Characterization of Thymic Nurse-Cell Lymphocytes,Using an Improved Procedure for Nurse-Cell Isolation

Thymic nurse cells (TNC), multicellular complexes consisting of lymphoid cells enclosed within cortical epithelial cells, were isolated from mouse thymus by a modified procedure allowing immunofluorescent labeling and flow cytometric analysis of their lymphoid contents (TNC-L). Collagenase was the only protease used for tissue digestion, to ensure that surface antigen markers remained intact. Zonal unit-gravity elutriation was used to enrich the TNC on the basis of their high sedimentation rate, followed by immunomagnetic bead depletion to remove residual mononuclear cell contaminants and a density separation to remove debris. The TNC-L were then released from inside TNC by a short period of culture. The measured contamination of TNC-L with exogenous thymocytes was around 0.5%. Three-color immunofluorescent labeling revealed that TNC-L included, as well as a maiority of immature CD4⁺8⁺3^low thymocytes, about 12% of apparently mature CD4⁺8^-3^high and CD4^-8⁺3^high thymocytes. TNC are located in the cortex, where mature cells are rare; the occurrence of mature phenotype cells within these structures suggests that they represent a microenvironment for the selection and generation of mature T cells.     

Investigations on integration of mossy fiber inputs to Purkyně cells in the anterior lobe

Summary The 275 Purkyn cells identified by the criteria of the previous paper have been investigated with respect to their role as units integrating the input to the anterior lobe from various limb nerves. The discharges from single Purkyn cells have been studied in lightly anesthetized (pentothal) or in decerebrate unanesthetized cats, there being averaging usually of 128 responses in the form of post-stimulus time histograms and cumulative frequency distributions.Single Purkyn cells exhibited a wide variation in their responses to the diverse inputs from the various afferent nerves. Attention was focussed on excitatory and inhibitory responses evoked by mossy fibers with a short latency, usually 10–15 msec for hindlimb afferents. With most Purkyn cells these responses were predominantly evoked from cutaneous nerves, low threshold fibers being particularly effective. A few Purkyn cells were preponderantly excited by afferent volleys from muscle nerves, but there was a large group with a mixed input from cutaneous and muscle nerves. Graded strengths of stimulation of muscle nerves showed that sometimes group I volleys were prepotent, but other Purkyn cells were selectively excited by group II volleys. Though sometimes the afferent volleys from antagonistic muscles had a reciprocal action on a Purkyn cell, as on a motoneurone, it was more common to find similar actions. Also convergence of inputs from forelimb and hindlirnb nerves, both cutaneous and muscular, was not uncommon, particularly in marginal areas between hindlimb and forelimb zones. A special design feature is the convergence onto a Purkyn cell of mossy fiber and climbing fiber inputs evoked by the same afferent volley. This convergence was of particular interest along the parasagittal strip of hindlimb climbing fiber distribution in lobule V.It was not possible to translate the observations into some map of the cerebellar cortex on which are marked the territorial distributions from the various limb afferent nerves. Rather, there was an ill-defined patchy character, closely adjacent Purkyn cells often receiving very different subsets of the total input from the various limb nerves. The unitary integrations accomplished by the individual Purkyn cells are further integrated when their axons converge onto and inhibit the neurones of the cerebellar nuclei, and this integration by convergence would occur in each successive relay on the output pathways from the cerebellum.It is pointed out that the experimental findings on the integrative action of the individual Purkyn cells provide basic information for attempts to construct models simulating cerebellar performance and control.Post-Doctoral Fellow NINDS (1F2NB40, 545101 NSRB).Post-Doctoral Fellow UHF Grant No. FTF-3-UB-70.     

Immature B cells from human and mouse bone marrow can change their surface light chain expression

The capacity of bone marrow-derived surface immunoglobulin-positive (sIg⁺) human and mouse immature B cells, generated either in vitro or in vivo, to change their light (L) chain expression, has been assayed by the number of cells which change in vitro from one type of L chain to the other type, or to no sIg at all. Immature sIg⁺ B cells were generated in vitro from sIg^? precursor cells from human or mouse bone marrow. The immature sIg⁺ cells expressed RAG-1. Human sIg⁺ cells expressed xfr; and λ L chains in ratios between 1:1 and 3:1, whereas in mouse cells, this ratio ranged from 10:1 to 20:1. Upon reculture of the human and mouse xfr;⁺sIg⁺ cells, about half of them remained xfr;⁺, a quarter became λ⁺, and another quarter became sIg^?. Between 1 and 3% expressed both xfr; and λ chains. Of the human λ⁺ cells, about two-thirds remained λ⁺, only 1 to 2% became xfr;⁺, while the other third became sIg^?. Again, between 1 and 3% expressed both xfr; and λ L chains. These results indicate that expression of sIgM in the B cell membrane does not terminate L chain gene rearrangement, and that some order exists in xfr; versus λ gene rearrangements. Hence, human and mouse xfr;⁺ immature B cells can become λ⁺, but very few of the λ⁺ cells can become xfr;⁺, and both can become sIg^?. Further, human CD10⁺/sIg⁺ xfr;⁺ and λ⁺ cells and mouse B220^low/sIg^low xfr;⁺ cells enriched from bone marrow, i.e. immature B cells differentiated in vivo, changed their Ig phenotype upon in vitro culture, but in lower frequencies. By contrast, human and mouse mature B cells did not change their L chain or Ig phenotype. Hence, at least a part of the sIg⁺ immature B cells in bone marrow retain the capacity to change their L chain and Ig phenotype, and this capacity is lost when they become mature, peripheral B cells.     

Fine structure of the anteromedial eye of the liphistiid spider,Heptathela kimurai

Background: The presence of efferent fibers in the anteromedial eye of liphistiid spiders kept in natural daily cycles of illuminance has been reported. However, this report is limited to innervation by the efferent fiber and daily rhabdomal changes, and there have been no detailed ultrastructural accounts of the eye. Methods: The fine structure of this eye was examined by electron microscopy. Results and conclusions: The eye consists of a cornea, a lens, a vitreous body, and a retina. The retina contains 13 or 14 receptor cells and glial cells. The rhabdoms are distal to the nuclei of the receptor cells. In the distal region of the receptive segment, the rhabdomeres lie in the center of the cell. In the middle region, anisomorphic rhabdoms formed by microvilli from adjacent cells are at the cell periphery. In the proximal region, the rhabdomeres are situated in the center of the cell. The ocellar nerve of the eye runs toward the protocerebrum and enters the posterior part of the first optic ganglion of the secondary eyes. Pigmented cells and nonpigmented cells are observed. The pigmented cells are located in the most lateral of the eye and cover the whole eye. The nonpigmented cells are located in the receptor cell bodies and extend to the origin of the ocellar nerve. They wind to form capillaries filled with electron-dense material. These structures are discussed in comparison with those of other spiders and other chelicerates. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tonic rhythmic activity of rat cerebellar neurons

Simultaneous recordings of multiple single unit activity in both cerebral and cerebellar cortex, cortical EEG, and both nuchal and vibrissal EMG were obtained in nine unrestrained rats. Putative Purkinje cells of the deep vermal cerebellar cortex exhibited rhythmic discharge of simple spikes with extremely low variability in interspike intervals for several hours. The highly rhythmic nature of spike discharge was remarkably stable across all states of sleep (both slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep) and wake including quiet waking, grooming, eating, running in a familiar environment, and exploring a novel environment. The frequencies at which oscillatory discharges took place varied, among different cells, between 16 and 142 Hz; however, 75% of the recorded cells discharged at frequencies between 20 and 50 Hz. From recordings in which two to four such cells were recorded simultaneously, evidence was found for multiple cells firing at the same frequency as well as for multiple cells firing at different frequencies. The precise timing of spike discharge in these cells makes them potential candidates to participate in timing functions thought to depend on the cerebellum     

14-3-3σ调控p27抑制Rat1-Akt细胞增殖

目的： 研究腺病毒介导14-3-3·σ（Ad-14-3-3·σ）对Akt过表达Rat1-Akt细胞增殖的影响，并探讨其作用是否通过调控p27而实现。 方法： 通过5-溴-2′脱氧尿嘧啶（BrdU）实验检测Ad-14-3-3·σ对Rat1-Akt细胞增殖的影响，并通过激酶分析法和免疫荧光实验探讨Ad-14-3-3·σ对p27磷酸化水平及其在细胞内定位的影响。 结果： Ad-14-3-3σ转染的细胞BrdU阳性率（45%）低于PBS处理组（100%）或Ad-β-gal转染的对照组细胞（98%）。14-3-3σ可降低磷酸化p27的水平和减少Akt介导的p27在胞浆中的定位。 结论： 转染14-3-3σ基因能抑制Akt过表达细胞株Rat1-Akt增殖，14-3-3σ通过降低Akt激酶磷酸化p27的活性，阻断Akt介导的p27胞浆错位，从而发挥其抑制Rat1-Akt细胞增殖。     

氧化修饰低密度脂蛋白可诱导人单核细胞源树突状细胞形成泡沫细胞

目的： 探讨氧化修饰低密度脂蛋白（ox-LDL）对人单核细胞源树突状细胞（DC）功能的影响。 方法： 采用免疫磁珠法分离人外周血CD14+单核细胞，经含rhGM-CSF（100 μg/L）和rhIL-4（20 μg/L）的Cellgro培养，使其分化为DC。DC与100 mg/L天然的或氧化修饰的LDL孵育72 h后，采用透射电镜和尼罗红染色观察细胞内脂质沉积，流式细胞术检测DC表型（CD1a，CD40，CD86，HLA-DR），混合T淋巴细胞反应检测DC对淋巴细胞增殖的影响，FITC-dextran检测DC吞噬功能，ELISA检测细胞培养上清Th1/Th2 (IL-12/IL-2)细胞因子的浓度。 结果： ox-LDL可诱导DC形成泡沫细胞，而天然的LDL无此作用。经ox-LDL处理的DC吞噬作用明显弱于天然的LDL，而对T细胞增殖作用却明显强于天然的LDL；可明显上调CD80(72.4±9.6 vs 89.5±10.1, P<0.01), CD86(67.2±8.8 vs 80.2±11.6, P＜0.01), HLA-DR(80.6±9.8 vs 86.6±10.8, P<0.01) 和CD1a(40.2±10.3 vs 60.2±9.3, P<0.01)的表达，明显促进DC细胞因子IL-12［(44.3±8.9)ng/L vs (65.1±10.4)ng/L, P<0.05］的分泌，但却降低IL-2［(43.6±7.8）ng/L vs （10.0±4.5）ng/L, P<0.01］。 结论： DC可通过摄取ox-LDL形成泡沫细胞，而后者与成熟DC的功能相似，说明DC可能是泡沫细胞新的来源，在动脉粥样硬化免疫病理发生中具有重要的作用。     

Testosterone inhibits immunoglobulin production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

We studied the in vitro effect of testosterone on spontaneous immunoglobulin production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Testosterone inhibited IgG and IgM production by PBMC both from males and females. The inhibitory effect of testosterone was revealed at doses more than 1 nm, increased dose-dependently, and reached a plateau at 100 nm. At doses <1000 nm, testosterone did not reduce cell viability. Testosterone treatment reduced IgG production by 59.0% and that of IgM by 61.3% compared with control. Immunoglobulin production by B cells was also suppressed by testosterone, though the magnitude of the suppressive effect on B cells was lower than that on whole PBMC; testosterone-induced decrease of IgG production compared with control was 26.9% and that of IgM was 24.9%. Exogenous IL-6 partially restored the impaired immunoglobulin production of testosterone-treated PBMC; IgG production in testosterone culture was increased by IL-6 from 35.6% to 66.5% of control and that of IgM was also increased from 38.9% to 71.2%, respectively. Testosterone treatment reduced IL-6 production of monocytes by 78.4% compared with control, but neither affected that of T cells or B cells. These results suggest that testosterone may suppress immunoglobulin production of human PBMC directly by inhibiting B cell activity and indirectly by reducing IL-6 production of monocytes. It is thus indicated that this hormone may have protective and therapeutic effects on human autoimmune diseases.     

Targeting lymphocyte activation through the lymphotoxin and LIGHT pathways

Summary: Cytokines mediate key communication pathways essential for regulation of immune responses. Full activation of antigen-responding lymphocytes requires cooperating signals from the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related cytokines and their specific receptors. LIGHT, a lymphotoxin-β (LTβ)-related TNF family member, modulates T-cell activation through two receptors, the herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) and indirectly through the LT-β receptor. An unexpected finding revealed a non-canonical binding site on HVEM for the immunoglobulin superfamily member, B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), and an inhibitory signaling protein suppressing T-cell activation. Thus, HVEM can act as a molecular switch between proinflammatory and inhibitory signaling. The non-canonical HVEM–BTLA pathway also acts to counter LTβR signaling that promotes the proliferation of antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) within lymphoid tissue microenvironments. These results indicate LTβ receptor and HVEM–BTLA pathways form an integrated signaling circuit. Targeting these cytokine pathways with specific antagonists (antibody or decoy receptor) can alter lymphocyte differentiation and activation. Alternately, agonists directed at their cell surface receptors can restore homeostasis and potentially reset immune and inflammatory processes, which may be useful in treating autoimmune and infectious diseases and cancer.