Journal of Immunology Research

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/

List of Papers (Total 9,842)

γ/δ Cells in Fetal, Neonatal, and Adult Rat Lymphoid Organs

In the present study, we have analyzed the appearance and maturation of γ/δ T cells, recognized with a new mAb V65, in the central and peripheral lymphoid organs of fetal, neonatal, and adult Wistar rats. Cytofluorometrical analysis demonstrated the first V65

Human Germinal Center CD4

We have isolated two subtypes of helper T cells from human tonsils: CD4

Antigen-Independent Maturation of CD2, CD11a/CD18, CD44, and CD58 Expression on Thymic Emigrants in Fetal and Postnatal Sheep

We have compared the expression of CD2, CD11a/CD18, CD44, and CD58 on αβ and γδ T cells emigrating from the fetal and postnatal thymus. We report that both γδ and the CD4

Two Distinct Pathways of B-Cell Development in Peyer’s Patches

The developmental biology of sheep ileal and jejunal Peyer’s patches (PP) was investigated using corticosteroids to deplete immature B lymphocytes. During a 7-day treatment with dexamethasone, ileal PP follicular (iPf)B-cell proliferation was arrested and most iPfB-cells died. This resulted in follicular involution with the survival of mesenchymal cells. No iPfB-cell...

In Vitro and In Situ Characterization of Fish Thymic Nurse Cells

We present an enzyme- and immuno-cytochemical, and ultrastructural characterization of trout thymic nurse cells (TNCs). Our data suggest that isolated trout thymic multicellular complexes are epithelial cells with acidic compartments that may be involved in the processing of antigens and in the generation of the MHC-II proteins that these cell express, and also that isolated TNCs...

Protein Expression During Murine Thymus Differentiation

Driven by our long-standing interest in identifying proteins of the immune system and in characterizing processes involved in lymphocyte differentiation, we studied protein expression in biosynthetically labeled fetal and newborn thymus by 2D gel electrophoresis. Autoradiographs of the gels were scanned with a densitometer and image analysis was performed using the Kepler system...

A Protein Binding Specifically to the IgG2b Switch Region

The Abelson-virus-transformed mouse pre-B-cell line 18-81 switches almost exclusively from μ to γ2b. From nuclear extracts of this cell line, we have isolated a factor that specifically binds to Sγ2b. After an eight-step purification scheme, in which different types of DNA-affinity chromatography were used as key elements, we obtained a preparation with two narrowly spaced bands...

Maturation of B Cells in the Lamina Propria of Human Gut and Bronchi in the First Months of Human Life

Little is known of the maturation of the mucosae-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in man, because, for ethical reasons, tissues from newborns are not easy to obtain. We used the opportunity provided by autopsies systematically performed in infants who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) to study the maturation of the MALT after birth. Gut and bronchus samples of 90...

Epidermal Growth Factor Modulates Fetal Thymocyte Growth and Differentiation

In the present study, we used the fetal organ culture (FTOC) technique in order to study a putative effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the thymus ontogeny. Functional EGF receptors and more recently the EGF molecule itself, respectively, on the membrane of epithelial components of thymic stroma and on a few thymocytes in adult thymus, had been reported in the literature...

Protective Cellular Immunity Against Influenza Virus Induced by Plasmid Inoculation of Newborn Mice

Neonate organisms display an intrinsic disability to mount effective immune responses to infectious agents or conventional vaccines. Whereas low. doses of antigens trigger a suboptimal response, higher doses are frequently associated with tolerance induction. We investigated the ability of a plasmid-expressing nucleoprotein of influenza virus to prime a specific cellular immune...

Sequence Analysis of the Mouse RAG Locus lntergenic Region

The recombination activating genes RAG-1 and RAG-2 are highly conserved throughout evolution and are necessary and essential for the DNA rearrangement of antigen-receptor gene segments. These convergently transcribed genes are expressed primarily by developing B and T lineage cells. In addition, recent data suggest that the RAG locus can be reactivated in mouse germinal center B...

The Avian Transcription Factor c-Rel is Expressed in Lymphocyte Precursor Cells and Antigen-Presenting Cells During Thymus Development

Transcription factors of the Rel/NF-κB family are widely involved in the immune system. In this study, we investigate the in vivo expression of the avian protein c-Rel in the T-cell lineage during thymus development. The majority of thymocytes do not express the c-Rel protein. However, lymphocyte precursor cells that colonize the thymus express the c-Rel protein shortly after...

Thymic Stromal-Cell Abnormalities and Dysregulated T-Cell Development in IL-2-Deficient Mice

The role that interleukin-2 (IL-2) plays in T-cell development is not known. To address this issue, we have investigated the nature of the abnormal thymic development and autoimmune disorders that occurs in IL-2-deficient (IL-2–/–) mice. After 4 to 5 weeks of birth, IL-2–/– mice progressively develop a thymic disorder resulting in the disruption of thymocyte maturation. This...

Apoptosis-Specific Protein (ASP) Identified in Apoptotic Xenopus Thymus Tumor Cells

A novel apoptosis-specific protein (ASP) has recently been identified in the cytoplasm of apoptotic mammalian cells. This paper investigates whether ASP is found in Xenopus thymus tumor-derived lymphoid cell lines undergoing apoptosis and also in apoptotic, nontransformed splenocytes. Cultured Xenopus tumor lymphoid cells induced to undergo, apoptosis by serum deprivation or...

Enhanced Follicular Dendritic Cell-B Cell Interaction in HIV and SIV Infections and its Potential Role in Polyclonal B Cell Activation

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections have been characterized by both polyclonal Bcell activation and enhanced responsiveness to B-cell growth factors on one hand and the loss of specific antibody (Ab) responses and refractoriness to the normal signals for B-cell activation on the other. Histopathological studies of lymph node from HIV- and simian immunodeficiency virus...

Presence of Germline and Full-Length IgA RNA Transcripts Among Peritoneal B-1 Cells

Next to conventional B cells (or B-2 cells), peritoneal B-1 cells have been shown to contribute significantly to the production of IgA-secreting plasma cells in the gut. Evidence for this was mainly based on studies comprising manipulated animals, including lethally X-irradiated and transgenic mice. To examine the ability of peritoneal B-1 cells from untreated mice to switch...

Gap-Junction Communication Pathways in Germinal Center Reactions

Intercellular channels called gap junctions enable multicellular organisms to exchange information rapidly between cells. Though gap junctions are held to be ubiquitous in solid tissues, we have only recently found them in the lymphoid organs. Functional direct cell-cell communication has now been confirmed by us and other groups in bone marrow, thymus, and in secondary lymphoid...

Paraneoplastic Autoimmunity in Thymus Tumors

Autoimmune phenomena are more frequent in thymic epithelial tumors (TET) than in any other human tumor. Mysthenia gravis (MG) is by far the most common autoimmune disease in thymoma patients. MG is characterized by muscle weakness due to autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), and CD4

The IL-2/IL-2-Receptor Complex in the Maturation of Rat T-Cell Progenitors

On the basis of both the interleukin-2-receptor (IL-2R) α-chain expression on 16-day-old fetal rat thymocytes and the occurrence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) mRNA-containing cells early during rat thymus ontogeny, we have investigated the possible role of IL-2/IL-2R complex in rat T-cell maturation. For this purpose, we analyzed the effects of the addition of either recombinant rat IL...

Thymic-Shared Antigen-1 (TSA-1) A Lymphostromal Cell Membrane Ly-6 Superfamily Molecule with a Putative Role in Cellular Adhesion

The seeding and colonization of the thymus by bone marrow stem cells and the maturation of these cells into mature T lymphocytes are dependent on cell-surface recognition events between different cell lineages within the thymic microenvironment. Positive and negative selection processes within the thymus produce a peripheral T-cell repertoire capable of recognizing peptides...