Project description:Live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) vaccines elicit a combination of systemic and mucosal immunity by mimicking a natural infection. To further enhance protective mucosal responses, we incorporated the gene encoding the IgA-inducing protein (IGIP) into the LAIV genomes of the cold-adapted A/Leningrad/134/17/57 (H2N2) strain (caLen) and the experimental attenuated backbone A/turkey/Ohio/313053/04 (H3N2) (OH/04att). Incorporation of IGIP into the caLen background led to a virus that grew poorly in prototypical substrates. In contrast, IGIP in the OH/04att background (IGIP-H1att) virus grew to titers comparable to the isogenic backbone H1att (H1N1) without IGIP. IGIP-H1att- and H1caLen-vaccinated mice were protected against lethal challenge with a homologous virus. The IGIP-H1att vaccine generated robust serum HAI responses in naive mice against the homologous virus, equal or better than those obtained with the H1caLen vaccine. Analyses of IgG and IgA responses using a protein microarray revealed qualitative differences in humoral and mucosal responses between vaccine groups. Overall, serum and bronchoalveolar lavage samples from the IGIP-H1att group showed trends towards increased stimulation of IgG and IgA responses compared to H1caLen samples. In summary, the introduction of genes encoding immunomodulatory functions into a candidate LAIV can serve as natural adjuvants to improve overall vaccine safety and efficacy.
Project description:Even though SYK and ZAP70 kinases share high sequence homology and serve analogous functions, their expression in B and T cells is strictly segregated throughout evolution. Here, we identified aberrant ZAP70 expression as a common feature in a broad range of B cell malignancies. We validated SYK as the kinase that sets the thresholds for negative selection of autoreactive and premalignant clones. When aberrantly expressed in B cells, ZAP70 competes with SYK at the BCR signalosome and redirects SYK from negative selection to tonic PI3K signaling, thereby promoting B cell survival. In genetic mouse models for B-ALL and B-CLL, conditional expression of Zap70 accelerated disease onset, while genetic deletion impaired malignant transformation. Inducible activation of Zap70 during B cell development compromised negative selection of autoreactive B cells, resulting in pervasive autoantibody production. Strict segregation of the two kinases is critical for normal B cell selection and represents a central safeguard against the development of autoimmune disease and B cell malignancies.
Project description:Breastfeeding provides defense against infectious disease during early life. The mechanisms underlying this protection are complex but likely include the vast array of immune cells and components, such as immunoglobulins, in milk. Simply characterizing the concentrations of these bioactives, however, provides only limited information regarding their potential relationships with disease risk in the recipient infant. Rather, understanding pathogen and antigen specificity profiles of milk-borne immunoglobulins might lead to a more complete understanding of how maternal immunity impacts infant health and wellbeing. Milk produced by women living in 11 geographically dispersed populations was applied to a protein microarray containing antigens from 16 pathogens, including diarrheagenic E. coli, Shigella spp., Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens of global health concern, and specific IgA and IgG binding was measured. Our analysis identified novel disease-specific antigen responses and suggests that some IgA and IgG responses vary substantially within and among populations. Patterns of antibody reactivity analyzed by principal component analysis and differential reactivity analysis were associated with either lower-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) or high-income countries (HICs). Antibody levels were generally higher in LMICs than HICs, particularly for Shigella and diarrheagenic E. coli antigens, although sets of S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and some M. tuberculosis antigens were more reactive in HICs. Differential responses were typically specific to canonical immunodominant antigens, but a set of nondifferential but highly reactive antibodies were specific to antigens possibly universally recognized by antibodies in human milk. This approach provides a promising means to understand how breastfeeding and human milk protect (or do not protect) infants from environmentally relevant pathogens. Furthermore, this approach might lead to interventions to boost population-specific immunity in at-risk breastfeeding mothers and their infants.
Project description:To identify cytokines secreted by pancreatic cancer cells, we compared the cytokine profiles of conditioned medium from pancreatic cancer cell Su.86.86 treated with or without JAG1 siRNA, using a Human Antibody Arrays 507 (L-507, Raybiotech)
Project description:Human plasma samples from CDR = 0 and CDR ≥ 0.5 patients, and serum samples from non-diseased, non-surgical controls were probed onto human protein microarrays to test the utility of a previously established panel of MCI-specific autoantibody (aAB) biomarkers to detect prodromal AD presurgically in individuals admitted into the hospital for hip fracture repair (HFR) surgery.
Project description:Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) antigen-specific cellular response is promising for detectionof Mtb infection, but not efficient for diagnosis of TB. We firstly identified 16 TB disease-specific protein markers measured in the culture supernatant of Mtb-stimulated whole blood using a 640 human proteins array, the highest throughput antibody-based protein array available at the time when we did this study. Potential TB-related proteins were then analyzed across three different patient cohorts comprised of healthy controls, LTBI, non-TB pneumonia, and TB patients to evaluate how the biomarkers performed in diagnosing TB in the real clinical setting. The data finally reveal an eight-protein biosignature of TB.
Project description:To compare the cell signaling events between PC-3 cells and MDA-MB-468 cells, we performed a Reverse Phase of Protein Array (RPPA) profiling on 468 and PC-3 Cells that treated with DMSO, AZD5363, MS21 at 1µM for 24hr respectively.
Project description:8 controls and 26 RA samples were profiled using NimbleTherapeutics high density peptide array. Array consists of >4.6M peptides, includes citrullination and homocitrullination against the entire human proteome represented as overlapping 16mer peptides.