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TOP STORY |
Ca2+ Regulates T-Cell Receptor Activation by Modulating the Charge Property of Lipids
Scientists showed that Ca2+ can bind directly to anionic phospholipids and thus modulate membrane protein function. The activation of T-cell antigen receptor-CD3 complex, a key membrane receptor for adaptive immunity, is regulated by ionic interactions between positively charged CD3ε/ζ cytoplasmic domains and negatively charged phospholipids in the plasma membrane. [Nature] Abstract
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PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by impact factor of the journal) |
Chemotherapy-Triggered Cathepsin B Release in Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Activates the Nlrp3 Inflammasome and Promotes Tumor Growth
The authors showed that two clinically used chemotherapeutic agents, gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil, activate the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing-3 protein (Nlrp3)-dependent caspase-1 activation complex in myeloid-derived suppressor cells, leading to production of interleukin-1β, which curtails anticancer immunity. [Nat Med] Abstract | Press Release
Sustained Effector Function of IL-12/15/18-Preactivated NK Cells against Established Tumors
Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy of cancer is hampered by the transient effector function of NK cells. Recently, mouse IL-12/15/18-preactivated NK cells were shown to persist with sustained effector function in vivo. Here, the authors investigated the antitumor activity of such NK cells. [J Exp Med]
Abstract | Press Release
Inducible Colitis-Associated Glycome Capable of Stimulating the Proliferation of Memory CD4+ T Cells
Researchers propose that a unique glycome that can be identified through the binding of galectin-4 is created on local, but not systemic, memory CD4+ T cells under diverse intestinal inflammatory conditions, but not in the healthy state. [J Exp Med] Abstract
Positive Intergenic Feedback Circuitry, Involving EBF1 and FOXO1, Orchestrates B-Cell Fate
The authors demonstrated that B-cell development in FOXO1-deficient mice is arrested in the common lymphoid progenitor LY6D+ cell stage. They revealed that this phenotype closely resembles the arrest in B-cell development observed in early B-cell factor 1 (EBF1)-deficient mice. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract
Human Macrophage and Dendritic Cell-Specific Silencing of High-Mobility Group Protein B1 Ameliorates Sepsis in a Humanized Mouse Model
Scientists showed that human hematopoietic cells are required to induce sepsis-induced mortality following cecal ligation and puncture in the severely immunodeficient nonobese diabetic/SCID/IL2Rγ−/− mice, and siRNA treatment to inhibit high-mobility group protein B1 release by human macrophages and dendritic cells dramatically reduces sepsis-induced mortality. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract
PTPN22 Silencing in the NOD Model Indicates the Type 1 Diabetes-Associated Allele Is Not a Loss-of-Function Variant
Investigators generated transgenic nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice in which Ptpn22 can be inducibly silenced by RNA interference. They found that Ptpn22 silencing in the NOD model replicated many of the phenotypes observed in C57BL/6 Ptpn22 knockout mice, including an increase in regulatory T cells. [Diabetes]
Abstract | Press Release
Quorum Sensing Contributes to Activated IgM-Secreting B Cell Homeostasis
By using sequential cell transfers and B cell populations from several mutant mice, researchers were able to identify novel mechanisms regulating the size of the IgM-secreting B cell pool. [J Immunol] Abstract
Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor p55 Controls Regulatory T Cell Responses in Yersinia-Induced Reactive Arthritis
The authors aimed to investigate the expansion and function of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in a reactive arthritis animal model. [Immunol Cell Biol] Abstract
T-Cell Intrinsic and Extrinsic Mechanisms of p27Kip1 in the Regulation of CD8 T-Cell Memory
Researchers investigated whether p27Kip1 regulates CD8 T-cell memory by T-cell-intrinsic or T-cell-extrinsic mechanisms, by conditional ablation of p27Kip1 in T cells or non-T cells. [Immunol Cell Biol] Abstract

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SCIENCE NEWS |
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Interim Results in Phase II Leukemia Trial
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that preliminary results of a phase II clinical trial to treat leukemia with a WT1 DNA vaccine delivered with Inovio’s proprietary electroporation delivery system showed robust vaccine-specific antibody responses in all vaccinated subjects evaluated to date. T cell immune responses, including those of the “killer T cells,” were detected. [Press release from Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. discussing research presented at DNA Vaccines 2012, San Diego] Press Release |
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