Biomedical subjects

Nathalie Rufer

Publications and source records attributed to Nathalie Rufer.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

[Telomerase, elixir of life for human cells?].

Telomeres are specialized structures at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes that in vertebrates constain hundreds to thousands of tandem repeats of the sequence TTAGGG. In most human somatic cells, telomeres shorten with each cell division, eventually triggering an irreversible arrest of proliferation called cellular senescence. These observations have led to a model in which telomere length reflects the mitotic history of somatic cells. Further support for this hypothesis has come from the discovery of telomerase, a unique reverse transcriptase ribonucleoprotein that has the ability to extend 3' end of telomeres. In fibroblasts, senescence is induced by telomere attrition and depends on p53 and pRb pathways triggered by one or a few critically short telomeres. Previous studies have shown that the replicative life span of various primary human cells can be prolonged by transduction of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene. The hTERT expressing cells proliferate indefinitely, without undergoing any changes associated with transformation to malignancy. Rapid progress has been made towards the goal of using tumor-specific cytolytic CD8+ T lymphocytes for the immunotherapy of cancer. These cells can be expanded in vitro and, in principle, could be used for adoptive immunotherapy. One of the major problems that remains to be solved is the finite life span of normal human T lymphocytes. In an attempt to overcome this barrier three groups have introduced hTERT cDNA into human T lymphocytes and monitored its effect on their life span. In two of these studies, hTERT significantly extended the replicative life span of CD8+ T clones, whereas this was not the case in the third study using bulk T lymphocytes. Possible explanations for these discordant results are that better growth conditions avoided culture-induced stress in the study with clones, or that clones had undergone alterations leading, for example, to the inactivation of the pRb pathway during their derivation.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Monoclonal T-cell expansions in asymptomatic individuals and in patients with large granular leukemia consist of cytotoxic effector T cells expressing the activating CD94:NKG2C/E and NKD2D killer cell receptors.

We have analyzed the phenotype, cytokine profile, and mitotic history (telomere length) of monoclonal T-cell expansions in 5 CD3(+) T-cell large granular lymphocyte (TLGL) leukemia patients by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and single-cell polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We confirm that the common phenotype of TLGL leukemia is CD3(+)CD8(+)CD45RA(+)CD27(-)CD94(+)(CD57(+)). Interestingly, the C-type lectin-like type killer cell receptor CD94 was invariably associated with the activating form of its signal-transducing molecule NKG2. Furthermore, when judged by criteria such as interferon gamma (IFN-gamma)/tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production, expression of granzyme, FasL, and NKG2D, the TLGL cells had all the features of a cytotoxic effector T cell. Telomere shortening in TLGL cells was in the normal range for CD8(+) T cells, indicating that they had not divided significantly more than chronically stimulated CD8(+) T cells in healthy individuals. In 25 of 27 controls, cells with a TLGL phenotype occurred at low (1%-3%) frequencies. However, in the other 2 individuals (ages 28-36 years), large stable (> 3 years) monoclonal expansions of CD3(+)CD8(+)CD45RA(+)CD27(-)CD57(+)CD94(+) NKG2C(+) were found which rendered these controls phenotypically indistinguishable from TLGL leukemia patients. We believe that the TLGL clonopathy, rather than being of a neoplastic nature, is more likely an extreme manifestation of the large and stable clonal size characteristic of CD8(+) effector cells. Such a TLGL clone consisting of cells without any particular pathologic trait might exist in a considerable number of individuals. Clinical symptoms may occur in individuals in whom the TLGL clone encounters antigen and is triggered to produce large amounts of effector molecules that dysregulate the immune system, which could manifest itself as autoimmunity or as a FasL-mediated neutropenia.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed2002

Infusion of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T cells for the treatment of CMV infection not responding to antiviral chemotherapy.

We adoptively transferred donor-derived cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T-cell lines into 8 stem cell transplant recipients lacking CMV-specific T-cell proliferation. All patients, of whom one was infected by a CMV strain that was genotypically ganciclovir resistant, had received unsuccessful antiviral chemotherapy for more than 4 weeks. CMV-specific lines had been prepared by repetitive stimulation with CMV antigen, which increased the percentage of CMV-specific T cells and ablated alloreactivity completely even against patients mismatched for 1 to 3 HLA antigens. After transfer of 10(7) T cells/m(2) at a median of 120 days (range, 79-479 days) after transplantation, no side effects were noticed. Despite cessation of antiviral chemotherapy, the CMV load dropped significantly in all 7 evaluable patients, with a maximal reduction after a median of 20 days (range, 5-31 days). In 2 patients with high virus load, the antiviral effect was only transient. One of these patients received a second T-cell infusion, which cleared the virus completely. At a median of 11 days after transfer, CMV-specific T-cell proliferation was demonstrated in 6 patients, and an increase in CMV-specific CD4(+) T cells was demonstrated in 5 patients. In 6 patients, 1.12 to 41 CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells/microL blood were detected at a median of 13 days after transfer, with an increase in all patients lacking CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells prior to transfer. Hence, anti-CMV cellular therapy was successful in 5 of 7 patients, whereas in 2 of 7 patients, who received an intensified immune suppression at the time of or after T-cell therapy, only transient reductions in virus load were obtained.

Adoptive Transfer↗

PubMed2002

PPARgamma but not PPARalpha ligands are potent repressors of major histocompatibility complex class II induction in atheroma-associated cells.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are essential in glucose and lipid metabolism and are implicated in metabolic disorders predisposing to atherosclerosis, such as diabetes and dyslipidemia. Conversely, antidiabetic glitazones and hypolipidemic fibrate drugs, known as PPARgamma and PPARalpha ligands, respectively, reduce the process of atherosclerotic lesion formation, which involves chronic immunoinflammatory processes. Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules, expressed on the surface of specialized cells, are directly involved in the activation of T lymphocytes and in the control of the immune response. Interestingly, expression of MHC-II has recently been observed in atherosclerotic plaques, and it can be induced by the proinflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in vascular cells. To explore a possible role for PPAR ligands in the regulation of the immune response, we investigated whether PPAR activation affects MHC-II expression in atheroma-associated cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that PPARgamma but not PPARalpha ligands act as inhibitors of IFN-gamma-induced MHC-II expression and thus as repressors of MHC-II-mediated T-cell activation. All different types of PPARgamma ligands tested inhibit MHC-II. This effect of PPARgamma ligands is due to a specific inhibition of promoter IV of CIITA and does not concern constitutive expression of MHC-II. Thus, the beneficial effects of antidiabetic PPARgamma activators on atherosclerotic plaque development may be partly explained by their repression of MHC-II expression and subsequent inhibition of T-lymphocyte activation.

Arteriosclerosis↗

PubMed2002

Thymic selection generates a large T cell pool recognizing a self-peptide in humans.

The low frequency of self-peptide-specific T cells in the human preimmune repertoire has so far precluded their direct evaluation. Here, we report an unexpected high frequency of T cells specific for the self-antigen Melan-A/MART-1 in CD8 single-positive thymocytes from human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen-A2 healthy individuals, which is maintained in the peripheral blood of newborns and adults. Postthymic replicative history of Melan-A/MART-1-specific CD8 T cells was independently assessed by quantifying T cell receptor excision circles and telomere length ex vivo. We provide direct evidence that the large T cell pool specific for the self-antigen Melan-A/MART-1 is mostly generated by thymic output of a high number of precursors. This represents the only known naive self-peptide-specific T cell repertoire directly accessible in humans.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Antigenicity and immunogenicity of Melan-A/MART-1 derived peptides as targets for tumor reactive CTL in human melanoma.

Some cancer patients mount spontaneous T- and B-cell responses against their tumor cells. Autologous tumor reactive CD8 cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) and CD4 T-cell clones as well as antibodies from these patients have been used for the identification of genes encoding the target antigens. This knowledge opened the way for new approaches to the immunotherapy of cancer. In this review, we describe the characterization of the structure-function properties of the melanocyte/melanoma tumor antigen Melan-A/MART-1, the assessment of the T-cell repertoire available against this antigen in healthy individuals, and the analysis of naturally acquired and/or vaccine-induced CTL responses to this antigen in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Amino Acid Sequence↗