Publications by authors named "Kwang-Soon Kim"

Article Synopsis
  • Memory-phenotype (MP) CD4 T lymphocytes develop from naïve T cells and can differentiate into various T cell subsets to manage inflammation, especially in low-immune settings.
  • The study highlights that MP lymphocytes are not only made up of T helper 1 (T1) and T helper 17 (T17) cells but also contain a "undifferentiated" subpopulation that has the potential to develop into these functional subsets.
  • The undifferentiated MP lymphocytes possess the ability to proliferate rapidly and can differentiate into T1, T17, and regulatory T cells, which contributes to inflammation, although their response is regulated by existing T cells.
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Food components suppressing small intestinal tumorigenesis are not well-defined partly because of the rarity of this tumor type compared to colorectal tumors. Using mice, a mouse model for intestinal tumorigenesis, and antigen-free diet, we report here that food antigens serve this function in the small intestine. By depleting Peyer's patches (PPs), immune inductive sites in the small intestine, we found that PPs have a role in the suppression of small intestinal tumors and are important for the induction of small intestinal T cells by food antigens.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intestinal bacteria (microbiota) are shown to influence the function of regulatory T (Treg) cells in the colon, but the specifics of this interaction were previously unclear.
  • This study utilizes advanced techniques to analyze Tregs from both standard mice and germ-free mice, revealing that microbiota influences the development of specific Treg types.
  • The findings highlight a new interaction between gut microbiota and immune cells, suggesting potential therapeutic approaches for treating intestinal inflammatory diseases.
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The gut microbiota plays an important role in regulating the host immune systems. It is well established that various commensal microbial species can induce the differentiation of CD4 T helper subsets such as Foxp3 regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells in antigen-dependent manner. The ability of certain microbial species to induce either Treg cells or Th17 cells is often linked to the altered susceptibility to certain immune disorders that are provoked by aberrant T cell response against self-antigens.

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Under steady-state conditions, conventional CD4 T lymphocytes are classically divided into naïve (CD44 CD62L) and memory (CD44 CD62L) cell compartments. While the latter population is presumed to comprise a mixture of distinct subpopulations of explicit foreign antigen (Ag)-specific "authentic" memory and foreign Ag-independent memory-phenotype (MP) cells, phenotypic markers differentially expressed in these two cell types have yet to be identified. Moreover, while MP cells themselves have been previously described as heterogeneous, it is unknown whether they consist of distinct subsets defined by marker expression.

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Dietary antigens affect the adaptive immunity of the host by inducing regulatory T cells and IgE-producing B cells. However, their roles in innate immune compartments such as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are unclear. Here, using antigen-free (AF) mice, which are germ-free (GF) mice fed with amino-acid-based diet, we found dietary proteins suppress the development of GATA-3-expressing ILC2s independent of the adaptive immune cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study looked at how helpful bacteria in our gut that make a substance called lactate affect blood cell production from special cells called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).
  • Scientists found that when mice were missing a receptor for lactate (called Gpr81), they had fewer HSCs in their bone marrow compared to normal mice.
  • Giving the mice bacteria that produce lactate helped boost blood cell production and the ability of HSCs to renew themselves, showing that lactate from gut bacteria helps keep our blood system healthy.
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Although murine γδ T cells are largely considered innate immune cells, they have recently been reported to form long-lived memory populations. Much remains unknown about the biology and specificity of memory γδ T cells. Here, we interrogated intestinal memory Vγ4 Vδ1 T cells generated after foodborne Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) infection to uncover an unanticipated complexity in the specificity of these cells.

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Yeast is an integral part of mammalian microbiome, and like commensal bacteria, has the potential of being harnessed to influence immunity in clinical settings. However, functional specificities of yeast-derived immunoregulatory molecules remain elusive. Here we find that while under steady state, β-1,3-glucan-containing polysaccharides potentiate pro-inflammatory properties, a relatively less abundant class of cell surface polysaccharides, dubbed mannan/β-1,6-glucan-containing polysaccharides (MGCP), is capable of exerting potent anti-inflammatory effects to the immune system.

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The intestine harbors a complex community of bacterial species collectively known as commensal microbiota. Specific species of resident bacteria, as known as pathobiont, have pathogenic potential and can induce apparent damage to the host and intestinal inflammation in a certain condition. However, the host immune factors that permit its commensalism under steady state conditions are not clearly understood.

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The complement fragment C5a is closely associated with adaptive immune induction in the mucosa. However, the mechanisms that control CD8 T cell responses by C5a have not been extensively explored. This study reveals that C5/C5a in the Peyer's patch (PP) subepithelial dome increases upon oral Listeria infection.

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Mucin-degrading bacteria are densely populated in the intestinal epithelium; however, their interaction with intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and their progeny have not been elucidated. To determine whether mucin-degrading bacteria play a role in gut homeostasis, mice were treated with , a specialized species that degrades mucin. Administration of for 4 weeks accelerated the proliferation of Lgr5 ISCs and promoted the differentiation of Paneth cells and goblet cells in the small intestine (SI).

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Retinal dehydrogenase (RALDH) enzymatic activities catalyze the conversion of vitamin A to its metabolite Retinoic acid (RA) in intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) and promote immunological tolerance. However, precise understanding of the exogenous factors that act as initial trigger of RALDH activity in these cells is still evolving. By using germ-free (GF) mice raised on an antigen free (AF) elemental diet, we find that certain components in diet are critically required to establish optimal RALDH expression and activity, most prominently in small intestinal CD103CD11b DCs (siLP-DCs) right from the beginning of their lives.

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CD4 T lymphocytes consist of naïve, antigen-specific memory, and memory-phenotype (MP) cell compartments at homeostasis. We recently showed that MP cells exert innate-like effector function during host defense, but whether MP CD4 T cells are functionally heterogeneous and, if so, what signals specify the differentiation of MP cell subpopulations under homeostatic conditions is still unclear. Here we characterize MP lymphocytes as consisting of T-bet, T-bet, and T-bet subsets, with innate, Th1-like effector activity exclusively associated with T-bet cells.

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The primary induction sites for intestinal IgA are the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), such as Peyer's patches (PPs) and isolated lymphoid follicles (ILFs). The commensal microbiota is known to contribute to IgA production in the gut; however, the role of dietary antigens in IgA production is poorly understood. To understand the effect of dietary antigens on IgA production, post-weaning mice were maintained on an elemental diet without any large immunogenic molecules.

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The microbiota regulate hematopoiesis in the bone marrow (BM); however, the detailed mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we explored how microbiota-derived molecules (MDMs) were transferred to the BM and sensed by the local immune cells to control hematopoiesis under steady-state conditions. We reveal that MDMs, including bacterial DNA (bDNA), reach the BM via systemic blood circulation and are captured by CX3CR1+ mononuclear cells (MNCs).

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Immunoglobulin E (IgE), a key mediator in allergic diseases, is spontaneously elevated in mice with disrupted commensal microbiota such as germ-free (GF) and antibiotics-treated mice. However, the underlying mechanisms for aberrant IgE elevation are still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that food antigens drive spontaneous IgE elevation in GF and antibiotics-treated mice by generating T helper 2 (T2)-skewed T follicular helper (T) cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALTs).

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Foxp3+ regulatory CD4+ T (Treg) cells play an essential role in preventing overt immune responses against self and innocuous foreign antigens. Selective expansion of endogenous Treg cells in response to the administration of interleukin (IL)-2/antibody complex, such as the IL-2/JES6-1 complex (IL-2C) in mice, is considered an attractive therapeutic approach to various immune disorders. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of IL-2C in allergic airway inflammation models.

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A lacteal is a blunt-ended, long, tube-like lymphatic vessel located in the center of each intestinal villus that provides a unique route for drainage of absorbed lipids from the small intestine. However, key regulators for maintaining lacteal integrity are poorly understood. Here, we explore whether and how the gut microbiota regulates lacteal integrity.

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T cells proliferate vigorously following acute depletion of CD4 Foxp3 T regulatory cells [natural Tregs (nTregs)] and also when naive T cells are transferred to syngeneic, nTreg-deficient hosts. Here, using mice raised in an antigen-free (AF) environment, we show that proliferation in these two situations is directed to self ligands rather than food or commensal antigens. In both situations, the absence of nTregs elevates B7 expression on host dendritic cells (DCs) and enables a small subset of naive CD4 T cells with high self affinity to respond overtly to host DCs: bidirectional T/DC interaction ensues, leading to progressive DC activation and reciprocal strong proliferation of T cells accompanied by peripheral Treg (pTreg) formation.

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Symbionts play an indispensable role in gut homeostasis, but underlying mechanisms remain elusive. To clarify the role of lactic-acid-producing bacteria (LAB) on intestinal stem-cell (ISC)-mediated epithelial development, we fed mice with LAB-type symbionts such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus spp. Here we show that administration of LAB-type symbionts significantly increased expansion of ISCs, Paneth cells, and goblet cells.

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Dysregulation of intestinal microflora is linked to inflammatory disorders associated with compromised immunosuppressive functions of Foxp3 T regulatory (T) cells. Although mucosa-associated commensal microbiota has been implicated in T generation, molecular identities of the "effector" components controlling this process remain largely unknown. Here, we have defined as a potent inducer of Foxp3 T cells with diverse T cell receptor specificity to dietary antigens, commensal bacteria, and itself.

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The fast and intense proliferative responses have been well documented for naïve T cells adoptively transferred into chronic lymphopenic hosts. This response known as spontaneous proliferation (SP), unlike antigen-independent lymphopenia-induced proliferation (LIP), is driven in a manner dependent on antigens derived from commensal microbiota. However, the precise nature of the SP response and its impact on homeostasis and function for T cells rapidly responding under this lymphopenic condition are still unclear.

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Background: The posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalec tomy has several advantages compared with the transperitoneal approach such as a shorter and more direct route to the target organ, no breach of the intraperitoneal space, and no required retraction of the adjacent organs. It also is a safe procedure with a short learning curve.15 This report presents a challenging case of an extra-adrenal paraganglioma located in the aorto-caval space and managed using the retroperitoneal approach.

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