Neurotrophin Receptor p75NTR Regulates Immune Function of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) regulate innate and adaptive immunity. Neurotrophins and their receptors control the function of neuronal tissue. In addition, they have been demonstrated to be part of the immune response but little is known about the effector immune cells involved.

Generation of inducible immortalized dendritic cells with proper immune function in vitro and in vivo.

Dendritic cells are the professional antigen presenting cells of innate immunity and key players in maintaining the balance of immune responses. Studies with dendritic cells are mainly limited by their low numbers in vivo and their difficult maintenance in vitro. We differentiated bone marrow cells from transgenic mice expressing an inducible SV40 large T-antigen into dendritic cells.

Construction of an artificial secYEG operon allowing high level secretion of α-amylase.

The key components of the major secretion pathway in bacteria, the Sec pathway, are the proteins SecA, an ATPase that generates the energy required for protein translocation, and the heterotrimeric protein complex SecYEG, which functions as the preprotein-conducting channel through the cytoplasmic membrane, named translocon. Overexpression of exoproteins can cause jamming of the membrane, e.g.

The histone demethylase UTX regulates stem cell migration and hematopoiesis.

Regulated migration of hematopoietic stem cells is fundamental for hematopoiesis. The molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell trafficking are poorly defined. Based on a short hairpin RNA library and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) migration screening assay, we identified the histone 3 lysine 27 demethylase UTX (Kdm6a) as a novel regulator for hematopoietic cell migration.