Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0393754 (HSA)
 2,996 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The introduction and expression of allogeneic MHC class I genes in tumors can generate tumor-specific immunity which subsequently results in the regression of parental tumors. Immunization of naive (AKR/J x C57BL/6)F1 mice with H-2Kb-transformed K36 tumor cells was found to render recipient mice immune to a subsequent challenge by parental K36 tumor cells. Two types of cytotoxic T effector cells were demonstrated in these immune mice. One of the cytotoxic effector cells generated against the K36 tumor cells is the conventional CD3+ cells, and these account for approximately one-third of the total observed tumor-specific cytotoxicity in vitro. The other cytotoxic effector cell generated following the immunization of (AKR/J x C57BL/6)F1 mice with the H-2Kb-transformed K36 cells had the CD3-/Thy-1+ phenotype, and accounted for the remaining two-thirds of the observed tumor-specific cytotoxicity in vitro. These CD3-/Thy-1+ cells can lyse parental K36 tumor cells in a tumor-specific fashion, and tumor-specific immunity can be adoptively transferred to naive animals via the CD3-/Thy-1+ cells. In contrast to CD3+ CTL, CD3-/Thy-1+ cells express CD45RBlow, Ly-6Chigh, and HSA molecules. Although the CD3-/Thy-1+ cells can be activated in vitro by IL-2, TPA, and ionomycin, they cannot be propagated in vitro. The CD3-/Thy-1+ cells undergo apoptosis following prolonged culture in vitro. At present, the exact mechanism(s) by which CD3-/Thy-1+ cells can mediate tumor-specific cell lysis in the absence of identifiable T cell receptor molecules is unknown; nevertheless, these data suggest the existence of a novel T cell type to combat tumors.
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PMID:Characterization of tumor-specific cytotoxic effector cells with a novel CD3-/Thy-1+ phenotype. 758 74

We have studied the differentiation and repertoire selection during the maturation of CD4+CD8+ (DP) thymocytes into CD4+CD8- (CD4SP) and CD8+CD4- (CD8SP) T cells, in normal mice, mice transgenic for T cell receptor (TcR)-alpha beta restricted by either class I or class II major histocompatibility (MHC), and in mice deficient in class I or class II MHC expression. Our data suggest that mature CD4 and CD8 T cells derive from different pathways of T cell differentiation in the thymus. Thus, interaction of DP thymocytes with MHC class II leads to the immediate down-regulation of CD8, which occurs simultaneously with an increase in TcR expression; DPTcR(lo)HSA(hi) thymocytes mature into a CD4+CD8(lo) TcR(hi)HSA(hi) intermediate population. This cell population generates CD4SP thymocytes, the majority of which are still HSA(hi). In contrast, interaction with MHC class I induces the up-regulation of TcR, which precedes the down-regulation of CD4; DPTcR(lo) generate DPTcR(hi) thymocytes, the majority of which are the committed precursors of CD8SP cells. Further differentiation results in CD4 down-regulation and the transition from DPTcR(hi) into CD8+CD4(lo) TcR(hi)HSA(lo) and +D8SPTcR(hi)HSA- T cells. Since down-regulation of CD4 and CD8 occurs at different stages of thymocyte differentiation, our results do not support a stochastic/selective model of lineage commitment in the thymus.
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PMID:Generation of mature T cell populations in the thymus: CD4 or CD8 down-regulation occurs at different stages of thymocyte differentiation. 791 76

Converging data suggest an important role for IL-7 in T lymphocyte maturation as illustrated by the severe T lymphopenia observed in IL-7-deficient mice. We recently reported that IL-7 preferentially promotes the in vitro expansion of a discrete MHC class I-dependent lymphocyte subset comprising both CD4+ and CD4-CD8- TCR alpha beta + cells bearing several NK cells markers such NK1.1 and Ly-49. These T cells, designated as NK1+ T cells, have the unique property among thymocytes of producing large amounts of IL-4 upon primary stimulation via the TCR. We have further demonstrated that thymic NK1+ T cells of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, a spontaneous model of autoimmune type I diabetes, are markedly deficient in maturation both quantitatively and functionally (IL-4 production). In the present experiments, the addition of exogenous IL-7 completely restored IL-4 production by anti-TCR alpha beta-stimulated mature (HSA-CD8-) thymocytes in NOD mice. A short 2 h preincubation with IL-7 was sufficient to restore both the expression of IL-4 mRNA and IL-4 production capacity. This was related to a direct effect on NK1+ thymocytes since: (i) the effect of IL-7 was restricted to the non-mainstream MEL-14- 3G11- TCR alpha beta + subset which mostly concentrates the IL-4-producing capacity and (ii) IL-7 did not restore IL-4 production in class I-deficient mice which lack the NK1+ T cell subset. Importantly, this activity of IL-7 on NK1+ T cells was also demonstrated in non-autoimmune strains of mice. These results were extended in vivo by showing that the IL-7 treatment significantly increased the anti-CD3 triggered IL-4 production by NK1+ T spleen cells. These findings confirm the role of IL-7 in NK1+ T cell maturation and suggest that the NK1+ T cell defect in NOD mice could be related to insufficient intrathymic IL-7 bioavailability.
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PMID:IL-7 reverses NK1+ T cell-defective IL-4 production in the non-obese diabetic mouse. 894 70

Immature CD4/CD8 double-positive (DP) thymocytes expressing self MHC-restricted TCR are positively selected in response to TCR signals to survive and differentiate into functionally competent CD4 or CD8 single positive (SP) T cells. In contrast, DP precursors expressing autoreactive TCR are clonally deleted in response to TCR signals. We show here that in vitro TCR engagement of TCR(low) DP thymocytes rapidly triggers a variety of events considered to be hallmarks of positive selection in vivo. These include increased expression of CD5 and Bcl-2, termination of RAG-1 and pre-T(alpha) gene expression, and a switch in lck promoter usage. We also demonstrate that CD4- or CD28-mediated signals synergize with TCR signals to induce these outcomes. Finally, we show that the response of DP thymocytes to TCR engagement is selective in that clonal deletion, CD4/CD8 lineage commitment, and other events associated with maturation, such as changes in expression of Thy-1, HSA, MHC class I, and CD45-RB, were not induced. Thus, only subsets of maturational processes associated with positive selection in vivo were shown to be directly coupled to TCR signaling pathways at the DP stage. These observations support conclusions from in vivo systems suggesting that multiple, temporally separated TCR engagements are required to effect the entire spectrum of developmental changes associated with positive selection, and provide a conceptual and experimental framework for unraveling the complexity of positive selection.
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PMID:TCR engagement of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes in vitro induces early aspects of positive selection, but not apoptosis. 897 76