Biomedical subjects

Nagahiro Minato

Publications and source records attributed to Nagahiro Minato.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Role of SPA-1 in phenotypes of chronic myelogenous leukemia induced by BCR-ABL-expressing hematopoietic progenitors in a mouse model.

SPA-1 is a negative regulator of Rap1 signal in hematopoietic cells, and SPA-1-deficient mice develop myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) of long latency. In the present study, we showed that the MPDs in SPA-1(-/-) mice were associated with the increased hematopoietic stem cells expressing LFA-1 in bone marrow and their premature mobilization to spleen with extensive extramedullary hematopoiesis, resembling human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). We further showed that human BCR-ABL oncogene caused a partial down-regulation of endogenous SPA-1 gene expression in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) and immature hematopoietic cell lines. Although both BCR-ABL-transduced wild-type (wt) and SPA-1(-/-) HPC rapidly developed CML-like MPD when transferred to severe combined immunodeficient mice, the latter recipients showed significantly increased proportions of BCR-ABL(+) Lin(-) c-Kit(+) cells compared with the former ones. Serial transfer experiments revealed that spleen cells of secondary recipients of BCR-ABL(+) wt HPC failed to transfer MPD to tertiary recipients due to a progressive reduction of BCR-ABL(+) Lin(-) c-Kit(+) cells. In contrast, SPA-1(-/-) BCR-ABL(+) Lin(-) c-Kit(+) cells were sustained at high level in secondary recipients, and their spleen cells could transfer MPD to tertiary recipients, a part of which rapidly developed blast crisis. Present results suggest that endogenous SPA-1 plays a significant role in regulating expansion and/or survival of BCR-ABL(+) leukemic progenitors albeit partial repression by BCR-ABL and that Rap1 signal may represent a new molecular target for controlling leukemic progenitors in CML.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Safety profile and anti-tumor effects of adoptive immunotherapy using gamma-delta T cells against advanced renal cell carcinoma: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Although various types of immunotherapy have been used to improve the prognosis of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), adoptive immunotherapy using gamma-delta (gammadelta) T cells has not yet been tried. In this study, we designed a pilot study of adoptive immunotherapy using in vitro activated gammadelta T cells against advanced RCC to evaluate the safety profile and possible anti-tumor effects of this study. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients with advanced RCC after radical nephrectomy were administered via intravenous infusion in vitro-activated autologous gammadelta T cells every week or every 2 weeks, 6-12 times, with 70 JRU of teceleukin. Adverse events, anti-tumor effects and immunomonitoring were assessed. The anti-tumor effects were evaluated according to tumor doubling time (DT) by computed tomography (CT) and immunomonitoring was performed by flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: Seven advanced RCC patients were entered in this study. The most common adverse events were fever, general fatigue and elevation of hepatobiliary enzymes, but no severe adverse events were seen. Prolongation of tumor DT was seen in three out of five patients; these three patients showed an increase in the number of gammadelta T cells in peripheral blood and also a high response to the antigen in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that adoptive immunotherapy using in vitro-activated autologous gammadelta T cells was well tolerated and induced anti-tumor effects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Involvement of CD166 in the activation of human gamma delta T cells by tumor cells sensitized with nonpeptide antigens.

We previously reported that human Vgamma2Vdelta2-gammadelta T cells were activated by many human tumor cell lines treated with pamidronate (PAM) in a gammadelta TCR-dependent manner. In the present study, we indicated that a synthetic pyrophosphomonoester Ag, 2-methy-3-butenyl-1-pyrophosphate, could directly "sensitize" the tumor cells to activate gammadelta T cells independently of the host metabolism, while the sensitizing effect of PAM was reported to be dependent on the pharmacological activity. Some exceptional tumor cells that failed to be sensitized by PAM were incapable of activating gammadelta T cells by the treatment with 2-methy-3-butenyl-1-pyrophosphate either, suggesting a requirement of host factor(s) for the effective gammadelta T cell activation in addition to the nonpeptide Ags. By screening mAbs against a large panel of tumor cell lines, we found that the expression of CD166 closely paralleled the capacity of activating gammadelta T cells upon PAM treatment. The transfection of a CD166-negative tumor cell line with CD166 cDNA caused a marked enhancement of the capacity to activate gammadelta T cells following PAM treatment. On the contrary, down-regulation of the CD166 expression in a CD166-bearing tumor cell line by short hairpin RNA resulted in a significant reduction of PAM-induced gammadelta T cell-stimulatory activity. gammadelta T cells expressed CD6, a receptor of CD166, and CD6 and CD166 were recruited together to the center of synapse between gammadelta T cells and PAM-treated tumor cells, colocalizing with gammadelta TCR/CD3. The results suggested that the engagement of CD6 with CD166 on tumor cells played an important role in the gammadelta T cell activation by the tumor cells loaded with nonpeptide Ags either endogenously or exogenously.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed2006

Impaired T-cell differentiation in the thymus at the early stages of acute pathogenic chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection in contrast to less pathogenic SHIV infection.

One of the mechanisms by which HIV infection induces the depletion of CD4+ T cells has been suggested to be impairment of T-cell development in the thymus, although there is no direct evidence that this occurs. To examine this possibility, we compared T-cell maturation in the intrathymic progenitors between macaques infected with an acute pathogenic chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV), which causes profound and irreversible CD4+ T-cell depletion, and macaques infected with a less pathogenic SHIV, which causes only a transient CD4+ T-cell decline. Within 27 days post-inoculation (dpi), the two virus infections caused similar increases in plasma viral loads and similar decreases in CD4+ T-cell counts. However, in the thymus, the acute pathogenic SHIV resulted in increased thymic involution, atrophy and the depletion of immature T cells including CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive (DP) cells, whereas the less pathogenic SHIV did not have these effects. Ex vivo differentiation of CD3(-)CD4(-)CD8(-) triple-negative (TN) intrathymic progenitors to DP cells was assessed by a monkey-mouse xenogenic fetal thymus organ culture system. Differentiation was impaired in the TN intrathymic progenitors of the acute pathogenic SHIV-infected monkeys, while differentiation was not impaired in the TN intrathymic progenitors of the less pathogenic SHIV-infected monkeys. These differences suggest that dysfunction of thymic maturation makes an important contribution to the irreversible depletion of circulating CD4+ T cells in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Classification of human liver transplant recipients by their preoperative CD8+ T cell subpopulation and its relation to outcome.

The primed status of T cells is markedly different among liver transplant recipients, due to a lifetime of antigen exposure and reduced thymopoiesis by aging, and diseases. This study aims to characterize the preoperative immunological status of CD8+ T cell subpopulations and relate it to the outcome for liver transplant recipients. We classified 112 liver transplant recipients into 5 groups, based on hierarchical clustering of the CD8+CD45 isoform proportion of T cells. In Groups I and II (pediatric), the naive T cell proportion was more than 50%. In adult recipients, Group III was characterized by a naive T cell proportion of 50%, Group IV had the greatest effector/memory T cells (EM), and Group V had the greatest proportion of effector T cells. In Groups IV and V, the effector T cell proportion was considerably higher, and was accompanied by marked downregulation of the CD27+CD28+ subsets and upregulation of interferon gamma (IFN)-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and perforin expression. Group V recipients tended to be complicated postoperatively, with a significantly reduced survival rate (1 yr, 66.8%) and markedly reduced Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Rap1 signal controls B cell receptor repertoire and generation of self-reactive B1a cells.

We previously reported that the mice deficient for SPA-1, a Rap1 GTPase-activating protein, developed hematopoietic stem cell disorders. Here, we demonstrate that SPA-1(-/-) mice show an age-dependent increase in B220(high) B1a cells producing anti-dsDNA antibody and lupus-like nephritis. SPA-1(-/-) peritoneal B1 cells revealed the altered Vkappa gene repertoire, including skewed Vkappa4 usage and the significant Igkappa/Iglambda isotype inclusion indicative of extensive receptor editing. Rap1GTP induced OcaB gene activation via p38MAPK-dependent Creb phosphorylation, and consistently, SPA-1(-/-) immature BM B cells showing high Rap1GTP exhibited the augmented expression of OcaB and Vkappa4 genes. SPA-1(-/-) BM cells could transfer the autoimmunity in association with the generation of peritoneal B220(high) B1a cells in Rag-2(-/-) recipients. Finally, a portion of SPA-1(-/-) mice developed B1 cell leukemia with hemolytic autoantibody. Present results suggest that the regulated Rap1 signal in the immature B cells plays a role in modifying the B cell receptor repertoire and in maintaining the self-tolerance.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Crystal structure and some properties of a major house dust mite allergen, Derf 2.

Pyroglyphid house dust mites are a major source of allergens in house dust. Mite allergens sensitize and induce asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in a large portion of patients with allergic diseases. Here, the crystal structure of a major mite allergen, Derf 2, derived from Dermatophagoides farinae was solved by single isomorphous replacement method with anomalous scattering (SIRAS) at 2.1A resolution. The present study also demonstrated that the conformation of the allergen was critical in the determination of Th1/Th2 shift based on physicochemical and immunological analyses. This indicates that rigidly folded and singly dispersed structure is essentially required for the generation of Th2 type cells by the allergen, while conformational variant protein leads to Th1 skewing, irrespective of the same amino acid sequence. This structure/function relationship may allow us to develop a novel strategy for hyposensitization therapy in patients with allergic diseases triggered by house dust mite allergens.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Prethymic T-cell development defined by the expression of paired immunoglobulin-like receptors.

T cells are produced in the thymus from progenitors of extrathymic origin. As no specific markers are available, the developmental pathway of progenitors preceding thymic colonization remains unclear. Here we show that progenitors in murine fetal liver and blood, which are capable of giving rise to T cells, NK cells and dendritic cells, but not B cells, can be isolated by their surface expression of paired immunoglobulin-like receptors (PIR). PIR expression is maintained until the earliest intrathymic stage, then downregulated before the onset of CD25 expression. Unlike intrathymic progenitors, generation of prethymic PIR(+) progenitors does not require Hes1-mediated Notch signaling. These findings disclose a prethymic stage of T-cell development programmed for immigration of the thymus, which is genetically separable from intrathymic stages.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Pyramidal neurons of upper cortical layers generated by NEX-positive progenitor cells in the subventricular zone.

The generation of pyramidal neurons in the mammalian neocortex has been attributed to proliferating progenitor cells within the ventricular zone (VZ). Recently, the subventricular zone (SVZ) has been recognized as a possible source of migratory neurons in brain slice preparations, but the relevance of these observations for the developing neocortex in vivo remains to be defined. Here, we demonstrate that a subset of progenitor cells within the SVZ of the mouse neocortex can be molecularly defined by Cre recombinase expression under control of the NEX/Math2 locus, a neuronal basic helix-loop-helix gene that by itself is dispensable for cortical development. NEX-positive progenitors are generated by VZ cells, move into the SVZ, and undergo multiple asymmetrical and symmetrical cell divisions that produce a fraction of the neurons in the upper cortical layers. Our data suggest that NEX-positive progenitors within the SVZ are committed to a glutamatergic neuronal fate and have evolved to expand the number of cortical output neurons that is characteristic for the mammalian forebrain.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Analysis of mechanism for human gammadelta T cell recognition of nonpeptide antigens.

Whereas human gammadelta T cells respond to nonpeptide antigens like pyrophosphomonoesters and alkyl amines in the primary reactions, only pyrophosphomonoesters provoke proliferative responses in the secondary responses. To elucidate the differences in stimulatory activity between the two groups of nonpeptide antigens, we systematically analyzed time courses of gene expressions by microarray analyses. While 253 genes were induced by stimulation with 2-methyl-3-butenyl-1-pyrophosphate (2M3B1PP), only 35 genes were detected after stimulation with isobutyl amine. Then, gammadelta T cells expressed various cytokines like XCL1-2, CCL3-4, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma in response to 2M3B1PP in a time-dependent manner, while transient expressions were observed in IBA during the time period. The differences in such responsiveness are likely to originate from the activation state of NFAT, which is involved in the expression of transcription factors, EGR1-3 and NR4A1-2, and might play a crucial role in effector functions of gammadelta T cells.

Antigens↗

PubMed2005

Thymic anlage is colonized by progenitors restricted to T, NK, and dendritic cell lineages.

It remains controversial whether the thymus-colonizing progenitors are committed to the T cell lineage. A major problem that has impeded the characterization of thymic immigrants has been that the earliest intrathymic progenitors thus far identified do not necessarily represent the genuine thymic immigrants, because their developmental potential should have been influenced by contact with the thymic microenvironment. In the present study, we examined the developmental potential of the ontogenically earliest thymic progenitors of day 11 murine fetus. These cells reside in the surrounding mesenchymal region and have not encountered thymic epithelial components. Flow cytometric and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that these cells are exclusively Lin(-)c-kit(+)IL-7R(+). Limiting dilution analyses disclosed that the progenitors with T cell potential were abundant, while those with B cell potential were virtually absent in the region of day 11 thymic anlage. Clonal analyses reveled that they are restricted to T, NK, and dendritic cell lineages. Each progenitor was capable of forming a large number of precursors that may clonally accommodate highly diverse TCRbeta chains. These results provide direct evidence that the progenitors restricted to the T/NK/dendritic cell lineage selectively immigrate into the thymus.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Intrathymic effect of acute pathogenic SHIV infection on T-lineage cells in newborn macaques.

We intrarectally infected newborn macaques with a pathogenic simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) that induced rapid and profound CD4 (+) T cell depletion, and examined the early effects of this SHIV on the thymus. After intrarectal infection, viral loads were much higher in the thymus than in other lymphoid tissues in newborns. In contrast, no clear difference was seen in the viral loads of different tissues in adults. Histological and immunohistochemical observations showed severe thymic involution. Depletion of CD4 (+) thymocytes began in the medulla at 2 weeks post infection and spread over the whole thymus. After in vivo infection, the CD2 (+) subpopulation, which represents a relatively later stage of T cell progenitors, was selectively reduced and development of thymocytes from CD3 (-) CD4 (-) CD8 (-) cells to CD4 (+) CD8 (+) cells was impaired. These results suggest that profound and irreversible loss of CD4 (+) cells that are observed in the peripheral blood of SHIV-infected monkeys are due to destruction of the thymus and impaired thymopoiesis as a result of SHIV infection in the thymus.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2005

Hes1 directly controls cell proliferation through the transcriptional repression of p27Kip1.

A transcriptional regulator, Hes1, plays crucial roles in the control of differentiation and proliferation of neuronal, endocrine, and T-lymphocyte progenitors during development. Mechanisms for the regulation of cell proliferation by Hes1, however, remain to be verified. In embryonic carcinoma cells, endogenous Hes1 expression was repressed by retinoic acid in concord with enhanced p27(Kip1) expression and cell cycle arrest. Conversely, conditional expression of a moderate but not maximal level of Hes1 in HeLa cells by a tetracycline-inducible system resulted in reduced p27(Kip1) expression, which was attributed to decreased basal transcript rather than enhanced proteasomal degradation, with concomitant increases in the growth rate and saturation density. Hes1 induction repressed the promoter activity of a 5' flanking basal enhancer region of p27(Kip1) gene in a manner dependent on Hes1 expression levels, and this was mediated by its binding to class C sites in the promoter region. Finally, hypoplastic fetal thymi, as well as livers and brains of Hes1-deficient mice, showed significantly increased p27(Kip1) transcripts compared with those of control littermates. These results have suggested that Hes1 directly contributes to the promotion of progenitor cell proliferation through transcriptional repression of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27(Kip1).

5' Flanking Region↗

PubMed2005

Enhanced expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 in salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Programmed death-1 (PD-1) mediates a negative signal and introduces tolerance for lymphocytes. Dysfunction of the PD-1 pathway is thought to result in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To investigate the role of the PD-1/PD-L system in the pathology of Sjögren's syndrome (SS), we examined the expression of PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1 in salivary lymphocytes and salivary glands from patients with SS. METHODS: Flow cytometry analysis was used to determine expression of PD-1 in SS salivary lymphocytes. Intracellular staining of interleukin 10 (IL-10) was performed after stimulation with PMA and ionomycin. Indirect immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1. RESULTS: The mean fluorescence intensity of PD-1 expression in SS salivary lymphocytes was significantly higher than that from healthy controls and patients with RA or systemic lupus erythematosus. PD-1-positive SS salivary lymphocytes expressed IL-10 intracellularly upon PMA/ionomycin stimulation. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that PD-1 was expressed on infiltrating lymphocytes in salivary gland from 52% of SS patients, and PD-L1 was expressed on ductal and acinar epithelial cells from 68% of SS patients. In vitro analysis using HSG cells revealed that PD-L1 was induced by interferon-gamma but not by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and IL-1beta. CONCLUSION: PD-1 is expressed on T lymphocytes and PD-L1 on epithelial cells from inflamed salivary glands of patients with SS, which suggests that dysfunction of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway may be related to tolerance for lymphocytes, which causes SS.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed2004

Aquaporin-2 trafficking is regulated by PDZ-domain containing protein SPA-1.

Targeted positioning of water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2) strictly regulates body water homeostasis. Trafficking of AQP2 to the apical membrane is critical to the reabsorption of water in renal collecting ducts. Controlled apical positioning of AQP2 suggests the existence of proteins that interact with AQP2. A biochemical search for AQP2-interacting proteins led to the identification of PDZ-domain containing protein, signal-induced proliferation-associated gene-1 (SPA-1) which is a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for Rap1. The distribution of SPA-1 coincided with that of AQP2 in renal collecting ducts. The site of colocalization was concomitantly relocated by hydration status. AQP2 trafficking to the apical membrane was inhibited by the SPA-1 mutant lacking Rap1GAP activity and by the constitutively active mutant of Rap1. AQP2 trafficking was impaired in SPA-1-deficient mice. Our results show that SPA-1 directly binds to AQP2 and regulates at least in part AQP2 trafficking.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Pivotal role of CXCR3 in melanoma cell metastasis to lymph nodes.

Chemokines and their receptors play key roles in leukocyte trafficking and are also implicated in cancer metastasis to specific organs. Here we show that mouse B16F10 melanoma cells constitutively express chemokine receptor CXCR3, and that its ligands CXCL9/Mig, CXCL10/IP-10, and CXCL11/I-TAC induce cellular responses in vitro, such as actin polymerization, migration, invasion, and cell survival. To determine whether CXCR3 could play a role in metastasis to lymph nodes (LNs), we constructed B16F10 cells with reduced CXCR3 expression by antisense RNA and investigated their metastatic activities after s.c. inoculations to syngeneic hosts, C57BL/6 mice. The metastatic frequency of these cells to LNs was markedly reduced to approximately 15% (P < 0.05) compared with the parental or empty vector-transduced cells. On the other hand, pretreatment of mice with complete Freund's adjuvant increased the levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 in the draining LNs, which caused 2.5-3.0-fold increase (P < 0.05) in the metastatic frequency of B16F10 cells to the nodes with much larger foci. Importantly, such a stimulation of metastasis was largely suppressed when CXCR3 expression in B16F10 cells was reduced by antisense RNA or when mice were treated with specific antibodies against CXCL9 and CXCL10. We also demonstrate that CXCR3 is expressed on several human melanoma cell lines as well as primary human melanoma tissues (5 of 9 samples tested). These results suggest that CXCR3 inhibitors may be promising therapeutic agents for treatment of LN metastasis, including that of melanoma.

Actins↗

PubMed2004

Specific recruitment of SPA-1 to the immunological synapse: involvement of actin-bundling protein actinin.

SPA-1 is involved in the regulation of T cell activation in response to antigens through the control of Rap1 GTPase signaling. In this study, the subcellular localization of SPA-1 in the T cells was examined by using anti-SPA-1 antibody and GFP-SPA-1. While SPA-1 was detected diffusely at the surface cortical region in the floating unpolarized T cells, it was concentrated at the matrix-adhesion region with dense actin-cytoskeleton. Upon interaction with specific antigen-presenting cells, SPA-1 was highly concentrated at the immunological synapse closely co-localizing with actin. By yeast two-hybrid system, SPA-1 was shown to interact with an actin-bundling protein alpha-actinin, and it was indicated that SPA-1 co-localized with alpha-actinin at the immunological synapse. The results have suggested that SPA-1 in the T cells is selectively recruited to the immunological synapse with dense actin-cytoskeletal reorganization and keeps restraining the levels of Rap1GTP at the local TCR-signaling complex for the T cell activation.

Actinin↗

PubMed2004

Myeloid cells.

Granulocytes and monocytes, collectively called myeloid cells, are differentiated descendants from common progenitors derived from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Commitment to either lineage of myeloid cells is controlled by distinct transcription factors followed by terminal differentiation in response to specific colony-stimulating factors and release into the circulation. Upon pathogen invasion, myeloid cells are rapidly recruited into local tissues via various chemokine receptors, where they are activated for phagocytosis as well as secretion of inflammatory cytokines, thereby playing major roles in innate immunity. Genetic alterations in myeloid cells may cause an abnormal increase in mature myeloid or blast cells resulting in chronic or acute myelogenous leukemia.

Cell Differentiation↗