Principles of early human development and germ cell program from conserved model systems

Human primordial germ cells (hPGCs), the precursors of sperm and eggs, originate during week 2-3 of early postimplantation development(1). Using in vitro models of hPGC induction(2-4), recent studies suggest striking mechanistic differences in specification of human and mouse PGCs(5). This may partly be due to the divergence in their pluripotency networks, and early postimplantation development(6-8). Since early human embryos are inaccessible for direct studies, we considered alternatives, including porcine embryos that, as in humans, develop as bilaminar embryonic discs. Here we show that porcine PGCs (pPGCs) originate from the posterior pre-primitive streak competent epiblast by sequential upregulation of SOX17 and BLIMP1 in response to WNT and BMP signalling. Together with human and monkey in vitro models simulating peri-gastrulation development, we show conserved principles for epiblast development for competency for PGC fate, followed by initiation of the epigenetic program(9-11), regulated by a balanced SOX17–BLIMP1 gene dosage. Our combinatorial approach using human, porcine and monkey in vivo and in vitro models, provides synthetic insights on early human development

Role of CD45 Signaling Pathway in Galactoxylomannan-Induced T Cell Damage

Previously, we reported that Galactoxylomannan (GalXM) activates the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways through an interaction with the glycoreceptors on T cells. In this study we establish the role of the glycoreceptor CD45 in GalXM-induced T cell apoptosis, using CD45+/+ and CD45−/− cell lines, derived from BW5147 murine T cell lymphoma. Our results show that whereas CD45 expression is not required for GalXM association by the cells, it is essential for apoptosis induction. In CD45+/+ cells, CD45 triggering by GalXM reduces the activation of Lck, ZAP70 and Erk1/2. Conversely, in CD45−/− cells, Lck was hyperphosphorylated and did not show any modulation after GalXM stimulation. On the whole, our findings provide evidence that the negative regulation of Lck activation occurs via CD45 engagement. This appears to be related to the capacity of GalXM to antagonize T cell activation and induce T cell death. Overall this mechanism may be responsible for the immune paralysis that follows GalXM administration and could explain the powerful immunosuppression that accompanies cryptococcosis

NaChBac: The Long Lost Sodium Channel Ancestor

In excitable cells, the main mediators of sodium conductance across membranes are voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(V)s). Eukaryotic Na(V)s are essential elements in neuronal signaling and muscular contraction and in humans have been causally related to a variety of neurological and cardiovascular channelopathies. They are complex heavily glycosylated intrinsic membrane proteins present in only trace quantities that have proven to be challenging objects of study. However, in recent years, a number of simpler prokaryotic sodium channels have been identified, with NaChBac from Bacillus halodurans being the most well-characterized to date. The availability of a bacterial Na(V) that is amenable to heterologous expression and functional characterization in both bacterial and mammalian systems has provided new opportunities for structure--function studies. This review describes features of NaChBac as an exemplar of this class of bacterial channels, compares prokaryotic and eukaryotic Na(V)s with respect to their structural organization, pharmacological profiling, and functional kinetics, and discusses how voltage-gated ion channels may have evolved to deal with the complex functional demands of higher organisms

Dendritic cell-expressed common gamma-chain recruits IL-15 for trans-presentation at the murine immunological synapse [version 1]

Background: Mutations of the common cytokine receptor gamma chain (γc) cause Severe Combined Immunodeficiency characterized by absent T and NK cell development. Although stem cell therapy restores these lineages, residual immune defects are observed that may result from selective persistence of γc-deficiency in myeloid lineages. However, little is known about the contribution of myeloid-expressed γc to protective immune responses.  Here we examine the importance of γc for myeloid dendritic cell (DC) function. Methods: We utilize a combination of in vitro DC/T-cell co-culture assays and a novel lipid bilayer system mimicking the T cell surface to delineate the role of DC-expressed γc during DC/T-cell interaction. Results: We observed that γc in DC was recruited to the contact interface following MHCII ligation, and promoted IL-15Rα colocalization with engaged MHCII. Unexpectedly, trans-presentation of IL-15 was required for optimal CD4+T cell activation by DC and depended on DC γc expression. Neither recruitment of IL-15Rα nor IL-15 trans-signaling at the DC immune synapse (IS), required γc signaling in DC, suggesting that γc facilitates IL-15 transpresentation through induced intermolecular cis associations or cytoskeletal reorganization following MHCII ligation. Conclusions: These findings show that DC-expressed γc is required for effective antigen-induced CD4+ T cell activation. We reveal a novel mechanism for recruitment of DC IL-15/IL-15Rα complexes to the IS, leading to CD4+ T cell costimulation through localized IL-15 transpresentation that is coordinated with antigen-recognition

Dendritic cell-expressed common gamma-chain recruits IL-15 for trans-presentation at the murine immunological synapse [version 2; referees: 2 approved]

BACKGROUND: Mutations of the common cytokine receptor gamma chain (γc) cause Severe Combined Immunodeficiency characterized by absent T and NK cell development. Although stem cell therapy restores these lineages, residual immune defects are observed that may result from selective persistence of γc-deficiency in myeloid lineages. However, little is known about the contribution of myeloid-expressed γc to protective immune responses.  Here we examine the importance of γc for myeloid dendritic cell (DC) function. METHODS: We utilize a combination of in vitro DC/T-cell co-culture assays and a novel lipid bilayer system mimicking the T cell surface to delineate the role of DC-expressed γc during DC/T-cell interaction. RESULTS: We observed that γc in DC was recruited to the contact interface following MHCII ligation, and promoted IL-15Rα colocalization with engaged MHCII. Unexpectedly, trans-presentation of IL-15 was required for optimal CD4+T cell activation by DC and depended on DC γc expression. Neither recruitment of IL-15Rα nor IL-15 trans-signaling at the DC immune synapse (IS), required γc signaling in DC, suggesting that γc facilitates IL-15 transpresentation through induced intermolecular cis associations or cytoskeletal reorganization following MHCII ligation. CONCLUSION: These findings show that DC-expressed γc is required for effective antigen-induced CD4+ T cell activation. We reveal a novel mechanism for recruitment of DC IL-15/IL-15Rα complexes to the IS, leading to CD4+ T cell costimulation through localized IL-15 transpresentation that is coordinated with antigen-recognition

The Mouse Cytomegalovirus Gene m42 Targets Surface Expression of the Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase CD45 in Infected Macrophages

The receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase CD45 is expressed on the surface of cells of hematopoietic origin and has a pivotal role for the function of these cells in the immune response. Here we report that following infection of macrophages with mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) the cell surface expression of CD45 is drastically diminished. Screening of a set of MCMV deletion mutants allowed us to identify the viral gene m42 of being responsible for CD45 down-modulation. Moreover, expression of m42 independent of viral infection upon retroviral transduction of the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line led to comparable regulation of CD45 expression. In immunocompetent mice infected with an m42 deletion mutant lower viral titers were observed in all tissues examined when compared to wildtype MCMV, indicating an important role of m42 for viral replication in vivo. The m42 gene product was identified as an 18 kDa protein expressed with early kinetics and is predicted to be a tailanchored membrane protein. Tracking of surface-resident CD45 molecules revealed that m42 induces internalization and degradation of CD45. The observation that the amounts of the E3 ubiquitin ligases Itch and Nedd4 were diminished in cells expressing m42 and that disruption of a PY motif in the N-terminal part of m42 resulted in loss of function, suggest that m42 acts as an activator or adaptor for these Nedd4-like ubiquitin ligases, which mark CD45 for lysosomal degradation. In conclusion, the down-modulation of CD45 expression in MCMV-infected myeloid cells represents a novel pathway of virus-host interaction