The Transcriptional Regulator Id2 Is Critical for Adipose-Resident Regulatory T Cell Differentiation, Survival, and Function.

Adipose regulatory T cells (aTregs) have emerged as critical cells for the control of local and systemic inflammation. In this study, we show a distinctive role for the transcriptional regulator Id2 in the differentiation, survival, and function of aTregs in mice. Id2 was highly expressed in aTregs compared with high Id3 expression in lymphoid regulatory T cells (Tregs).

The Lysophosphatidylcholine Transporter MFSD2A Is Essential for CD8 Memory T Cell Maintenance and Secondary Response to Infection.

Access to nutrients is critical for an effective T cell immune response to infection. Although transporters for sugars and amino acids have previously been described in the context of the CD8 T cell immune response, the active transport of exogenous fatty acids has remained enigmatic. In this study, we discovered that the sodium-dependent lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) transporter major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A (MFSD2A) is upregulated on activated CD8 T cells and is required for memory T cell maintenance.

Acute psychosocial stress in mid-aged male rats causes hyperthermia, cognitive decline, and increased deep sleep power, but does not alter deep sleep duration.

Aging is associated with altered sleep architecture and worsened hippocampus-dependent cognition, highly prevalent clinical conditions that detract from quality of life for the elderly. Interestingly, exposure to psychosocial stress causes similar responses in young subjects, suggesting that age itself may act as a stressor. In prior work, we demonstrated that young animals show loss of deep sleep, deficits in cognition, and elevated body temperature after acute stress exposure, whereas aged animals are hyporesponsive on these measures.

Invariant natural killer T-cell development and function with loss of microRNA-155.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are adaptive T cells with innate-like characteristics including rapid cytokine production and a proliferative response to stimulation. Development of these cells in the thymus is dependent on expression of the microRNA (miRNA) processing enzyme Dicer, indicating that iNKT cells probably have distinct miRNA requirements for gene regulation during development. The miRNA miR-155 has previously been shown to have numerous roles in T cells, including regulation of proliferation and differentiation, and positive modulation of interferon-γ expression.

Stages versus subsets: Invariant Natural Killer T cell lineage differentiation.

Invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells represent a population of innate T lymphocytes which act as 'first-responders' to infection. While they have long been considered a versatile cell, capable of secretion of multiple cytokines upon activation, recent evidence now indicates that distinct lineages of iNKT cells with unique transcriptional and cytokine profiles exist in different peripheral tissue and as such represent 'fine-tuning' of these cells, which act as mediators between the innate and adaptive immune systems. Here we discuss the molecules regulating the differentiation of iNKT cell lineages, the transcription factors associated with their development, and the role of E protein transcription factors and their negative regulators the Id proteins, as these cells develop from immature progenitor cells to terminally differentiated cells in peripheral tissue.

Aged rats are hypo-responsive to acute restraint: implications for psychosocial stress in aging.

Cognitive processes associated with prefrontal cortex and hippocampus decline with age and are vulnerable to disruption by stress. The stress/stress hormone/allostatic load hypotheses of brain aging posit that brain aging, at least in part, is the manifestation of life-long stress exposure. In addition, as humans age, there is a profound increase in the incidence of new onset stressors, many of which are psychosocial (e.

Hippocampal CA1 transcriptional profile of sleep deprivation: relation to aging and stress.

Background: Many aging changes seem similar to those elicited by sleep-deprivation and psychosocial stress. Further, sleep architecture changes with age suggest an age-related loss of sleep. Here, we hypothesized that sleep deprivation in young subjects would elicit both stress and aging-like transcriptional responses.

Microarray analyses of laser-captured hippocampus reveal distinct gray and white matter signatures associated with incipient Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that threatens to reach epidemic proportions as our population ages. Although much research has examined molecular pathways associated with AD, relatively few such studies have focused on the disease's critical early stages. In a prior microarray study we correlated gene expression in hippocampus with degree of Alzheimer's disease and found close associations between upregulation of apparent glial transcription factor/epigenetic/tumor suppressor genes and incipient AD.

Deep sleep and parietal cortex gene expression changes are related to cognitive deficits with age.

Background: Age-related cognitive deficits negatively affect quality of life and can presage serious neurodegenerative disorders. Despite sleep disruption's well-recognized negative influence on cognition, and its prevalence with age, surprisingly few studies have tested sleep's relationship to cognitive aging.

Methodology: We measured sleep stages in young adult and aged F344 rats during inactive (enhanced sleep) and active (enhanced wake) periods.