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Biomedical subjects

C Beers

Publications and source records attributed to C Beers.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Lysosomal cysteine proteases and antigen presentation.

Lysosomal proteinases are involved in two critical stages of MHC class II-mediated antigen presentation, i.e., degradation of invariant chain, a chaperone molecule critical for MHC class II assembly and transport, and generation of class II-binding peptides in the endocytic compartment. We found that two lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins S and L, were found to be differentially expressed in different types of "professional" and "nonprofessional" antigen presenting cells, including B cells, macrophages, specialized thymic epithelium, intestinal epithelium, and dendritic cells. In this chapter, our recent studies on the role of cathepsin S and L in MHC class II-mediated antigen processing and presentation in these cells types are highlighted.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Cathepsin S regulates the expression of cathepsin L and the turnover of gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase in B lymphocytes.

Loading of antigenic peptide fragments on major histocompatibility complex class II molecules is essential for generation of CD4(+) T cell responses and occurs after cathepsin-mediated degradation of the invariant chain chaperone molecule. Cathepsins are expressed differentially in antigen presenting cells, and mice deficient in cathepsin S or cathepsin L exhibit severely impaired antigen presentation in peripheral lymphoid organs and the thymus, respectively. To determine whether these defects are due solely to the block in invariant chain cleavage, we used cathepsin-deficient B cells to examine the role of cathepsins S and B in the degradation of other molecules important in the class II presentation pathway. Our data indicate that neither cathepsin S nor B is critical for H-2M degradation or processing of precursor gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) to a mature thiol reductase, but suggest a role for cathepsin S in the turnover of mature GILT and in regulating levels of mature cathepsin L protein in B cells. Despite the presence of mature cathepsin L protein, no enzyme activity could be detected in B cells or dendritic cells. These experiments suggest a novel mechanism by which these functionally important enzymes may be regulated.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Fas ligand costimulates the in vivo proliferation of CD8+ T cells.

Fas ligand (FasL/CD95L/APO-1L) is one of a growing number of TNF family members whose triggering costimulates maximal proliferation of activated T cells. In this study we show that maximal Ag-dependent accumulation of transferred TCR-transgenic CD8(+) T cells requires Fas (CD95/APO-1) expression by the adoptive hosts. Additionally, adoptively transferred FasL(+) CD8(+) T cells demonstrate a 2-fold advantage in Ag-driven expansion over their FasL(-)counterparts. This study illustrates the in vivo role of TCR-dependent FasL costimulation in the Ag-specific proliferation of both heterogeneous and homogeneous populations of primary CD8(+) T cells and long-term CTL lines. Thus, cross-linking FasL on naive and Ag-experienced CD8(+) T cells whose Ag-specific TCRs are engaged is required to drive maximal cellular proliferation in vivo.

Adoptive Transfer↗
PubMed2000

Down-regulation of the orphan nuclear receptor ROR gamma t is essential for T lymphocyte maturation.

Thymocyte development is a tightly regulated process. CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP) immature thymocytes exhibit distinct phenotypic features from mature T cells; they express only 10% of surface TCR that are found on mature T cells and do not proliferate and produce IL-2 in response to stimulation. In this report we show that transgenic expression of the orphan nuclear receptor ROR gamma t in mature T cells down-regulates their surface TCR expression. The ROR gamma t transgene inhibits IL-2 production by mature T cells, and this inhibition may be partially due to the inhibitory effect of ROR gamma t on c-Rel transcription. Furthermore, ectopic expression of ROR gamma t inhibits the proliferation of mature and immature T cells. These results, together with its predominant expression in DP thymocytes, suggest that ROR gamma t controls these distinct phenotypic features of DP thymocytes. Our data suggest that down-regulation of ROR gamma t expression in thymocytes is essential for their maturation.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Structure-function studies of interleukin 15 using site-specific mutagenesis, polyethylene glycol conjugation, and homology modeling.

Interleukin (IL)-15 is a multifunctional cytokine that shares many biological activities with IL-2. This functional overlap, as well as receptor binding subunits shared by IL-15 and IL-2, suggests tertiary structural similarities between these two cytokines. In this study, recombinant human IL-15 was PEGylated via lysine-specific conjugation chemistry in order to extend the circulation half-life of this cytokine. Although PEGylation did extend the beta-elimination circulation half-life of IL-15 by greater than 50-fold, the biological activity of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-IL-15 was significantly altered. Specifically, PEG-IL-15 lost its ability to stimulate the proliferation of CTLL but took on the properties of a specific IL-15 antagonist in vitro. In comparing sequence alignments and molecular models for IL-2 and IL-15, it was noted that lysine residues resided in regions of IL-15 that may have selectively disrupted receptor subunit binding. We hypothesized that PEGylation of IL-15 interferes with beta but not alpha receptor subunit binding, resulting in the IL-15 antagonist activity observed in vitro. The validity of this hypothesis was tested by engineering site-specific mutants of human IL-15 as suggested by the IL-15 model (IL-15D8S and IL-15Q108S block beta and gamma receptor subunit binding, respectively). As with PEG-IL-15, these mutants were unable to stimulate CTLL proliferation but were able to specifically inhibit the proliferation of CTLL in response to unmodified IL-15. These results supported our model of IL-15 and confirmed that interference of beta receptor subunit binding by adjacent PEGylation could be responsible for the altered biological activity observed for PEG-IL-15.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Cloning of a T cell growth factor that interacts with the beta chain of the interleukin-2 receptor.

A cytokine was identified that stimulated the proliferation of T lymphocytes, and a complementary DNA clone encoding this new T cell growth factor was isolated. The cytokine, designated interleukin-15 (IL-15), is produced by a wide variety of cells and tissues and shares many biological properties with IL-2. Monoclonal antibodies to the beta chain of the IL-2 receptor inhibited the biological activity of IL-15, and IL-15 competed for binding with IL-2, indicating that IL-15 uses components of the IL-2 receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗