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Biomedical subjects

C Auge

Publications and source records attributed to C Auge.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy maintain activated CD8+ T cell subsets as a strong adaptive immune response to cytomegalovirus.

CD8(+) T lymphocyte function specific for human cytomegalovirus (CMV) was evaluated in 14 patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and 26 CMV-seropositive donors without HIV infection. Fifty-seven percent of the HIV-infected group had CMV-specific cytolytic activity in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) against targets expressing CMV pp65. Both interferon (IFN)-gamma secretion by CD8(+) T cells and the frequency of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-tetramer-positive T cells in HLA-A*0201-positive HIV-infected subjects correlated with CMV-specific cytolysis. In contrast, PBMC from healthy CMV-seropositive donors did not have either measurable CMV-specific cytolysis or secretion of IFN-gamma without in vitro stimulation. The T helper response to CMV antigens was vigorous in healthy CMV-seropositive donors but low in the cohort of HIV-infected patients. Potent CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses to CMV in HIV-infected patients receiving HAART is the converse of what is found in healthy CMV-seropositive subjects and may be the predominant adaptive immune response against CMV in HIV-infected patients.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Exploring the acceptor substrate recognition of the human beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase.

Human beta1,4-galactoside alpha2,6-sialyltransferase I (ST6GalI) recognition of glycoprotein acceptors has been investigated using various soluble forms of the enzyme deleted to a variable extent in the N-terminal half of the polypeptide. Full-length and truncated forms of the enzyme have been investigated with respect to their specificity for a variety of desialylated glycoproteins of known complex glycans as well as related proteins with different carbohydrate chains. Differences in transfer efficiency have been observed between membrane and soluble enzymatic forms, indicating that deletion of the transmembrane fragment induces loss of acceptor preference. No difference in substrate recognition could be observed when soluble enzymes of similar peptide sequence were produced in yeast or mammalian cells, confirming that removal of the membrane anchor and heterologous expression do not alter enzyme folding and activity. When tested on free oligosaccharides, soluble ST6GalI displayed full ability to sialylate free N-glycans as well as various N-acetyllactosaminyl substrates. Progressive truncation of the N terminus demonstrated that the catalytic domain can proceed with sialic acid transfer with increased efficiency until 80 amino acids are deleted. Fusion of the ST6GalI catalytic domain to the N-terminal half of an unrelated transferase (core 2 beta1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase) further showed that a chimeric form of broad acceptor specificity and high activity could also be engineered in vivo. These findings therefore delineate a peptide region of approximately 50 amino acids within the ST6GalI stem region that governs both the preference for glycoprotein acceptors and catalytic activity, thereby suggesting that it may exert a steric control on the catalytic domain.

Animals↗

Induction of CTL response by a minimal epitope vaccine in HLA A*0201/DR1 transgenic mice: dependence on HLA class II restricted T(H) response.

CTL play a pivotal role in the immune response during viral infections. In this study, the HLA class II restricted T(H) requirement for optimal in vivo induction of HLA class I restricted CTL responses has been investigated. Towards this goal, transgenic mice expressing both HLA class I (A*0201 or A2.1) and class II (DRB1*0101 or DR1) molecules have been derived. Immunization of these mice with an HLA A*0201-restricted and CMV-specific CTL epitope (pp65(495-503)), and either of three different tetanus toxin-derived MHC class II-binding T(H) epitopes, resulted in a vigorous CTL response. CTL specific for the pp65(495-503) epitope were dramatically enhanced in mice expressing both the HLA-DR1 and HLA-A*0201 transgenes. Notably, preinjection of three TT peptides (TT(639-652), TT(830-843), and TT(947-967)) increased the capability of HLA A*0201/DR1 Tg mice to respond to subsequent immunization with the T(H) + CTL peptide mixture. These results indicate that the use of HLA A*0201/DR1 Tg mice constitute a versatile model system (in lieu of immunizing humans) for the study of both HLA class I and class II restricted T-cell responses. These studies provide a rational model for the design and assessment of new minimal-epitope vaccines based on their in vivo induction of a pathogen-specific CTL response.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Oligosaccharide sulfate inhibitors of selectin-sugar interactions in inflammatory processes].

Leucocyte migration into lymphatic tissues or inflammatory sites depends upon the expression of adhesion molecules. Among these molecules, the selectins expressed on endothelial cells (E- and P-selectins) and leucocytes (L-selectin) recognize carbohydrate ligands such as sialyl Lewis A or sialyl Lewis X oligosaccharides due to the same positioning of NeuAc, Gal and Fuc residues in both isomeric structures. We have shown that the sialic acid residue could be replaced by a sulfate group such as in the sulfated Lewis A pentasaccharide, one of the most potent monovalent ligand for human E-selectin, which was shown to be very active in the prevention of ischemia reperfusion lung injury. In the same way, we have prepared through chemoenzymatic syntheses, two disulfated Lewis X pentasaccharides, the sulfated analogs of carbohydrate ligands found on GLYCAM 1, the natural receptor of L-selectin. Finally, based on the double recognition of L-selectin with Lewis type and glycosaminoglycan structures, we tentatively introduced a possible link between the selectin- and the integrin-mediated lymphocyte adhesion systems.

Animals↗