Browsing by Subject "dendritic cells"

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    b-Glucosylceramides and Tocopherols Regulate Development and Function of Dendritic Cells
    (American Association of Immunologists, 2022-11-15) Lajiness, Jacquelyn D.; Amarsaikhan, Nansalmaa; Tat, Kiet; Tsoggerel, Angar; Cook-Mills, Joan M.; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
    In humans and mice, offspring of allergic mothers are predisposed to development of allergy. In mice, allergic mothers have elevated β-glucosylceramides (βGlcCers) that are transported to the fetus via the placenta and to offspring via milk. The elevated βGlcCers increase numbers of fetal liver CD11c+CD11b+ dendritic cells (DCs) and offspring allergen-induced lung eosinophilia. These effects are modifiable by maternal dietary supplementation with the plant-derived lipids α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol. It is not known whether βGlcCers and tocopherols directly regulate development of DCs. In this study, we demonstrated that βGlcCers increased development of GM-CSF-stimulated mouse bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) in vitro without altering expression of costimulatory molecules. This increase in BMDC numbers was blocked by α-tocopherol and potentiated by γ-tocopherol. Furthermore, βGlcCers increased PKCα and PKCδ activation in BMDCs that was blocked by α-tocopherol. In contrast, γ-tocopherol increased BMDC PKCα and PKCδ activation and enhanced the βGlcCer-induced increase in PKCδ activation in a DC subset. Antigen processing per DC was minimally enhanced in βGlcCer-treated BMDCs and not altered ex vivo in lung DCs from pups of allergic mothers. Pups of allergic mothers had an increased proportion of CD11b+CD11c+ subsets of DCs, contributing to enhanced stimulation of T cell proliferation ex vivo. Thus, βGlcCer, which is both necessary and sufficient for development of allergic predisposition in offspring of allergic mothers, directly increased development and PKC activation in BMDCs. Furthermore, this was modifiable by dietary tocopherols. This may inform design of future studies for the prevention or intervention in asthma and allergic disease.
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    Rapid changes in shape and number of MHC class II expressing cells in rat airways after Mycoplasma pulmonis infection
    (Elsevier, 2002-12) Umemoto, Eric Y.; Brokaw, James J.; Dupuis, Marc; McDonald, Donald M.; Anatomy & Cell Biology, School of Medicine
    Mycoplasma pulmonis infection in rodents causes a chronic inflammatory airway disease with a strong immunological component, leading to mucosal remodeling and angiogenesis. We sought to determine the effect of this infection on the shape and number of dendritic cells and other major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expressing cells in the airway mucosa of Wistar rats. Changes in the shape of subepithelial OX6 (anti-MHC class II)-immunoreactive cells were evident in the tracheal mucosa 2 days after intranasal inoculation with M. pulmonis. By 1 week, the shape of the cells had changed from stellate to rounded (mean shape index increased from 0.42 to 0.77). The number of OX6-positive cells was increased 6-fold at 1 week and 16-fold at 4 weeks. Coincident with these changes, many columnar epithelial cells developed OX6 immunoreactivity, which was still present at 4 weeks. We conclude that M. pulmonis infection creates a potent immunologic stimulus that augments and transforms the OX6-immunoreactive cell population in the airways by changing the functional state of airway dendritic cells, initiating an influx of MHC class II expressing cells, and activating expression of MHC class II molecules by airway epithelial cells.