M cell specific markers in man and domestic animals: valuable tools in vaccine development.

M cells play a pivotal role in the induction of immune responses within the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. As such, they are frequently studied for the development of mucosal vaccines. Unfortunately, the lack of a universal M cell marker hampers the progress in this field since researchers need species- and tissue-specific markers in order to isolate, identify or target M cells.

Osteopontin alters the functional profile of porcine microglia in vitro.

OPN (osteopontin) is a secreted glycoprotein predominantly expressed in bone matrix and kidney tissue. More recently, a neuroprotective role has been attributed to this cytokine since it can be up-regulated by microglia in neurodegeneration and inflammation. We demonstrate the expression of OPN within primary cultured microglia.

Interferon-γ modulates the functional profile of in-vitro-cultured porcine microglia.

Microglia are the most important immune cells within the highly specialized environment of the central nervous system. Upon activation, they transform from a resting 'ramified' into a fully functional 'amoeboid' phenotype with the ability to perform phagocytosis and generate free radicals. A combined flow cytometric assay for the simultaneous measurement of these two functions in porcine microglia in vitro is presented: reactive oxygen species are detected using hydroethidine; phagocytosis is assessed using fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled latex beads.

Clinical potential of intravenous neural stem cell delivery for treatment of neuroinflammatory disease in mice?

While neural stem cells (NSCs) are widely expected to become a therapeutic agent for treatment of severe injuries to the central nervous system (CNS), currently there are only few detailed preclinical studies linking cell fate with experimental outcome. In this study, we aimed to validate whether IV administration of allogeneic NSC can improve experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established animal model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). For this, we cultured adherently growing luciferase-expressing NSCs (NSC-Luc), which displayed a uniform morphology and expression profile of membrane and intracellular markers, and which displayed an in vitro differentiation potential into neurons and astrocytes.

Allogeneic stromal cell implantation in brain tissue leads to robust microglial activation.

Although adult and embryonic stem cell-based therapy for central nervous system (CNS) injury is being developed worldwide, less attention is given to the immunological aspects of allogeneic cell implantation in the CNS. The latter is of major importance because, from a practical point of view, future stem cell-based therapy for CNS injury will likely be performed using well-characterised allogeneic stem cell populations. In this study, we aimed to further describe the immunological mechanism leading to rejection of allogeneic bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BM-SC) after implantation in murine CNS.

Microglia: gatekeepers of central nervous system immunology.

Microglia are perhaps the most underestimated cell type of our immune system. Not only were immunologists unaware of their capabilities until recently, but also, some neuroscientists denied their actual existence until the late 20th century. Nowadays, their presence is confirmed extensively, as demonstrated by numerous reports describing their involvement in virtually all neuropathologies.

Effects of the pig renal epithelial cell line LLC-PK1 and its conditioned medium on the phenotype of porcine microglia in vitro.

Microglia are dispersed throughout the central nervous system. Under physiological circumstances they display a 'ramified' resting phenotype. In different neuropathologies microglia reversibly transform into the activated form, an amoeboid phagocyte with a broad spectrum of immune effector functions.

Inhibition of microglia multinucleated giant cell formation and induction of differentiation by GM-CSF using a porcine in vitro model.

Multinucleated giant cell (MNGC) formation is an important histopathologic feature of AIDS dementia complex and tuberculous meningitis. We investigated the effect of several cytokines (GM-CSF, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-3) and other stimuli (vaso-I, LPS, PMA) on MNGC formation in vitro by microglia from porcine neonatal brain. GM-CSF dose-dependently inhibited giant cell formation at physiological conditions (10 ng/ml) up till 4 days in culture.