Self and microbiota-derived epitopes induce CD4 T cell anergy and conversion into CD4Foxp3 regulatory cells.

The physiological role of T cell anergy induction as a key mechanism supporting self-tolerance remains undefined, and natural antigens that induce anergy are largely unknown. In this report, we used TCR sequencing to show that the recruitment of CD4CD44Foxp3CD73FR4 anergic (Tan) cells expands the CD4Foxp3 (Tregs) repertoire. Next, we report that blockade in peripherally-induced Tregs (pTregs) formation due to mutation in CNS1 region of Foxp3 or chronic exposure to a selecting self-peptide result in an accumulation of Tan cells.

Commensal epitopes drive differentiation of colonic T.

The gut microbiome is the largest source of intrinsic non-self-antigens that are continuously sensed by the immune system but typically do not elicit lymphocyte responses. CD4 T cells are critical to sustain uninterrupted tolerance to microbial antigens and to prevent intestinal inflammation. However, clinical interventions targeting commensal bacteria-specific CD4 T cells are rare, because only a very limited number of commensal-derived epitopes have been identified.

Probing lasting cryoinjuries to oocyte-embryo transcriptome.

Clinical applications of oocytes cryopreservation include preservation of future fertility of young cancer patients, substitution of embryo freezing to avoid associated legal and ethical issues, and delaying childbearing years. While the outcome of oocyte cryopreservation has recently been improved, currently used vitrification method still suffer from increased biosafety risk and handling issues while slow freezing techniques yield overall low success. Understanding better the mechanism of cryopreservation-induced injuries may lead to development of more reliable and safe methods for oocyte cryopreservation.

Optimization of cryoprotectant loading into murine and human oocytes.

Loading of cryoprotectants into oocytes is an important step of the cryopreservation process, in which the cells are exposed to potentially damaging osmotic stresses and chemical toxicity. Thus, we investigated the use of physics-based mathematical optimization to guide design of cryoprotectant loading methods for mouse and human oocytes. We first examined loading of 1.

Comparison and avoidance of toxicity of penetrating cryoprotectants.

The objective of this study was to elucidate the toxicity of widely used penetrating cryoprotective agents (CPAs) to mammalian oocytes. To this end, mouse metaphase II (M II) oocytes were exposed to 1.5 M solutions of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG), or propanediol (PROH) prepared in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) containing 10% fetal bovine serum.

Cryobanking of embryoid bodies to facilitate basic research and cell-based therapies.

Pluripotent stem cells offer unique opportunities for curing debilitating diseases. However, further comprehensive research is needed to better understand cell signaling during the differentiation of pluripotent cells into different cell lineages and accordingly to develop clinically applicable protocols. One of the limiting steps for differentiation studies is proper culture and expansion of pluripotent stem cells, which is labor intensive, expensive, and requires a great deal of expertise.