As an important immune stimulator and modulator, IFNγ is crucial for gut homeostasis and its dysregulation links to diverse colon pathologies, such as colitis and colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we demonstrated that the epigenetic regulator, CBX3 (also known as HP1γ) antagonizes IFNγ signaling in the colon epithelium by transcriptionally repressing two critical IFNγ-responsive genes: STAT1 and CD274 (encoding Programmed death-ligand 1, PD-L1). Accordingly, CBX3 deletion resulted in chronic mouse colon inflammation, accompanied by upregulated STAT1 and CD274 expressions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing cell-attached recordings from molecular layer interneurons (MLI) of the cerebellar cortex of adult mice expressing channel rhodopsin 2, we show that wide-field optical activation induces an increase in firing rate during illumination and a firing pause when the illumination ends (post-stimulation silencing; PSS). Significant spike rate changes with respect to basal firing rate were observed for optical activations lasting 200 ms and 1 s as well as for 1 s long trains of 10 ms pulses at 50 Hz. For all conditions, the net effect of optical activation on the integrated spike rate is significantly reduced because of PSS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1s) are key elements in neuronal signaling. While their function is well documented in slices, requirements for their activation in vivo are poorly understood. We examine this question in adult mice in vivo using 2-photon imaging of cerebellar molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) expressing GCaMP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOptical interrogation of voltage in deep brain locations with cellular resolution would be immensely useful for understanding how neuronal circuits process information. Here, we report ASAP3, a genetically encoded voltage indicator with 51% fluorescence modulation by physiological voltages, submillisecond activation kinetics, and full responsivity under two-photon excitation. We also introduce an ultrafast local volume excitation (ULoVE) method for kilohertz-rate two-photon sampling in vivo with increased stability and sensitivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAxonal ionotropic receptors are present in a variety of neuronal types, and their function has largely been associated with the modulation of axonal activity and synaptic release. It is usually assumed that activation of axonal GABA(A)Rs comes from spillover, but in cerebellar molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) the GABA source is different: in these cells, GABA release activates presynaptic GABA(A) autoreceptors (autoRs) together with postsynaptic targets, producing an autoR-mediated synaptic event. The frequency of presynaptic, autoR-mediated miniature currents is twice that of their somatodendritic counterparts, suggesting that autoR-mediated responses have an important effect on interneuron activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile it has been proposed that the conventional inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA can be excitatory in the mammalian brain, much remains to be learned concerning the circumstances and the cellular mechanisms governing potential excitatory GABA action. Using a combination of optogenetics and two-photon calcium imaging in vivo, we find that activation of chloride-permeable GABAA receptors in parallel fibers (PFs) of the cerebellar molecular layer of adult mice causes parallel fiber excitation. Stimulation of PFs at submaximal stimulus intensities leads to GABA release from molecular layer interneurons (MLIs), thus creating a positive feedback loop that enhances excitation near the center of an activated PF bundle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Gap junctions (GJs) enable intercellular communication between adjacent cells through channels of connexins. Using a three-dimensional construct, we previously showed that endothelial and tumor cells formed GJs, allowing melanoma-specific T lymphocytes to recognize and kill melanoma-derived endothelial cells. We demonstrate here on histological sections of melanoma biopsies that GJ formation occurs in vivo between tumor and endothelial cells and between T lymphocytes and target cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMegakaryocyte is the naturally polyploid cell that gives rise to platelets. Polyploidization occurs by endomitosis, a process corresponding to a late failure of cytokinesis with a backward movement of the daughter cells. Generally, a pure defect in cytokinesis produces a multinucleated cell, but megakaryocytes are characterized by a single polylobulated nucleus with a 2 (N) ploidy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Isolated limb perfusion with TNF-α and melphalan is used with remarkable efficiency to treat unresectable limb sarcomas. Here we tested the ability of TNF-α to directly induce apoptosis of sarcoma cells. In addition, we investigated the impact of p53 in the regulation of such effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMegakaryocytes are unique mammalian cells that undergo polyploidization (endomitosis) during differentiation, leading to an increase in cell size and protein production that precedes platelet production. Recent evidence demonstrates that endomitosis is a consequence of a late failure in cytokinesis associated with a contractile ring defect. Here we show that the non-muscle myosin IIB heavy chain (MYH10) is expressed in immature megakaryocytes and specifically localizes in the contractile ring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGranzyme B plays a key role in cell-mediated programmed cell death. We previously demonstrated that p53 is a functional determinant in the granzyme B-induced cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response. However, the pathways leading to activation of p53 by granzyme B remain incompletely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInteraction of the integrin αE(CD103)β7 expressed on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) with E-cadherin on epithelial tumor cells is required to trigger polarized exocytosis of cytotoxic granules in TIL that elicit tumor cell lysis. In this study, we investigated the functional and signaling properties of CD103 and its individual contribution to T-cell-mediated cancer-cell killing. Our results indicated that the binding of CD103 on tumor-specific CTL to immobilized recombinant E-cadherin-Fc is sufficient to induce the polarization of cytolytic granules, whereas the degranulation of cytolytic granules also requires the coengagement of the T-cell receptor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolyploidization of megakaryocytes (MKs), the platelet precursors, occurs by endomitosis, a mitotic process that fails at late stages of cytokinesis. Expression and function of Aurora B kinase during endomitosis remain controversial. Here, we report that Aurora B is normally expressed during the human MK endomitotic process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have reported previously that the interaction of alpha(E)(CD103)beta(7) integrin, expressed on a CD8(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) clone but not on a peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) counterpart, with the epithelial marker E-cadherin on human lung tumor cells plays a crucial role in T-cell receptor-mediated cytotoxicity. We show here that both TIL and PBL clones are able to migrate toward autologous tumor cells and that chemokine receptor CCR5 is involved in this process. Adoptive transfer of the PBL clone in the cognate tumor engrafted in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice and subsequent coengagement of T-cell receptor and transforming growth factor-beta1 receptor triggers CD103 expression on T-cell surface resulting in strong potentiation of antitumor lytic function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoxia is an essential component of tumor microenvironment. In this study, we investigated the influence of hypoxia (1% PO(2)) on CTL-mediated tumor cell lysis. We demonstrate that exposure of target tumor cells to hypoxia has an inhibitory effect on the CTL clone (Heu171)-induced autologous target cell lysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCellular interactions in the tumor stroma play a major role in cancer progression but can also induce tumor rejection. To explore the role of endothelial cells in these interactions, we used an in vitro three-dimensional collagen matrix model containing a cytotoxic T lymphocyte CTL clone (M4.48), autologous tumor cells (M4T), and an endothelial cell (M4E) line that are all derived from the same tumor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman primary melanoma cells (T1) were found to be more susceptible to lysis by a Melan-A/MART-1-specific CTL clone (LT12) than their metastatic derivative (G1). We show that this differential susceptibility does not involve antigen presentation by target cells, synapse formation between the metastatic target and CTL clone, or subsequent granzyme B (GrB) polarization. Although PI-9, an inhibitor of GrB, was found to be overexpressed in metastatic G1 cells, knockdown of the PI-9 gene did not result in the attenuation of G1 resistance to CTL-induced killing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor cells evade adaptive immunity by a variety of mechanisms, including selection of variants that are resistant to specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) pressure. Recently, we have reported that the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton can be used by tumor cells as a strategy to promote their resistance to CTL-mediated lysis. In this study, we further examined the functional features of a CTL-resistant tumor variant and investigated the relationship between cytoskeleton alteration, the acquisition of tumor resistance to CTL-induced cell death, Rho-GTPases, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMegakaryocyte (MK) is the naturally polyploid cell that gives rise to platelets. Polyploidization occurs by endomitosis, which was a process considered to be an incomplete mitosis aborted in anaphase. Here, we used time-lapse confocal video microscopy to visualize the endomitotic process of primary human megakaryocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhibitory killer Ig-like receptors (KIR), expressed by human natural killer cells and effector memory CD8(+) T-cell subsets, bind HLA-C molecules and suppress cell activation through recruitment of the Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP-1). To further analyze the still largely unclear role of inhibitory KIR receptors on CD4(+) T cells, KIR2DL1 transfectants were obtained from a CD4(+) T-cell line and primary cells. Transfection of CD4(+) T cells with KIR2DL1 dramatically increased the T-cell receptor (TCR)-induced production of interleukin-2 independently of ligand binding but inhibited TCR-induced activation after ligation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIFN-producing killer dendritic cells (IKDC) were initially described as B220(+)CD11c(+)CD3(-)NK1.1(+) tumor-infiltrating cells that mediated part of the antitumor effects of the combination therapy with imatinib mesylate and IL-2. In this study, we show their functional dependency on IL-15 during homeostasis and inflammatory processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the relationship between the resistance to the proapoptotic action of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) and cellular prion protein (PrPc) function, using the TRAIL-sensitive MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell line and two TRAIL-resistant sublines: 2101 and MCF-7/ADR. All of the cell lines tested expressed TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2. TRAIL decoy receptors were not detected, suggesting that the resistance of 2101 and MCF-7/ADR cells, strongly expressing PrPc, to TRAIL-mediated cell death was independent from the expression of TRAIL receptors and death-inducing signaling complex formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study we investigated the involvement of p53 in cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL)-induced tumor target cell killing mediated by the perforin/granzymes pathway. For this purpose we used a human CTL clone (LT12) that kills its autologous melanoma target cells (T1), harboring a wild type p53. We demonstrated initially that LT12 kills its T1 target in a perforin/granzymes-dependent manner.
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