The interaction of normal lymphocytes and cells from lymphoid cell lines: II. Variations relating to cell line source and lymphocyte donor

Irradiated LCL cells from several sources activated the blood lymphocytes of a panel of donors. Individual differences were present but were small. Stimulated blood lymphocytes were more potent activators (after X-irradiation) than small lymphocytes in a one-way mixed lymphocyte reaction, indicating that the state of metabolic activity of the `stimulating' lymphocyte affects the level of activation achieved. However, LCL cells incubated for several days after irradiation had not lost stimulatory capacity. Lymphocytes of pigs, rabbits, rats and mice were much less responsive than human lymphocytes. The response of animal lymphocytes generally varied with the species of origin of the serum used in the cultures.     

The Turner syndrome research registry: Creating equipoise between investigators and participants

To address knowledge gaps about Turner syndrome (TS) associated disease mechanisms, the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States created the Turner Syndrome Research Registry (TSRR), a patient‐powered registry for girls and women with TS. More than 600 participants, parents or guardians completed a 33‐item foundational survey that included questions about demographics, medical conditions, psychological conditions, sexuality, hormonal therapy, patient and provider knowledge about TS, and patient satisfaction. The TSRR platform is engineered to allow individuals living with rare conditions and investigators to work side‐by‐side. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept, architecture, and currently available content of the TSRR, in anticipation of inviting proposals to utilize registry resources.     

T cell developmental defects in 'viable motheaten' mice deficient in SHP-1 protein-tyrosine phosphatase. Developmental defects are corrected in vitro in the presence of normal hematopoietic-origin stromal cells and in vivo by exogenous IL-7

Defects in the gene that encodes SHP-1 protein tyrosine phosphatase result in multiple hematopoietic abnormalities and generalized autoimmunity in viable motheaten (me(v)) mice. These mice also exhibit early thymic involution and abnormalities in T cell development. Here, we describe the use of fetal thymic organ culture (FTOC) and bone marrow adoptive transfer to study the effects of SHP-1 deficiency on thymocyte development. Chimeric FTOC established with normal bone marrow placed onto deoxyguanosine-treated fetal thymic lobes or onto scid fetal thymic lobes generated T cells. Bone marrow from SHP-1-deficient me(v)/ me(v) mice generated decreased numbers of T cells in chimeric FTOC established using deoxyguanosine-treated thymi but generated normal numbers in chimeric FTOC established using scid thymi. However, scid fetal thymi seeded with me(v)/ me(v) bone marrow also exhibited morphological abnormalities and contained elevated numbers of macrophages. Addition of IL-7 to me(v)/ me(v) bone marrow-seeded scid FTOC led to increased cell numbers, particularly of macrophages. Intrathymic injection of IL-7 partially restored the ability of progenitor cells in me(v)/ me(v) bone marrow to populate the thymus of adoptive recipients. We conclude that abnormal T cell development in me(v)/ me(v) mice may in part be due to defects in the ability of bone marrow-derived accessory cells to provide bioavailable IL-7 to developing thymocytes.     

A chronic mouse model of Parkinson's disease has a reduced gait pattern certainty

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model will display less certainty in its gait pattern due to basal ganglia dysfunction. A chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model was induced by injecting male C57/BL mice with 10 doses of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (25 mg/kg) (MPTP) and probenecid (250 mg/kg) (P) over 5 weeks. This chronic model produces a severe and persistent loss of nigrostriatal neurons resulting in dopamine depletion and locomotor impairment. The control mice were treated with probenecid alone. Fifteen weeks after the last MPTP/P treatment, the mice were videotaped in the sagittal plane with a digital camera (60 Hz) as they ran on a motorized treadmill at a speed of 10 m/min. The indices of gait and gait variability were calculated. Stride length was significantly (p = 0.016) more variable in the chronic MPTP/P mice. Additionally, the chronic MPTP/P mice had a statistically less certain gait pattern when compared to the control mice (p = 0.02). These results suggest that variability in the gait pattern can be used to evaluate changes in neural function. Additionally, our results imply that disorder of the basal ganglia results in less certainty in modulating the descending motor command that controls the gait pattern.     

The in vitro transformation of thymocytes and lymphocytes from humans, rabbits and guinea-pigs and from thymomas

The response of human, rabbit and guinea-pig thymocytes in culture to blastogenic stimulants such as phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and staphylococcal filtrate (SF) was usually considerably less than that seen with equivalent numbers of peripheral blood and lymph node lymphocytes.     

PCR strategy for identification and differentiation of small pox and other orthopoxviruses.

Rapid identification and differentiation of orthopoxviruses by PCR were achieved with primers based on genome sequences encoding the hemagglutinin (HA) protein, an infected-cell membrane antigen that distinguishes orthopoxviruses from other poxvirus genera. The initial identification step used a primer pair of consensus sequences for amplifying an HA DNA fragment from the three known North American orthopoxviruses (raccoonpox, skunkpox, and volepox viruses), and a second pair for amplifying virtually the entire HA open reading frame of the Eurasian-African orthopoxviruses (variola, vaccinia, cowpox, monkeypox, camelpox, ectromelia, and gerbilpox viruses). RsaI digest electropherograms of the amplified DNAs of the former subgroup provided species differentiation, and TaqI digests differentiated the Eurasian-African orthopoxviruses, including vaccinia virus from the vaccinia virus subspecies buffalopox virus. Endonuclease HhaI digest patterns distinguished smallpox variola major viruses from alastrim variola minor viruses. For the Eurasian-African orthopoxviruses, a confirmatory step that used a set of higher-sequence-homology primers was developed to provide sensitivity to discern individual virus HA DNAs from cross-contaminated orthopoxvirus DNA samples; TaqI and HhaI digestions of the individual amplified HA DNAs confirmed virus identity. Finally, a set of primers and modified PCR conditions were developed on the basis of base sequence differences within the HA genes of the 10 species, which enabled production of a single DNA fragment of a particular size that indicated the specific species.     

Aging and prefrontal functions: dissociating orbitofrontal and dorsolateral abilities

This study aimed to determine whether age differentially affects performance on tasks tapping orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We administered prefrontal measures to healthy younger ( n=23; age= 28.4+/-5.9, education = 15.7+/-2.6, MMSE=29.5+/-0.6 ) and older participants ( n=20; age=69.1+/-5.0, education =15.5+/-3.4, MMSE =28.9+/-1.5). Groups did not differ on education or mental status, P>0.05. Tasks thought to involve greater OFC processing included the Iowa Gambling Task and Delayed Match and Non-Match to Sample Tasks. Tasks requiring greater DLPFC processing included Petrides' Self-Ordered Pointing, WAIS-R Digit Span Backward, Letter Fluency, and Months Backward from the Boston Revision of WMS-Mental Control. Composite z-scores were calculated for OFC and DLPFC tasks. A 2 x 2 ANOVA revealed a Group x Task interaction: F(1,41) =5.55, P=0.02, and a Group main effect: F(1,41)= 12.16, P=0.001. Follow-up analyses revealed younger adults outperformed older adults on OFC tasks only ( younger = 0.37+/-0.46, older= -0.43+/-0.70; t(41) =4.5, P<0.001 ). Post-hoc analyses of individual tasks confirmed that despite age differences on Petrides' Self-Ordered Pointing, measures requiring relatively greater OFC involvement showed larger effect sizes for age differences. Thus, tasks emphasizing OFC functions appear more sensitive to age effects when directly compared to measures of DLPFC functioning. Reasons for this difference in magnitude may stem from differential aging of prefrontal cortex or differential recruitment of alternative brain regions for successful task completion.     

Expression of the cytoplasmic tail of LMP1 in mice induces hyperactivation of B lymphocytes and disordered lymphoid architecture

The oncogenic EBV protein LMP1 mimics a dysregulated CD40 receptor in vitro. To compare CD40 and LMP1-mediated events in vivo, transgenic mice were engineered to express mouse CD40 (mCD40tg) or a protein with extracellular mCD40 and cytoplasmic LMP1 (mCD40-LMP1tg). Transgenic and CD40(-/-) mice were bred so that only the transgenic CD40 molecule is expressed in B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. mCD40-LMP1tg mice had normal lymphocyte subsets, and immunization elicited an antibody response featuring normal isotype switching, affinity maturation, and germinal center (GC) formation. However, unimmunized mCD40-LMP1tg mice had expanded immature and germinal center B cells, produced autoantibodies, exhibited marked splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy, and elevated serum IL-6. Thus, signaling through the LMP1 cytoplasmic tail results in amplified and abnormal mimicry of CD40 functions in vivo, indicating possible ways in which LMP1 contributes to the pathogenesis of EBV-associated human disease.     

Primary proliferative and cytotoxic T-cell responses to HIV induced in vitro by human dendritic cells.

In earlier studies, primary proliferative and cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses to influenza virus were produced in vitro by using mouse dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with virus or viral peptide as the stimulus for syngeneic T cells in 20-microliters hanging-drop cultures. We have now adapted this system for producing primary responses with cells from non-immune donors to produce primary proliferative and CTL responses to human immunodeficiency virus I (HIV) and to HIV peptides in vitro using cells from normal human peripheral blood. All donors in this study were laboratory personnel with no history of HIV infection. DC enriched from peripheral blood were exposed to HIV in vitro and small numbers were added to T lymphocytes in 20-microliters hanging drops. Proliferative responses to virus-infected DC were obtained after 3 days in culture. After 6 days, CTL were obtained that killed virus-infected autologous--but not allogeneic--phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated blast cells. Proliferative and CTL responses were obtained using cells from 14 random donors expressing a spectrum of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) types but the CTL, once produced, showed killing restricted by the MHC class I type. Treatment of cultures with monoclonal antibody (mAb) to CD4-positive cells at the beginning of culture blocked the development of both proliferative and CTL responses, but treatment after 5 days had no effect on the CTL activity. Treatment with MCA to CD8-positive cells at the beginning of culture did not block proliferation significantly, but treatment either before or after the 5-day culture period blocked CTL responses. Collaboration between proliferating CD4-positive cells and CD8-positive cells may thus be required to produce CTL of the CD8 phenotype. DC exposed to HIV also produced CTL that killed autologous blast cells pulsed with gp120 envelope glycoprotein. However, DC infected with whole virus did not produce CTL that lysed target cells pulsed with a synthetic peptide, which included a known T-cell epitope of gp120 (representing amino acids 111-126). DC pulsed with gp120 were a poor stimulus for the development of CTL. In contrast, DC pulsed with the peptide (111-126) stimulated both proliferative and CTL responses. The latter killed not only target cells pulsed with the peptide itself or with gp120 but also killed virus-infected autologous blast cells. CTL were again obtained reproducibly with this peptide using donors expressing a spectrum of MHC types.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)