γ9 and δ2CDR3 domains regulate functional avidity of T cells harboring γ9δ2TCRs.

Immunotherapy with innate immune cells has recently evoked broad interest as a novel treatment option for cancer patients. γ9δ2T cells in particular are emerging as an innate cell population with high frequency and strong antitumor reactivity, which makes them and their receptors promising candidates for immune interventions. However, clinical trials have so far reported only limited tumor control by adoptively transferred γ9δ2T cells. As a potential explanation for this lack of efficacy, we found unexpectedly high variability in tumor recognition within the physiologic human γ9δ2T-cell repertoire, which is substantially regulated by the CDR3 domains of individual γ9δ2TCRs. In the present study, we demonstrate that the reported molecular requirements of CDR3 domains to interact with target cells shape the physiologic γ9δ2T-cell repertoire and, most likely, limit the protective and therapeutic antitumor efficacy of γ9δ2T cells. Based on these findings, we propose combinatorial-γδTCR-chain exchange as an efficient method for designing high-affinity γ9δ2TCRs that mediate improved antitumor responses when expressed in αßT cells both in vitro and in vivo in a humanized mouse model.

lambda 5, but not mu, is required for B cell maturation in a unique gamma 2b transgenic mouse line.

gamma 2b transgenic mice have a severe B cell defect, apparently caused by strong feedback inhibition of endogenous H-gene rearrangement coupled with an inability of gamma 2b to provide the survival/maturation functions of mu. A unique gamma 2b transgenic line, named the C line, was found to permit B cell development. When the C line is crossed with a mu-membrane knockout line, gamma 2b+ B cells develop in the homozygous knockout. In contrast, a transgenic line representative of all the other gamma 2b lines is completely B cell deficient when mu-mem is deleted. Strikingly, the C phenotype is dominant in C x other gamma 2b transgenic line crosses. There is no evidence for higher gamma 2b transgene expression or other position effects on the transgene in the C mouse. The sequences of the three gamma 2b transgene copies in the C line are identical to that of the original transgene. These results have led to the conclusion that in the C line the transgene integration constitutively induces a gene whose expression can replace mu. To more clearly delineate the stage at which the altered phenotype of the C line is expressed, C mice were crossed onto a lambda 5 knockout background. In the absence of lambda 5, the C line produces no B cells. Since it was also found that gamma 2b can associate with the surrogate light chain (sL; lambda 5/Vpre-B), the crosses between C line gamma 2b mice and lambda 5 knockout mice suggest that gamma 2b/sL is required for B cell maturation in this mouse line. Thus, gamma 2b alone is unable to replace mu for pre-B cell survival/maturation; however, in combination with an unknown factor and the sL, gamma 2b can provide these nurturing functions.

Non-immune IgG F(ab')2 binding to group C and G streptococci is mediated by structures on gamma chains.

The present investigation was designed to determine whether the heavy or the light immunoglobulin chain is involved in the non-immune binding of IgG F(ab')2 fragments to specific surface receptors on human group C and G streptococci. Purified human polyclonal IgG was mildly reduced with dithiothreitol and alkylated with iodoacetamide. Light (L) and heavy (H) chains were separated. Intact IgG and purified L and H chains of polyclonal immunoglobulin G were tested in an inhibition assay for non-immune IgG F(ab')2-mediated binding to group C and G streptococci. H chains inhibited the uptake of isotope-labelled IgG F(ab')2 fragments. Isolated L chains were non-reactive. Intact IgG molecules were more potent inhibitors than isolated H chains tested in equimolar concentrations. These results indicate that the non-immune interaction between human group C and G streptococci and F(ab')2 fragments of human IgG is mediated by reactive sites exposed on the immunoglobulin G H chains. The observation that intact IgG on a molar basis was more inhibitory than purified gamma chains suggests that the L chains may contribute to the reactivity, presumably by passive stabilization of the immunoglobulin molecule.

Activation of Fc epsilon RI inhibits the pyruvate kinase through direct interaction with the gamma-chain.

The downstream signaling components of high-affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI) were studied using yeast two-hybrid screening of the cDNA library constructed from RBL-2H3 cells. The cytoplasmic part of the gamma-chain but not that of the beta-chain was found to interact with pyruvate kinase in the yeast. The in-vitro-translated pyruvate kinase also specifically interacted with the bacterially expressed glutathione-S transferase fusion protein of the cytoplasmic part of the gamma-chain. When RBL-2H3 cells were challenged with antigen, the activity of pyruvate kinase gradually decreased, reaching the minimum activity around 5 min after the activation, and then slowly returned to the normal level. The dose-response curve (antigen vs. pyruvate kinase activity) plotted at 5 min after stimulation showed that the pyruvate kinase was dose-dependently inhibited and the maximum inhibition was reached at the concentration of 0.1 microgram/ml of antigen. Direct interaction between FcepsilonRI and pyruvate kinase was also demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation in RBL-2H3 cells. These data suggest that pyruvate kinase is functionally linked with FcepsilonRI and might exert an important role in controlling cellular functions following the activation of FcepsilonRI.

Gamma 2b provides only some of the signals normally given via mu in B cell development.

B cell development is a complex process involving interactions between B cell precursors, stroma, and known and unknown ligands and cytokines. In order to more fully understand the requirements for Ig in that development we have created transgenic mice that carry a gamma 2b transgene and express it early in B cell development. Previously it was believed that these B cells arrested in their development prior to the pro- to pre-B cell transition. We show here that in conventional gamma 2b mice, B cell development actually arrests later, at the pre-B cell stage. This shows for the first time that a constant region different from mu can allow signaling through the pre-B cell receptor, but cannot promote complete development. The pro- and pre-B cells in the conventional gamma 2b transgenics are not fully functional since they cannot grow in IL-7 without stromal cells. This is a novel phenotype, separating development from stroma independence. The few, mature B cells that do develop in these mice express both mu and gamma 2b simultaneously, and are CD5+. Expression of a Bcl-2 transgene allows survival of gamma 2b transgenic immature B cells, but does not promote full maturation, indicating that normally mu provides both an anti-apoptotic signal and a differentiation signal. One line of gamma 2b mice, the C line, does not have this phenotype. B cell development is accelerated in this unconventional line, and the developing B cells have a very different phenotype from both normal mice and conventional gamma 2b mouse lines, but are very similar to mu transgenics. Mature B cells are largely CD5-, gamma 2b-only expressing. This unique phenotype is apparently due to the activation in B cell precursors of a gene at the insertion site of the transgene, circumventing the need for mu. Comparison of conventional gamma 2b transgenics with the C line and mu transgenics reveals the multiple signals required throughout B cell development.

The IL-2 receptor gamma c chain does not function as a subunit shared by the IL-4 and IL-13 receptors. Implication for the structure of the IL-4 receptor.

The IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) gamma c subunit is also a component of the receptors for IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-15. The IL-4R and IL-13R appear to share a common subunit, and gamma c was proposed to be this shared subunit. In this study, we have assessed the relative contribution of gamma c to the mouse IL-4R and IL-13R. The MC/9 mast cell line constitutively expresses gamma c and proliferates to IL-4 and IL-13, but only the response to IL-4 was blocked by anti-gamma c mAbs. After transfection of the IL-4- and IL-13-responsive gamma c-negative B9 plasmacytoma with full length (m gamma) or cytoplasmic-tailless gamma c cDNA (m gamma t), only the proliferative response to IL-4 was affected by the surface expression of these gamma c molecules. The inability of m gamma or m gamma t expression to affect IL-13-induced proliferation by B9 indicates that gamma c does not obviously contribute to the IL-13R and does not function as the shared subunit of the IL-4R and IL-13R. This study suggests that there are two distinct IL-4R, one of which is independent of gamma c.

High affinity IgG binding by FcgammaRI (CD64) is modulated by two distinct IgSF domains and the transmembrane domain of the receptor.

The high affinity IgG receptor, FcgammaRI, is comprised of three immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) domains (EC1, EC2 and EC3), a single transmembrane spanning region, and a short cytoplasmic tail. We have shown a role for three separate domains of FcgammaRI in the high affinity binding of IgG. Affinity measurements of chimeric FcgammaRs in which EC1 and EC2 of FcgammaRI have been replaced with the homologous EC1 and/or EC2 domains of the low affinity IgG receptor, FcgammaRII indicate that both EC2 and EC3 are essential for high affinity binding of monomeric IgG. Identification of EC3 from FcgammaRI as the binding site for the monoclonal antibody 10.1, which blocks IgG binding, provides further evidence for the role of this domain in binding. In addition, we have found that the affinity of FcgammaRI is increased threefold when co-expressed with its accessory molecule, gamma-chain. Affinity measurements of further chimeras indicates that the transmembrane domain of FcgammaRI has a negative influence upon the affinity of the receptor. To account for these observations, we propose that receptor dimerization is required for maximal affinity of FcgammaRI. Dimerization may serve as the mechanism by which IgG binding triggers several FcgammaRI-mediated events.

Receptor expression and functional status of cultured human eosinophils derived from umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells.

Selective use of recombinant human cytokines has enabled the culture of large numbers of eosinophils from human cord blood mononuclear cells, raising the possibility of their use as a model of eosinophil function. Cultured eosinophils (CE) were compared with normal-density peripheral blood eosinophils (PBE) in terms of their membrane receptor expression and function. Fc gamma R and CR1 expression of CE and PBE was similar. In contrast, the specific mean fluorescence for LFA-1 alpha, p150,95 alpha, ICAM-1, and HLA-DR was significantly elevated for CE compared with PBE. CE responded in PAF-induced chemotaxis in a similar fashion to PBE. CE gave higher numbers of both resting and platelet activating factor (PAF)-stimulated immunoglobulin G (IgG)- and C3b-dependent rosettes than PBE. CE and PBE had comparable capacity to kill IgG- and C-opsonized schistosomula in terms of both baseline values and PAF-induced enhancement of cytotoxicity. Baseline adherence by CE and PBE to plasma-coated glass was essentially the same, but stimulated adhesion (PAF) of CE was lower. Compared with PBE, CE generated less than half the amounts of extracellular and cell-associated PAF induced by calcium ionophore A23187 stimulation. Unlike PBE, CE did not generate PAF after exposure to IgG-coated Sepharose particles. CE stimulated with IgG-coated beads generated small quantities of LTC4, while A23187 stimulation resulted in approximately half the LTC4 levels observed with PBE. The total cell content of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) was similar for CE and PBE. These data suggest that although CE and PBE have many phenotypic and functional properties in common there are quantitative differences that may be a consequence of their immaturity and/or the influence of the cytokines used in their culture.

Factores genéticos del huésped en las enfermedades periodontales / Host genetic factors in periodontal diseases

Hasta tiempos recientes, la periodoncia estuvo orientada a determinar las noxas externas, lo que determinó un oscurecimiento de la participación de otros factores, tales como el genético. El objetivo del presente artículo es brindar al lector una visión de la combinación de la perspectiva molecular de la genética con la de la patogenia de las enfermedades periodontales