Regulation of Antigen-Experienced T Cells: Lessons from the Quintessential Memory Marker CD44

Despite the widespread use of the cell-surface receptor CD44 as a marker for antigen (Ag)-experienced, effector and memory T cells, surprisingly little is known regarding its function on these cells. The best-established function of CD44 is the regulation of cell adhesion and migration. As such, the interactions of CD44, primarily with its major ligand, the extracellular matrix (ECM) component hyaluronic acid (HA), can be crucial for the recruitment and function of effector and memory T cells into/within inflamed tissues. However, little is known about the signaling events following engagement of CD44 on T cells and how cooperative interactions of CD44 with other surface receptors affect T cell responses. Recent evidence suggests that the CD44 signaling pathway(s) may be shared with those of other adhesion receptors, and that these provide contextual signals at different anatomical sites to ensure the correct T cell effector responses. Furthermore, CD44 ligation may augment T cell activation after Ag encounter and promote T cell survival, as well as contribute to regulation of the contraction phase of an immune response and the maintenance of tolerance. Once the memory phase is established, CD44 may have a role in ensuring the functional fitness of memory T cells. Thus, the summation of potential signals after CD44 ligation on T cells highlights that migration and adhesion to the ECM can critically impact the development and homeostasis of memory T cells, and may differentially affect subsets of T cells. These aspects of CD44 biology on T cells and how they might be modulated for translational purposes are discussed

Incidence, risk factors and treatment of diarrhoea among Dutch travellers: reasons not to routinely prescribe antibiotics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Travellers' diarrhoea (TD) is the most common infectious disease among travellers. In the Netherlands, stand-by or prophylactic antibiotics are not routinely prescribed to travellers. This study prospectively assessed the incidence rate, risk factors, and treatment of TD among immunocompetent travellers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Persons who attended the travel clinic of the Public Health Service Amsterdam in 2006-2007 before short-term travel to tropical and subtropical countries were invited to answer a questionnaire regarding sociodemographics and travel purpose; they were also asked to keep a daily structured travel diary, recording their itinerary, symptoms, and self-medication or consultation with a doctor. Diarrhoea episodes containing blood or mucous were considered severe.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 1202 travellers, the median age was 38 years, and the median travel duration 3 weeks. Of all episodes, 96% were mild. The median duration of TD was 2 days and significantly shorter in subsequent episodes compared to first episodes (p < 0.0005). Of first episodes 38% started in the first travel week. The incidence rate (IR) for first episodes was 2.49 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.30-2.70) per 100 travel days, with the highest IR among travellers to South-Central and West Asia. The IR for first and subsequent episodes was comparable. Risk factors for first episodes included female sex, a Western country of birth, and tourism as the purpose of travel. The lowest risk was in travellers to South America. An independent risk factor for subsequent episodes was female sex. In total, 5% of travellers used antibiotics; of those, 92% had mild diarrhoea, and 53% received antibiotics over the counter.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>TD is common among travellers, but the overall course is mild, not requiring treatment. The incidence rates for first and second episodes are comparable. Female sex is a risk factor for the first episode, as well as subsequent ones. Prescription antibiotics are not needed in short-term healthy travellers.</p

Early replication in pulmonary B cells after infection with marek's disease herpesvirus by the respiratory route

Natural infection with Marek's disease virus occurs through the respiratory mucosa after chickens inhale dander shed from infected chickens. The early events in the lung following exposure to the feather and squamous epithelial cell debris containing the viral particles remain unclear. In order to elucidate the virological and immunological consequences of MDV infection for the respiratory tract, chickens were infected by intratracheal administration of infective dander. Differences between susceptible and resistant chickens were immediately apparent, with delayed viral replication and earlier onset of interferon (IFN)-γ production in the latter. CD4+ and CD8 + T cells surrounded infected cells in the lung. Although viral replication was evident in macrophages, pulmonary B cells were the main target cell type in susceptible chickens following intratracheal infection with MDV. In accordance, depletion of B cells curtailed viremia and substantially affected pathogenesis in susceptible chickens. Together the data described here demonstrate the role of pulmonary B cells as the primary and predominant target cells and their importance for MDV pathogenesis. © 2009, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Identification of platelet function defects by multi-parameter assessment of thrombus formation.

Assays measuring platelet aggregation (thrombus formation) at arterial shear rate mostly use collagen as only platelet-adhesive surface. Here we report a multi-surface and multi-parameter flow assay to characterize thrombus formation in whole blood from healthy subjects and patients with platelet function deficiencies. A systematic comparison is made of 52 adhesive surfaces with components activating the main platelet-adhesive receptors, and of eight output parameters reflecting distinct stages of thrombus formation. Three types of thrombus formation can be identified with a predicted hierarchy of the following receptors: glycoprotein (GP)VI, C-type lectin-like receptor-2 (CLEC-2)>GPIb>α6β1, αIIbβ3>α2β1>CD36, α5β1, αvβ3. Application with patient blood reveals distinct abnormalities in thrombus formation in patients with severe combined immune deficiency, Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, May-Hegglin anomaly or grey platelet syndrome. We suggest this test may be useful for the diagnosis of patients with suspected bleeding disorders or a pro-thrombotic tendency.This work was supported by grants from the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (INCOAG), the Dutch Heart Foundation (2011T6), the Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research (1006) and ZonMW (MKMD 114021004).This is the final published version. It's also available from Nature Communications at http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140716/ncomms5257/full/ncomms5257.html

Hepatitis C virus infection among transmission-prone medical personnel

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected physicians have been reported to infect some of their patients during exposure-prone procedures (EPPs). There is no European consensus on the policy for the prevention of this transmission. To help define an appropriate preventive policy, we determined the prevalence of HCV infection among EPP-performing medical personnel in the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The prevalence of HCV infection was studied among 729 EPP-performing health care workers. Serum samples, stored after post-hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination testing in the years 2000–2009, were tested for HCV antibodies. Repeat reactive samples were confirmed by immunoblot assay and the detection of HCV RNA. The average age of the 729 health care workers was 39 years (range 18–66), suggesting a considerable cumulative occupational exposure to the blood. Nevertheless, only one of the 729 workers (0.14%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: <0.01% to 0.85%) was tested and confirmed to be positive for anti-HCV and positive for HCV RNA, which is comparable to the prevalence of HCV among Amsterdam citizens. Against this background, for the protection of personnel and patients, careful follow-up after needlestick injuries may be sufficient. If a zero-risk approach is desirable and costs are less relevant, the recurrent screening of EPP-performing personnel for HCV is superior to the follow-up of reported occupational exposures

A synthesis approach of mouse studies to identify genes and proteins in arterial thrombosis and bleeding.

Antithrombotic therapies reduce cardiovascular diseases by preventing arterial thrombosis and thromboembolism, but at expense of increased bleeding risks. Arterial thrombosis studies using genetically modified mice have been invaluable for identification of new molecular targets. Because of low sample sizes and heterogeneity in approaches or methodologies, a formal meta-analysis to compare studies of mice with single-gene defects encountered major limitations. To overcome these, we developed a novel synthesis approach to quantitatively scale 1514 published studies of arterial thrombus formation (in vivo and in vitro), thromboembolism, and tail-bleeding of genetically modified mice. Using a newly defined consistency parameter (CP), indicating the strength of published data, comparisons were made of 431 mouse genes, of which 17 consistently contributed to thrombus formation without affecting hemostasis. Ranking analysis indicated high correlations between collagen-dependent thrombosis models in vivo (FeCl3 injury or ligation/compression) and in vitro. Integration of scores and CP values resulted in a network of protein interactions in thrombosis and hemostasis (PITH), which was combined with databases of genetically linked human bleeding and thrombotic disorders. The network contained 2946 nodes linked to modifying genes of thrombus formation, mostly with expression in megakaryocytes. Reactome pathway analysis and network characteristics revealed multiple novel genes with potential contribution to thrombosis/hemostasis. Studies with additional knockout mice revealed that 4 of 8 (Apoe, Fpr2, Ifnar1, Vps13a) new genes were modifying in thrombus formation. The PITH network further: (i) revealed a high similarity of murine and human hemostatic and thrombotic processes and (ii) identified multiple new candidate proteins regulating these processes

Matrix Metalloprotease 9 Mediates Neutrophil Migration into the Airways in Response to Influenza Virus-Induced Toll-Like Receptor Signaling

The early inflammatory response to influenza virus infection contributes to severe lung disease and continues to pose a serious threat to human health. The mechanisms by which neutrophils gain entry to the respiratory tract and their role during pathogenesis remain unclear. Here, we report that neutrophils significantly contributed to morbidity in a pathological mouse model of influenza virus infection. Using extensive immunohistochemistry, bone marrow transfers, and depletion studies, we identified neutrophils as the predominant pulmonary cellular source of the gelatinase matrix metalloprotease (MMP) 9, which is capable of digesting the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, infection of MMP9-deficient mice showed that MMP9 was functionally required for neutrophil migration and control of viral replication in the respiratory tract. Although MMP9 release was toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling-dependent, MyD88-mediated signals in non-hematopoietic cells, rather than neutrophil TLRs themselves, were important for neutrophil migration. These results were extended using multiplex analyses of inflammatory mediators to show that neutrophil chemotactic factor, CCL3, and TNFα were reduced in the Myd88−/− airways. Furthermore, TNFα induced MMP9 secretion by neutrophils and blocking TNFα in vivo reduced neutrophil recruitment after infection. Innate recognition of influenza virus therefore provides the mechanisms to induce recruitment of neutrophils through chemokines and to enable their motility within the tissue via MMP9-mediated cleavage of the basement membrane. Our results demonstrate a previously unknown contribution of MMP9 to influenza virus pathogenesis by mediating excessive neutrophil migration into the respiratory tract in response to viral replication that could be exploited for therapeutic purposes

Calorie Restriction Attenuates Terminal Differentiation of Immune Cells

Immune senescence is a natural consequence of aging and may contribute to frailty and loss of homeostasis in later life. Calorie restriction increases healthy life-span in C57BL/6J (but not DBA/2J) mice, but whether this is related to preservation of immune function, and how it interacts with aging, is unclear. We compared phenotypic and functional characteristics of natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, across the lifespan, of calorie-restricted (CR) and control C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice. Calorie restriction preserves a naïve T cell phenotype and an immature NK cell phenotype as mice age. The splenic T cell populations of CR mice had higher proportions of CD11a-CD44lo cells, lower expression of TRAIL, KLRG1, and CXCR3, and higher expression of CD127, compared to control mice. Similarly, splenic NK cells from CR mice had higher proportions of less differentiated CD11b-CD27+ cells and correspondingly lower proportions of highly differentiated CD11b+CD27-NK cells. Within each of these subsets, cells from CR mice had higher expression of CD127, CD25, TRAIL, NKG2A/C/E, and CXCR3 and lower expression of KLRG1 and Ly49 receptors compared to controls. The effects of calorie restriction on lymphoid cell populations in lung, liver, and lymph nodes were identical to those seen in the spleen, indicating that this is a system-wide effect. The impact of calorie restriction on NK cell and T cell maturation is much more profound than the effect of aging and, indeed, calorie restriction attenuates these age-associated changes. Importantly, the effects of calorie restriction on lymphocyte maturation were more marked in C57BL/6 than in DBA/2J mice indicating that delayed lymphocyte maturation correlates with extended lifespan. These findings have implications for understanding the interaction between nutritional status, immunity, and healthy lifespan in aging populations