HLA-A*2402 is one of the most frequent HLA-A allele in Asian population. To construct HLA-A*2402-peptide tetramers, the transmembrane and intracellular segments of HLA-A*2402 cDNA were replaced with BSP sequence to form a fusion gene of sHLA-A*2402-BSP. The sHLA-A*2402-BSP fusion protein and β2m were high-level expressed as insoluble aggregates in E. coli, and refolded to form an HLA-A*2402-peptide monomeric complex by dilution method in the presence of an antigenic peptide. The HLA-A*2402-peptide monomeric complex was biotinated and tetramized to prepare HLA-A*2402-peptide tetramer. Then using the HLA-A*2402-peptide tetramers to detect antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) induced by artificial antigen presenting cell (aAPC) in vitro. The results showed that HLA-A*2402-peptide tetramer was prepared correctly, and functional in detecting antigen-specific CTL in vitro, HLA-A*2402-peptide monomeric and its multimeric complexes are expected to provide a powerful tool for studying mechanisms of immune-related diseases in Asian populations.Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2005;2(2):145-149.
IDDM results from pancreatic beta cell destruction by islet-reactive T cells, a process that involves beta cell apoptosis. FasL-Fas pathway plays a major role in pancreatic beta cell death. Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), the component of the tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1) and Fas signaling complexes, is involved in TNF-R1- and Fas-induced apoptosis. Inhibiting the function of FADD will lead to blocking downstream apoptosis signal, which protects pancreatic beta cells from destruction by FasL-Fas pathway. In this study we constructed eukaryotic expressing vector of fusional protein FADDdel-GFP named pFADDdeI-GFP. After pFADDdel-GFP was transfected into NIT, the expression of FADDdel-GFP in NIT was detected by fluorescence microscopy and the resistance of NIT transfected with pFADDdel-GFP to cytotoxicity mediated by special T cells was detected by FACS and MTT. The results showed that NIT modified by pFADDdel-GFP obviously resisted cytotoxicity mediated by special T cells. Therefore, it may be useful in the prevention or treatment of IDDM by intervening FasL-Fas pathway. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2004;1(5):383-386.
The main approach to reduce graft rejection has been focused on the development of immunosuppressive agents at present. Although these strategies have reportedly reduced graft rejection, there has been a reciprocal increase in more severe immunosuppression and lethal infections, as well as severe side effects. Blockade of costimulatory T cell response has been proved as one of useful strategies to reduce graft rejection. Furthermore,it has been shown that infusion of dendritic cells (DCs) with a potent negative regulatory ability for T cells could prolong allograft survival. In this study mouse DCs (mDCs) were transfected with the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.0 containing mouse inducible costimulator-Ig (mICOS-Ig) cDNA by electroporation. The transient expression of mICOS-Ig in mDC could be detected by ELISA and SDS-PAGE. Mouse ICOS-Ig fusion protein expressed in mDC and mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC could inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) in vitro. Furthermore, mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC could inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in recipient mice. These results suggested that mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC exerted inhibitory effects on T cells, and might be suitable for treatment or prevention of graft rejection and immunopathologicdiseases.
