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Chemokines in the systemic organization of immunity.

Directed cellular migrations underlie immune system organization. Chemokines and their receptors (along with surface-adhesion molecules) are central to these migrations, targeting developing and mature leukocytes to tissues and microenvironments suitable for their differentiation and function. The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 play a central role in the migration of hematopoietic stem cells, and several chemokine receptors are transiently expressed during distinct stages of B- and T-cell development. In the periphery, mature naïve B and T cells utilize the receptors CCR7, CXCR4, and CXCR5 to recirculate through specialized microenvironments within the secondary lymphoid tissues, while effector and memory lymphocytes express bewildering patterns of adhesion molecules and chemokine receptors that allow them to function within microenvironments and non-lymphoid tissues inaccessible to naïve cells. Here, we summarize the role of chemokines and their receptors in the spatial organization of the immune system and consider the implications for immune function.

Animals↗

It takes a tissue to make a tumor: epigenetics, cancer and the microenvironment.

How do normal tissues limit the development of cancer? This review discusses the evidence that normal cells effectively restrict malignant behavior, and that such tissue forces must be subjugated to establish a tumor. The action of ionizing radiation will be specifically discussed regarding the disruption of the microenvironment that promotes the transition from preneoplastic to neoplastic growth. Unlike the highly unpredictable nature of genetic mutations, the response of normal cells to radiation damage follows an epigenetic program similar to wound healing and other damage responses. Our hypothesis is that the persistent disruption of the microenvironment in irradiated tissue compromises its ability to suppress carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Immune privilege as the result of local tissue barriers and immunosuppressive microenvironments.

As the cellular and molecular bases of immune privilege are elucidated experimentally, the phenomenon emerges as an active and dynamic exercise in immune regulation. Local tissue factors play a key role in the establishment and maintenance of privilege, particularly tissue cytokines and mediators within the local microenvironment, which modify both the induction and expression of immunity to antigens that are introduced into, or arise within, privileged sites.

Animals↗

Role of the microenvironment in immune responses to transplantation.

Through the constant interplay of cellular and extracellular components, the microenvironment of tissues directs immune responses. In solid organ transplantation, one factor that significantly alters the microenvironment of tissues is reperfusion injury, which occurs to a certain extent in essentially all cadaver organs. The damage that results from reperfusion injury initiates a cascade of signals to surveillance cells such as macrophages, mast cells, and dendritic cells, augmenting both innate and allo-immune responses. Chemokines, released from surveillance cells and others, orchestrate an influx of cells into the allograft, and subsequently drive the migration of dendritic cells and lymphocytes to proper areas within lymph nodes for the efficient generation of allo-immune responses. Heparan sulfate, a component of the extracellular matrix, binds chemokines and thus regulates their localization within tissues. This association is one of a multitude of examples of the interplay between cells and their extracellular surroundings. In addition to the association with chemokines, heparan sulfate binds cytokines such as IFN-gamma and IL-2. In the spleen, heparan sulfate localizes IL-2 to the marginal zone, red pulp, and interdigitating dendritic cells of the T cell zone. Our laboratory recently determined that the contribution of heparan sulfate-bound IL-2 to immune responses is substantial, finding that bound, rather than free, IL-2 drives immune responses. This finding reiterates the critical nature of the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix. Disruptions in these interactions may lead to dysregulation of immune responses and, in turn, pathologies such as tissue fibrosis or autoimmunity. Further studies into the exchange between cells and the extracellular matrix will likely lead to new lines of therapies aimed at correcting these abnormalities before irreversible damage occurs.

Animals↗

Synthetic biomaterials as instructive extracellular microenvironments for morphogenesis in tissue engineering.

New generations of synthetic biomaterials are being developed at a rapid pace for use as three-dimensional extracellular microenvironments to mimic the regulatory characteristics of natural extracellular matrices (ECMs) and ECM-bound growth factors, both for therapeutic applications and basic biological studies. Recent advances include nanofibrillar networks formed by self-assembly of small building blocks, artificial ECM networks from protein polymers or peptide-conjugated synthetic polymers that present bioactive ligands and respond to cell-secreted signals to enable proteolytic remodeling. These materials have already found application in differentiating stem cells into neurons, repairing bone and inducing angiogenesis. Although modern synthetic biomaterials represent oversimplified mimics of natural ECMs lacking the essential natural temporal and spatial complexity, a growing symbiosis of materials engineering and cell biology may ultimately result in synthetic materials that contain the necessary signals to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis.

Animals↗

[Fundamental and clinical studies on biochemical properties of endometriosis in comparison with endometrium].

1. Regulatory mechanism of cell growth of endometriosis in comparison with endometrium. Estradiol alone has no growth-promoting effect on both endometriotic and endometrial cells. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates cell growth of both cell types. Endometrial cells but not endometriotic cells produce and release EGF into culture media so that stimulatory effect of exogenous addition of EGF is blunted in endometrial cells. Estradiol exerts its mitogenic action by enhancing the mitogenic effect of EGF in endometrium. By contrast, the effect of estradiol is minimal in endometriotic cells, showing less dependency on estradiol for their proliferation. Progesterone inhibits cell growth of the both cell types in the same manner. 2. A biological role of EGF in endometriosis. Endometriotic cells possess EGF receptors. The affinity of the receptor is the same as that of endometrial cells. However, the number of receptor per cell is about half of that for endometrium. Estradiol increases the number of EGF receptors in endometrial cells which may explain the mitogenic effect of estradiol in the face of EGF. However, stimulatory effect of estradiol for EGF receptors is less pronounced in endometriotic cells. Mitogenic action of EGF is suggested to be mediated by phosphorylation of tyrosine residues of 170 kd protein in the tissues. EGF increases the production of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and activates the aromatase activity of the both cell types. However, the stimulatory action of EGF on progestin receptor is observed only in endometrial cells. 3. Biochemical characterization of endometriotic cells in comparison with endometrial cells. Endometriotic tissues accumulate less amount of glycogen and XIII factor of blood coagulation as compared to endometrial tissues. The ability of endometriotic cells to release prostaglandin is also weaker, suggesting suppressed differentiated function of endometriotic cell. Endometriotic cells produce the same amount of CA125 as endometrial cells. Danazol and EGF inhibit the release of CA125 into culture media when standardized per cell. Therefore, normalization of CA125 levels during the treatment dose not always mean the reduction of the lesions but reflect the suppressed function of the endometriotic tissues. 4. Altered microenvironment of endometriotic tissues. An analysis of peritoneal fluid. The amount of peritoneal fluid (PF) with endometriosis increased throughout the menstrual cycle. A number of macrophage is reported to increase in PF with endometriosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Chemokines in tissue-specific and microenvironment-specific lymphocyte homing.

This review describes recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the roles played by chemokines in lymphocyte trafficking. These include the first demonstration that chemokines control lymphocyte/vascular recognition by shear-resistant rapid adhesion; the first example of specialized tissue-specific homing mediated by chemokines; and the implication that chemokines may control microenvironmental segregation within lymphoid organs.

Cell Adhesion↗

Death in the third dimension: apoptosis regulation and tissue architecture.

Tissue development, homeostasis and tumor pathogenesis all depend upon a complex dialogue between multiple cell types operating within a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) tissue extracellular matrix microenvironment. A major issue is whether the spatial organization of a cell within this 3D tissue microenvironment could modulate cell responsiveness to regulate cell fate decisions such as survival, and if so how. Classic developmental model systems and transgenic animals are instructive but pose special challenges for investigators conducting signaling studies and biochemical assays in tissues. As an alternative, 3D culture model systems exist in which cell-adhesion dependent tissue architecture, heterotypic cell-cell interactions and tissue differentiation can be recapitulated with good fidelity. 3D cell culture models are slowly revealing how tissue architecture can dramatically influence how a cell responds to exogenous stimuli to modify its apoptotic behavior and hence should prove instrumental for identifying novel cell death pathways.

Apoptosis↗

[Histo-architectonic features of the autonomic nerve terminals and their cellular microenvironment in breast cancer tissues before and after radiotherapy].

The difference in the histoarchitectonics of structures of vegetative nervous terminals (VNT) before and after radiotherapy (RT) indicates the existence of VNT fragments sensitive and resistant to radiation damage. Heterogeneity of the local neuromediator background in tumor morphogenesis before and after RT can be clarified through studying the VNT cellular microenvironment.

Adolescent↗

Initial characterization of the microenvironment that regulates connective tissue degradation in amniochorion during normal human labor.

Extracellular matrix degradation in fetal membranes leading to its rupture is coupled to myometrial activity and cervical ripening during human normal labor. Mechanisms which modulate collagen degradation in amniochorion during labor have not been elucidated. Initial characterization of the effect of different blood compartments on connective tissue degradation in amniochorion during human labor was explored. Amniochorion explants were stimulated with plasma of maternal venous blood, umbilical cord blood or placental blood, obtained from women with pregnancies at term, with or without labor. MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities were quantified in conditioned media by gelatin-zymography as an index of connective tissue degradation. Collagen content was measured in tissue explants and collagen fibrils distribution was examined by electron microscopy. Placental plasma from term pregnancies, with or without labor, is enriched with soluble signals that enhance the in vitro MMP-9 production by amniochorion. Accompanying ultrastructural distortion of collagen fibers and demonstration of collagen degradation fragments confirmed induction of extracellular matrix degradation. Control experiments in which MMP-9 activity was blocked with TIMP-1 resulted in inhibition of all the above mentioned changes. These results suggest that placental intervillous space is a functional compartment in which mediators capable to induce collagen degradation in amniochorion are selectively expressed during human labor.

Amnion↗

Influence of tissue origins and external microenvironment on porcine foetal fibroblast growth, proliferative life span and genome stability.

One of the challenges of manipulating genes in primary cells is that the cells have a finite proliferation capacity. This, combined with the lower gene targeting efficiency of somatic cells, makes identification of targeted clones very difficult. The objective of this study was to establish a system that allows porcine foetal fibroblasts to reach their maximal proliferation capacity in vitro. The influence of fibroblast origin, stage of foetal development, cell seeding densities and concentration of foetal bovine serum (FBS) on the population doublings, the percentage of beta-galactosidase-activity-positive cells and the genome stability of foetal fibroblasts during in vitro culture was investigated. It was found that porcine foetal fibroblasts could be cultured for over 80 population doublings in the appropriate culture system. Fibroblasts from earlier stages of foetal development were better candidate cells than those from the later stages. Cells from the heart were more actively proliferative and more resistant to replicative senescence than those from the liver. Compared to 10% FBS content, 15% FBS provided better homeostatic support, not only to proliferative performance, but also in maintaining a normal karyotype. In addition, the proliferative life span of porcine foetal fibroblasts is also dependent on seeding density of the culture.

Animals↗

Functional heterogeneity of mast cells isolated from different microenvironments within nasal polyp tissue.

Nasal polyposis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the upper airways characterized by infiltration of activated inflammatory cells, including mast cells, both in the epithelium and in the stroma. The aim of this work was to study human mast cells derived from two different anatomical sites within the same nasal polyp tissue. To this end, we isolated two distinct mast cell populations, one from the epithelial and the other from the stromal layers of individual human nasal polyp tissues. We examined the mediator content of the two mast cell populations and found that stromal mast cells had a significantly higher content of tryptase compared with the epithelial mast cells from the same tissue. In addition, mast cells from the stromal compartment, but not those from the epithelium, released a significant amount of histamine after anti-IgE stimulation. By contrast, both populations released over 50% of the total histamine after non-specific stimuli (A23187 10(-6) M). The content of mediators and the response to immunological activation were not significantly altered in patients receiving topical steroid therapy. It remains to be determined if the observed differences are the result of an intrinsic characteristic of the mast cell populations localized to separate tissue compartments, or reflect a different in vivo exposure to stimuli such as antigens, or different surrounding structural or infiltrating cells. In conclusion, these data provide evidence of functional heterogeneity and differences in mediator content between mast cell subpopulations from a single human tissue. The failure of release of epithelial mast cell mediators from an immunologic stimulus may have implications concerning acute effects of antigen exposure in nasal polyposis.

Adult↗

Quantitative study of microvessel ultrastructure in human peritumoral brain tissue. Evidence for a blood-brain barrier defect.

The form and function of blood vessels are determined by the cells that constitute their microenvironment. Brain tissue around tumors contains varying numbers of tumor cells that could influence local capillaries to lose their blood-brain barrier (BBB), as they do in the tumor itself. Microvascular permeability cannot be measured directly in humans but can be inferred from a knowledge of vessel ultrastructure. The authors have examined the vascular ultrastructure associated with the BBB in human peritumoral brain tissue for evidence of BBB compromise and to correlate BBB features with the cellular components of the vessel microenvironment. Light microscopic examination of brain tissue samples in patients with primary brain tumors showed that the tissue lying beyond the visible edge of the tumor ranged from essentially normal to grossly infiltrated with tumor cells. Although some of the vessels were structurally normal, the microvessels as a group had elongated junctional clefts (unfused regions) and an increase in the density of endothelial vesicles. Furthermore, the cleft index (the percentage of the junctional profile that is unfused) varied directly with the local cell density. A subpopulation of vessels enveloped by a layer of tumor cells was grossly abnormal. However, vessels that were not immediately invested by tumor cells also showed some abnormalities. It is concluded that tumor cells infiltrating peritumoral brain tissue cause blood vessels to take on some of the structural characteristics of leaky vessels. Since direct contact is not required, and since the degree of abnormality correlates with the number of tumor cells in the environment, the authors suggest that this inductive influence is exerted over a distance and is dependent on the concentration of the inducing factors.

Adult↗

Growth factor delivery for oral and periodontal tissue engineering.

The treatment of oral and periodontal diseases and associated anomalies accounts for a significant proportion of the healthcare burden, with the manifestations of these conditions being functionally and psychologically debilitating. Growth factors are critical to the development, maturation, maintenance and repair of craniofacial tissues, as they establish an extracellular environment that is conducive to cell and tissue growth. Tissue-engineering principles aim to exploit these properties in the development of biomimetic materials that can provide an appropriate microenvironment for tissue development. These materials have been constructed into devices that can be used as vehicles for delivery of cells, growth factors and DNA. In this review, different mechanisms of drug delivery are addressed in the context of novel approaches to reconstruct and engineer oral- and tooth-supporting structures, namely the periodontium and alveolar bone.

Animals↗