Differential regulation of effector- and central-memory responses to Toxoplasma gondii infection by IL-12 revealed by tracking of Tgd057-specific CD8+ T cells

10.1371/journal.ppat.1000815PLoS Pathogens6

The carpase-like sites of proteasomes: substrate specificity, new inhibitors and substrates, and allosteric interactions with the trypsin-like sites

Bio-Organische synthes

Lipoproteins act as vehicles for lipid antigen delivery and activation of invariant natural killer T cells

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells act at the interface between lipid metabolism and immunity because of their restriction to lipid antigens presented on CD1d by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). How foreign lipid antigens are delivered to APCs remains elusive. Since lipoproteins routinely bind glycosylceramides structurally similar to lipid antigens, we hypothesized that circulating lipoproteins form complexes with foreign lipid antigens. In this study, we used 2-color fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to show, for the first time to our knowledge, stable complex formation of lipid antigens alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha GalCer), isoglobotrihexosylceramide, and OCH, a sphingosine-truncated analog of alpha GalCer, with VLDL and/or LDL in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate LDL receptor-mediated (LDLR-mediated) uptake of lipoprotein-alpha GalCer complexes by APCs, leading to potent complex-mediated activation of iNKT cells in vitro and in vivo. Finally, LDLR-mutant PBMCs of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia showed impaired activation and proliferation of iNKT cells upon stimulation, underscoring the relevance of lipoproteins as a lipid antigen delivery system in humans. Taken together, circulating lipoproteins form complexes with lipid antigens to facilitate their transport and uptake by APCs, leading to enhanced iNKT cell activation. This study thereby reveals a potentially novel mechanism of lipid antigen delivery to APCs and provides further insight into the immunological capacities of circulating lipoproteins.Metabolic health: pathophysiological trajectories and therap

A myristoylated pseudosubstrate peptide, a novel protein kinase C inhibitor

Synthetic peptides corresponding to the pseudosubstrate domains of protein kinase C (PKC) have been used as specific inhibitors of PKC in in vitro assays and permeabilized cell systems. However, their use in vivo was hampered by the impermeability of the plasma membrane for such peptides. Here, we show that N-myristoylation of the PKC pseudosubstrate nonapeptide Phe-Ala-Arg-Lys-Gly-Ala-Leu-Arg-Gln permits its use as an inhibitor of PKC in intact cells. The myristoylated peptide, myr-psi PKC, inhibits phosphorylation of the myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate protein, as induced by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate, and the activation of phospholipase D by bradykinin, which strictly depends on PKC. Half-maximal inhibition is obtained at concentrations of 8 and 20 microM, respectively. An N-myristoylated peptide derived from an inhibitor protein of the cAMP-dependent protein kinases, Myr-Gly-Arg-Arg-Asn-Ala-Ile-His-Asp-Ile, was ineffective. These results show that myr-psi PKC is a selective and cell-permeable inhibitor of PKC

IgG1 + ovalbumin-specific B-cell transnuclear mice show class switch recombination in rare allelically included B cells

10.1073/pnas.1210273109Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1093413739-13744PNAS

Effect of physical activity assessment on prognostication for peripheral artery disease and mortality

10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.12.016Mayo Clinic proceedings903339-34

XBP-1-deficient plasmablasts show normal protein folding but altered glycosylation and lipid synthesis

10.4049/jimmunol.0900953Journal of Immunology18363690-3699JOIM

Regulation of CD1 function and NK1.1(+) T cell selection and maturation by cathepsin S.

NK1.1(+) T cells develop and function through interactions with cell surface CD1 complexes. In I-A(b) mice lacking the invariant chain (Ii) processing enzyme, cathepsin S, NK1.1(+) T cell selection and function are impaired. In vitro, thymic dendritic cells (DCs) from cathepsin S(-/-) mice exhibit defective presentation of the CD1-restricted antigen, alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer). CD1 dysfunction is secondary to defective trafficking of CD1, which colocalizes with Ii fragments and accumulates within endocytic compartments of cathepsin S(-/-) DCs. I-A(k), cathepsin S(-/-) mice do not accumulate class II-associated Ii fragments and accordingly do not display CD1 abnormalities. Thus, function of CD1 is critically linked to processing of Ii, revealing MHC class II haplotype and cathepsin S activity as regulators of NK T cells