Biomedical subjects

Marie-Bernadette Villiers

Publications and source records attributed to Marie-Bernadette Villiers.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Immunomodulatory properties of morbillivirus nucleoproteins.

Morbillivirus infections have been known for a long time to be associated with an acute immunosuppression in their natural hosts. Here, we show that recombinant Morbillivirus nucleoproteins from canine distemper virus, peste-des-petits-ruminants virus, and Rinderpest virus bind B-lymphocytes from dogs, goats, and cattle, respectively, similarly to measles virus nucleoprotein in humans. The use of surface plasmon resonance imaging allowed the real time detection of differential interactions between Morbillivirus nucleoproteins and FcgammaRIIb (CD32). Moreover, those nucleoproteins which bind murine Fcgamma receptor inhibited the inflammatory immune responses in mice in a Fc receptor- dependent manner. In contrast, nucleoprotein from closely related Henipavirus genus, belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family as Morbillivirus, was devoid of capacity either to bind FcgammaRIIb or to inhibit inflammatory response. Altogether, these results suggest that nucleoprotein-FcR interaction is a common mechanism used by different Morbilliviruses to modulate the immune response.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Clinically related protein-peptide interactions monitored in real time on novel peptide chips by surface plasmon resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND: Developing rapid, high-throughput assays for detecting and characterizing protein-protein interactions is a great challenge in the postgenomic era. We have developed a new method that allows parallel analysis of multiple analytes in biological fluids and is suitable for biological and medical studies. METHODS: This technology for studying peptide-antibody interactions is based on polypyrrole-peptide chips and surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi). We generated a chip bearing a large panel of peptide probes by successive electro-directed copolymerizations of pyrrole-peptide conjugates on a gold surface. RESULTS: We provide evidence that (a) the signal produced by antibody binding is highly specific; (b) the detected signal specifically reflects the antibody concentration of the tested solution in a dose-dependent manner; (c) this technique is appropriate for analyzing complex media such as undiluted sera, a novelty with respect to previous techniques; and (d) correlation between classic ELISA results and the SPRi signal is good (P = 0.008). We also validated this system in a medical model by detecting anti-hepatitis C antibodies in patient-derived sera. CONCLUSION: Because of its characteristics (easy preparation of the peptide chip; high-throughput, label-free, real-time detection; high specificity; and low background), this technology is suitable for screening biological samples and for large-scale studies.

Binding Sites, Antibody↗

PubMed2005

Macrophages from C3-deficient mice have impaired potency to stimulate alloreactive T cells.

Impaired T-cell reactivity is a feature of C3-deficient mice in several disease models. The mechanism behind the reduced T-cell response is, however, poorly understood. We explored the hypothesis that antigen-presenting cells (APCs) from C3-/- mice have impaired potency to stimulate antigen-specific T cells, in an alloantigen-dependent model. Our results show that C3-/- macrophages have reduced ability to elicit alloreactive T-cell responses in vitro and in vivo, affecting both the primary and secondary responses. The C3 status of donor macrophages had a major impact on the CD4 T-cell response. The impaired CD4 T-cell response was associated with reduced expression of MHC class II on the surface of C3-/- macrophages, without loss of class II gene expression. Furthermore, inhibition of C3 gene expression in C3+/+ macrophages reduced their ability to stimulate alloreactive T cells, suggesting that endogenous production of C3 could in part contribute to the potency of APCs. Our data provide compelling evidence that C3 deficiency modulates the potency of APCs to stimulate the T-cell response, suggesting a critical role for complement in the maintenance of APC function. This could offer a partial explanation as to why the T-cell response is impaired in C3-/- mice.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

A polypyrrole protein microarray for antibody-antigen interaction studies using a label-free detection process.

Protein microarray is a promising technology that should combine rapidity and easy use with high throughput and versatility. This article describes a method in which an electrocopolymerization process is employed to graft biological molecules on to a chip so that surface plasmon resonance imaging may be used to detect molecular interactions. Copolymerization of pyrrole-modified protein and pyrrole is an efficient grafting process which immobilizes molecules at defined positions on a gold surface. Surface plasmon resonance imaging is an optical technique that allows real-time simultaneous detection of molecular interactions on a large number of spots without labeling. This method was successfully used to analyze antibody-antigen interactions. This illustrates its high specificity and good sensitivity and demonstrates its suitability for biological studies.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Influence of complement C3 amount on IgG responses in early life: immunization with C3b-conjugated antigen increases murine neonatal antibody responses.

Complement component C3, which plays an important role in both the innate and adaptative immune response, is present at low level in human infants. We show here that: (i) serum C3 amount is weak also in infant mice, (ii) these young animals fail to upregulate C3 to adult levels following tetanus toxoid immunization, (iii) neonatal macrophages have a limited capacity to synthesize C3 upon LPS exposure, (iv) conjugation of antigen to C3b significantly enhances antibody response elicited in 1-week-old mice--although it does not increase primary IgG response in adult mice. Altogether, this identifies C3 as one of the factors limiting early life antibody response and emphasizes the potential interest of immunization strategies overcoming this limitation.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

Complement receptors and B lymphocytes.

Most of the biological processes depend on cell-to-cell and protein-to-cell interactions, which take place through receptors present on the cell surface. Various physiological systems are linked by such interactions, as is the case for innate and adaptative immune response. There is increasing evidence that two of the main actors involved in host defense, namely, the proteins of the complement system (nonspecific response) and the B lymphocytes (specific response), are strongly connected through the complement receptors displayed on the B-cell surface. Many parameters account for the importance of these molecules: (1) their diversity in terms of binding specificity allows them to interact with different fragments resulting from complement activation and C3 component proteolysis; (2) the structures of their extra- and intracytoplasmic domains differ from one receptor to another, controlling their interactions with other nall surface molecules as well as pathogens and regulating cell signaling; (3) their expression on the majority of the cells involved in immune response, especially B lymphocytes, make them an essential link between specific and nonspecific immune responses. This review deals with these different aspects, taking into account the most recent data.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Improvement of long-lasting response and antibody affinity by the complexation of antigen with complement C3b.

Complement protein C3 plays a major role in cell regulation and immune response. This last point is mainly due to C3's capacity to act as a bifunctional link between antigen and immunocompetent cells. In a previous work, we have reported the adjuvant effect produced by linking C3 fragments to antigen. In this paper, we characterize the long-term secondary antibody response induced by C3b-antigen complexes. Mice were immunized using either a protein (hen egg lysozyme) or an ovalbumin-derived peptide as antigen. We compared the secondary response elicited by these antigens covalently linked to C3b or emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Our results provide evidence that C3b linkage induces better long-term adjuvant effect than CFA, resulting in the production of a higher specific IgG titer with a better affinity.

Animals↗