不同佐剂的复合黏膜疫苗鼻内免疫小鼠抗弓形虫感染的保护作用

目的比较IFN-γ和蜂胶作为佐剂鼻内免疫小鼠抗弓形虫攻击的能力,探索两种佐剂联合应用的效果。方法将5-6周龄雌性BALB／c小鼠60只随机分为4个组,每组15只,分别用20雌可溶性速殖子抗原（STAg）、20μg STAg＋40μg蜂胶、20μgSTAg＋1000U IFN-γ或20μgSTAg＋40μg蜂胶＋1000UIFN-γ鼻内免疫小鼠2次．间隔14d。末次免疫后第10天,用RH株弓形虫速殖子4×10^4个／只灌胃攻击,逐日观察小鼠存活情况。攻击后第43天处死全部存活小鼠,计算胸腺、脾指数,计数脑、肝组织速殖子。结果STAg＋IFN-γ组、STAg＋蜂胶＋IFN-γ组胸腺、脾指数显著高于STAg组（P〈0．05）;组织内速殖子虫荷显著降低（P〈0．01）,STAg＋IFN-γ组小鼠脑、肝组织减虫率分别为57．00％和79．06％;STAg＋蜂胶＋IFN-γ组小鼠脑、肝减虫率分别为68．30％和79．06％。STAg＋蜂胶组小鼠胸腺、脾指数有升高趋势,组织内速殖子虫荷降低,但与STAg组比较差异无统计学意义。结论在抗弓形虫感染中,IFN-γ、蜂胶＋IFN-γ的佐剂效果优于蜂胶,IFN-γ、蜂胶＋IFN-γ辅助STAg显著提高小鼠胸腺、脾比重,增强机体免疫能力,有效抵抗弓形虫的感染攻击,脑、肝组织速殖子虫荷显著减少。     

The Effect of Cytokines on Expression of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase-65 in Cultured Islets

Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is an autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the pancreatic islets (insulitis). Cytokines released as part of the insulitis process have been suggested to play an important role in the beta cell lesion of IDDM. A possible diabetogenic effect of cytokines may be mediated by their inducing abnormal expression of islet cell autoantigens. Since glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 (GAD-65) is a target autoantigen in IDDM, we investigated whether the cytokines IL-1β, TNFα IFNγ altered islet cell expression of GAD-65 and whether the effect of cytokines on GAD-65 expression was similar to their effect on insulin secretion.

We found that: 1) IL-1β at low dose (1 U/ml) which stimulated insulin secretion, had no effect on GAD-65 expression, whereas higher doses of IL-1β (10, 100, 1000 U/ml) which inhibited insulin secretion, decreased GAD-65 expression. 2) TNFα at doses of 10, 100, 1000 U/ml which stimulated insulin secretion had no effect on GAD-65 expression. 3) IFNγ at doses of 10, 100, 1000 U/ml had no effect on insulin secretion or on GAD-65 expression. 4) In combination, IL-1β plus TNFα and IFNγ showed a similar inhibitory effect on GAD-65 expression as IL-1β alone.

In summary: 1) IL-1β dramatically inhibits GAD-65 expression. 2) TNFα and IFNγ have no effect on GAD-65 expression. Of these three cytokines, IL-1β is the primary cytokine affecting GAD-65 expression.     

Allostimulatory activity as a criterion of the functional phenotype of human macrophages

The functional phenotype of macrophages (Mφ) is determined by both differentiation factors and polarization stimuli. In mouse Mφ could be easily divided into the distinct Mφ subtypes. However, the identification of human M1 and M2 cells is much more difficult due to the lack of M1- or M2-specific markers. We assumed that the Mφ capacity to induce T cell proliferation in mixed leukocyte culture, or allostimulatory activity, may be a marker of Mφ functional phenotype. We compared the allostimulatory activity of Mφ differentiated with GM-CSF or M-CSF and polarized into M1, M2a, M2c subtypes using appropriate stimuli. GM-CSF-differentiated M1 Mφ showed pronounced allostimulatory activity whereas the polarization into M2a and M2c of GM-CSF-differentiated Mφ was associated with decreased allostimulatory activity. M-CSF-differentiated M1 Mφ demonstrated the moderate increasing of allostimulatory activity but its level has never reached that of GM-CSF-activated M1. The level of allostimulatory activity of M2a and M2c M-CSF-induced Mφ was comparable to that of GM-CSF-induced M2a and M2c Mφ. Thus, low allostimulatory activity is a common property of human M2a and M2c macrophages regardless of the differentiating factor and a polarizing stimulus and can be used to distinguish between M1 and M2 phenotypes.     

Protein-bound polysaccharide activates dendritic cells and enhances OVA-specific T cell response as vaccine adjuvant

Protein-bound polysaccharide-K (PSK) is a hot water extract from Trametes versicolor mushroom. It has been used traditionally in Asian countries for its immune stimulating and anti-cancer effects. We have recently found that PSK can activate Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). TLR2 is highly expressed on dendritic cells (DC), so the current study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of PSK on DC activation and the potential of using PSK as a vaccine adjuvant. In vitro experiments using mouse bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) demonstrated that PSK induces DC maturation as shown by dose-dependent increase in the expression of CD80, CD86, MHCII, and CD40. PSK also induces the production of multiple inflammatory cytokines by DC, including IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-6, at both mRNA and protein levels. In vivo experiments using PSK as an adjuvant to OVAp323–339 vaccine showed that PSK as adjuvant leads to enlarged draining lymph nodes with higher number of activated DC. PSK also stimulates proliferation of OVA-specific T cells, and induces T cells that produce multiple cytokines, IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α. Altogether, these results demonstrate the ability of PSK to activate DC in vitro and in vivo and the potential of using PSK as a novel vaccine adjuvant.     

Exhausted NK cells and cytokine storms in COVID-19: Whether NK cell therapy could be a therapeutic choice

The global outbreak of coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) still claims more lives daily around the world due to the lack of a definitive treatment and the rapid tendency of virus to mutate, which even jeopardizes vaccination efficacy. At the forefront battle against SARS-CoV-2, an effective innate response to the infection has a pivotal role in the initial control and treatment of disease. However, SARS-CoV-2 subtly interrupts the equations of immune responses, disrupting the cytolytic antiviral effects of NK cells, while seriously activating infected macrophages and other immune cells to induce an unleashed “cytokine storm”, a dangerous and uncontrollable inflammatory response causing life-threatening symptoms in patients. Notably, the NK cell exhaustion with ineffective cytolytic function against the sources of exaggerated cytokine release, acts as an Achilles’ heel which exacerbates the severity of COVID-19. Given this, approaches that improve NK cell cytotoxicity may benefit treatment protocols. As a suggestion, adoptive transfer of NK or CAR-NK cells with proper cytotolytic potentials and the lowest capacity of cytokine-release (for example CD56^dim NK cells brightly express activating receptors), to severe COVID-19 patients may provide an effective cure especially in cases suffering from cytokine storms. More intriguingly, the ongoing evidence for persistent clonal expansion of NK memory cells characterized by an activating phenotype in response to viral infections, can benefit the future studies on vaccine development and adoptive NK cell therapy in COVID-19. Whether vaccinated volunteers or recovered patients can also be considered as suitable candidates for cell donation could be the subject of future research.     

Leukemia derived dendritic cell (DCleu) mediated immune response goes along with reduced (leukemia-specific) regulatory T-cells

The blastmodulatory Kit-M, composed of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating-factor (GM-CSF) and Prostaglandin E1 (PGE₁), is known to convert myeloid leukaemic blasts (from AML patients) into leukaemia derived dendritic cells (DC_leu), which activate immunoreactive cells to gain antileukemic/leukaemia-specific activity. In this study we had a special focus on the influence of Kit-M treated, DC/DCleu containing patients’whole blood (WB, n = 16) on the provision of immunosuppressive regulatory T-cells.We could confirm that Kit-M significantly increased frequencies of (mature) dendritic cells (DC) and DC_leu from leukemic whole blood (WB) without induction of blast proliferation. After mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) with patients’ T-cells we confirmed that DC_leu mediated leukemia-specific responses- going along with activated and leukemia-specific T- and NK-cells in an intracellular cytokine staining assay (ICS) and a degranulation assay (Deg)- resulted in an increased anti-leukemic cytotoxicity (Cytotoxicity Fluorolysis Assay = CTX). We could demonstrate that (leukemia-specific) CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ regulatory T-cell population (T_reg) decreased significantly after MLC compared to controls. We found significant positive correlations of leukemia-specific CD3⁺CD4⁺ cells with frequencies of (mature) DC_leu. Achieved anti-leukemic cytotoxicity correlated significantly positive with leukemia-specific CD3⁺CD8⁺ cells and significantly negatively with (leukemia-specific) T_reg.In summary we demonstrate that immunesuppressive (leukemia-specific) regulatory T-cells are significantly downregulated after Kit-M triggered MLC- going along with a (reinstalled) antileukemic reactivity of the immune system (as demonstrated with functional assays ICS, Deg, CTX).