting and extraordinarily rewarding pursuits.
 ...
PMID:Severe combined immunodeficiency, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and the IL-2 receptor: experiments of nature continue to point the way. 802 93

Interactions of interleukin-2 (IL-2) with its high-affinity, heterotrimeric receptor (IL-2R alpha beta gamma) play a pivotal role in the autocrine pathway of T lymphocyte expansion required in an immune response. Mutations in the IL-2R gamma chain-encoding gene have been found in SCIDX1, a primary immunodeficiency characterized by the absence of T cell and NK cell development. We have investigated six unrelated SCIDX1 patients for molecular abnormalities of the IL-2R gamma gene. A variety of defects were identified, including the absence of transcripts, frame-shift deletions and point mutations within canonical cytokine receptor motifs (conserved cysteines and the "WS" box). The ability of these mutated IL-2R gamma chains to participate in the function of a high-affinity IL-2R complex was examined by radiolabeled IL-2 binding studies using Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCL) derived from SCIDX1 patients. Although normal control B-LCL express high-affinity IL-2 binding sites (Kd = 60 pM, 150 sites/cell), B-LCL derived from SCIDX1 patients failed to bind IL-2 under high-affinity conditions. These SCIDX1 mutations confirm the critical role of the IL-2R gamma chain in T cell and NK cell development. In addition, these data provide insight into the structure/function relationship of the IL-2R gamma chain by identifying residues required for the formation of a high-affinity IL-2R complex.
 ...
PMID:Interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor gamma chain mutations in X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease result in the loss of high-affinity IL-2 receptor binding. 829 98

The immunologic and genetic analysis of a 14-week-old-male cardigan Welsh corgi puppy that presented with failure to thrive, diarrhea, and intermittent vomiting are described. The lack of palpable lymph nodes, the premature death of a male sibling, and similar clinical signs in a male cousin suggested that a primary immunodeficiency disease might be responsible for his poor clinical condition. Quantitation of serum immunoglobulins revealed low concentrations of IgG and undetectable IgA, yet normal concentrations of IgM. A complete blood cell count showed a slight anemia and lymphopenia. Although the peripheral blood contained a normal percentage of T cells, with an increased CD4:CD8 ratio, they were unable to proliferate in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and/or interleukin 2 (IL-2). Furthermore, following PHA activation, the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) demonstrated a nearly complete lack of IL-2 binding. All of these laboratory findings were identical with our previous findings from dogs with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) that is due to a mutation in their IL-2 receptor gamma (IL-2R gamma) chain. Examination of the corgi's IL-2R gamma cDNA revealed an insertion of a cytosine following nucleotide 582, resulting in a premature stop codon prior to the transmembrane domain. The insertion also created an EcoO109 restriction enzyme site that enabled us to detect the mutation in the patient's genomic DNA. This new mutation in the IL-2R gamma chain discovered in a cardigan Welsh corgi puppy results in XSCID with similar immunologic abnormalities as observed in dogs with the same disease resulting from a different IL-2R gamma chain mutation.
 ...
PMID:A single nucleotide insertion in the canine interleukin-2 receptor gamma chain results in X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease. 857 41

Bruton's XLA and DiGeorge syndrome patients show that two basic immune systems are distinct from each other in humans - thymus-dependent cell-mediated immunodeficiencies vs. antibody-based immunodeficiencies. The appendix-sacculus lymphoid organ of rabbits, like the bursa of Fabricius, represents a central lymphoid organ. Chronic granulomatous disease of childhood (CGD) revealed that phagocytosis killing of catalase-positive microorganisms employ oxidative burst. Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) proved life saving in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The first BMT cured XSCID and the second BMT cured a complicating aplastic anemia launching BMT as a treatment of many diseases. Now 75 fatal diseases have been cured by myeloablative BMT. BMT also cured experimental autoimmune diseases. BMT alone did not cure lupus with polyarthritis in MRL/lpr mice or polyarthritis in NZB/KN mice, but BMT plus bone (stromal cell) transplants cured these diseases. Autoimmune diseases and lethal glomerulonephritis were prevented or cured in BXSB mice by mixed allogeneic plus syngeneic BMT. X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome (XHIM) was also cured by BMT from a 2-year-old MHC-matched sibling donor. Nonmyeloablative BMT plus mesenchymal stem cells (stromal cells) was effective treatment for a form of collagen-vascular disease and also a lethal form of hypophosphatasia. Mannan-binding lectin, an opsonin that activates the complement system when mutated and at low levels in blood, opens a door to frequent infections throughout childhood and adult life. This new immunodeficiency is based on genetic mutations that involve a native defense system.
 ...
PMID:Cellular immunology in a historical perspective. 1219 Sep 28


1 2 Next >>