The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are classic stress-activated protein kinases. Many cellular stresses have been shown to stimulate JNK activation. In this review, we focus on ribotoxic stresses based on their multiple biological potencies including anti-HIV-1 activity. Some of the functions of ribotoxins and the signaling transduction pathway that mediated are mentioned. Different from other stimulators, ribotoxic stresses act on special motifs of 28S rRNA in translationally active mammal ribosomes. Binding and damaging on the motif leads to JNK activation and subsequently biological response to the signal initiator, which is named ribotoxic stress response. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2005;2(6):419-425.
HIV-1 p24 detection provides a means to aid the early diagnosis of HIV-1 infection, track the progression of disease and assess the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy. In the present study, three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) p3JB9, p5F1 and p6F4 against HIV-1 p24 were generated. All mAbs could detect p24 of HIV-1ⅢB, HIV-1Ada-M, HIV-174v mAbs p5F1 and p6F4 could detect HIV-1KM018, while p3JB9 could not. Three mAbs did not react with HIV-2ROD, HIV-2CBL-20 and SIVagmTYO-1. The recognized epitope of p5F1 was located on the Gag amino acid region DCKTILKALGPAATLEEMMTAC. The p5F1 was used to establish a modified sandwich ELISA with rabbit anti-p24 serum and showed good specificity and high sensitivity, which has been used to measure HIV-1 p24 antigen levels in research. Cellular & Molecular Immunology.
Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs,vaccines and mechanisms of human diseases.Little is known about the normal levels of leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhesus macaques.To obtain these data,100 blood samples from Chinese rhesus macaques were collected.The normal range of major leukocyte subpopulations,such as T lymphocytes,B lymphocytes,monocytes,myeloid dendritic cells(mDCs)and plasmacytoid dendritic cells(pDCs),were quantitatively analyzed by flow cytometry through BD trucount tubes.The influence of age and sex on the cell counts of leukocyte subpopulations was analyzed.The counts of CD3^(+)T cells,CD3+CD4^(+)T cells,CD3+CD8^(+)T cells and B cells decreased with age,but those of monocytes,mDCs and pDCs had no significant correlation with age.Significant differences existed in the cell counts of most leukocyte subpopulations between the male and female groups except pDCs.Furthermore the values of the females were higher than those of the males.The study provided basic information about the leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhesus macaques,and it may be valuable for immunobiological study of Chinese rhesus macaques.
Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in linking the innate immunity and acquired immunity in responses to pathogen. Non-human primates such as Chinese Rhesus Macaque (CRM) are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs, vaccines and mechanisms of human diseases. However, the phenotypical characterization of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) from CRM has not been elucidated. Monocytes from CRM were cultured with GM-CSF and IL-4 in RPMI-1640. Six days later, these cells were differentiated with typical dendritical morphology. CDllc and DC-SIGN were highly expressed. The immature MDDCs expressed the low levels of CD25, CD80, CD83, moderate CD40, CD86, and high MHC. After stimulation, the mature MDDCs increased expression of mature molecules CD25 and CD83, co-stimulatory molecules such as CD80, CD86 and CD40, and kept a high level of MHC. The capacity of endocytosis decreased with maturation. The mature MDDCs have strong ability of inducing allogeneic T cell proliferation and producing IL-12. In conclusion, we have characterized the phenotype and ultimate function of MDDCs from CRM for the first time.