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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Differential Expression Of Ape1 And Ape2 In Germinal Centers Promotes Error-Prone Repair And A:T Mutations During Somatic Hypermutation, Janet Stavnezer, Erin K. Linehan, Mikayla R. Thompson, Ghaith Habboub, Anna J. Ucher, Tatenda Kadungure, Daisuke Tsuchimoto, Yusaku Nakabeppu, Carol E. Schrader Aug 2015

Differential Expression Of Ape1 And Ape2 In Germinal Centers Promotes Error-Prone Repair And A:T Mutations During Somatic Hypermutation, Janet Stavnezer, Erin K. Linehan, Mikayla R. Thompson, Ghaith Habboub, Anna J. Ucher, Tatenda Kadungure, Daisuke Tsuchimoto, Yusaku Nakabeppu, Carol E. Schrader

Janet M. Stavnezer

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of antibody variable region genes is initiated in germinal center B cells during an immune response by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which converts cytosines to uracils. During accurate repair in nonmutating cells, uracil is excised by uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG), leaving abasic sites that are incised by AP endonuclease (APE) to create single-strand breaks, and the correct nucleotide is reinserted by DNA polymerase beta. During SHM, for unknown reasons, repair is error prone. There are two APE homologs in mammals and, surprisingly, APE1, in contrast to its high expression in both resting and in vitro-activated splenic B …


A Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Dna-Binding Protein For A Class Ii Gene In B Cells Is Distinct From Nf-Kappa B, Ellen M. Gravallese, Mark R. Boothby, Cynthia M. Smas, Laurie H. Glimcher Apr 2015

A Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Dna-Binding Protein For A Class Ii Gene In B Cells Is Distinct From Nf-Kappa B, Ellen M. Gravallese, Mark R. Boothby, Cynthia M. Smas, Laurie H. Glimcher

Ellen M. Gravallese

Class II (Ia) major histocompatibility complex molecules are cell surface proteins normally expressed by a limited subset of cells of the immune system. These molecules regulate the activation of T cells and are required for the presentation of antigens and the initiation of immune responses. The expression of Ia in B cells is determined by both the developmental stage of the B cell and by certain external stimuli. It has been demonstrated previously that treatment of B cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in increased surface expression of Ia protein. However, we have confirmed that LPS treatment results in a significant …


The Dna Glycosylases Ogg1 And Nth1 Do Not Contribute To Ig Class Switching In Activated Mouse Splenic B Cells, Anna J. Ucher, Erin K. Linehan, George W. Teebor, Carol E. Schrader, Janet Stavnezer Mar 2013

The Dna Glycosylases Ogg1 And Nth1 Do Not Contribute To Ig Class Switching In Activated Mouse Splenic B Cells, Anna J. Ucher, Erin K. Linehan, George W. Teebor, Carol E. Schrader, Janet Stavnezer

Janet M. Stavnezer

During activation of B cells to undergo class switching, B cell metabolism is increased, and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are increased. ROS can oxidize DNA bases resulting in substrates for the DNA glycosylases Ogg1 and Nth1. Ogg1 and Nth1 excise oxidized bases, and nick the resulting abasic sites, forming single-strand DNA breaks (SSBs) as intermediates during the repair process. In this study, we asked whether splenic B cells from mice deficient in these two enzymes would show altered class switching and decreased DNA breaks in comparison with wild-type mice. As the c-myc gene frequently recombines with the IgH …


The Role Of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Derived Ifn Alpha In Antiviral Immunity, Gyongyi Szabo, Angela Dolganiuc Apr 2010

The Role Of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Derived Ifn Alpha In Antiviral Immunity, Gyongyi Szabo, Angela Dolganiuc

Gyongyi Szabo

Viral infections represent a major source of acute and chronic human disease. The immune system plays a central role in the elimination of viruses through its ability to recognize pathogens and to induce virus-specific cellular activation, accompanied by a robust production of soluble molecules with antiviral effects. Interferons are among the most powerful natural soluble antiviral molecules. Upon viral infection, interferons are produced by a variety of cell types, with immune cells being the main contributors. The immune system works as a well-orchestrated team composed of multiple cell types. The mechanisms of intercellular cooperation that includes dendritic cells (DCs), their …


Cd1d-Dependent B-Cell Help By Nk-Like T Cells Leads To Enhanced And Sustained Production Of Bacillus Anthracis Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Antibodies, T. Scott Devera, Lindsay M. Aye, Gillian A. Lang, Sunil K. Joshi, Jimmy D. Ballard, Mark L. Lang Apr 2010

Cd1d-Dependent B-Cell Help By Nk-Like T Cells Leads To Enhanced And Sustained Production Of Bacillus Anthracis Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Antibodies, T. Scott Devera, Lindsay M. Aye, Gillian A. Lang, Sunil K. Joshi, Jimmy D. Ballard, Mark L. Lang

Bioelectrics Publications

The current Bacillus anthracis vaccine consists largely of protective antigen (PA), the protein of anthrax toxin that mediates entry of edema factor (EF) or lethal factor (LF) into cells. PA induces protective antibody (Ab)-mediated immunity against Bacillus anthracis but has limited efficacy and duration. We previously demonstrated that activation of CD1d-restricted natural killer-like T cells (NKT) with a CD1d-binding glycolipid led to enhanced Ab titers specific for foreign antigen (Ag). We therefore tested the hypothesis that activation of NKT cells with the CD1d ligand (alpha-galactosylceramide [alpha-GC]) at the time of immunization improves PA-specific Ab responses. We observed that alpha-GC enhanced …


Synthesis And Processing Of The Alpha Heavy Chains Of Secreted And Membrane-Bound Iga, H. Kikutani, R. Sitia, R. A. Good, Janet Stavnezer Apr 2008

Synthesis And Processing Of The Alpha Heavy Chains Of Secreted And Membrane-Bound Iga, H. Kikutani, R. Sitia, R. A. Good, Janet Stavnezer

Janet M. Stavnezer

We have compared the synthesis and processing of immunoglobulin alpha chains in two murine cell lines, a B cell lymphoma that expresses membrane-bound IgA and a hybridoma that secretes IgA. Results of biosynthetic labeling experiments demonstrated that membrane-bound and secreted alpha chains have two distinct intracellular precursors, of different molecular weights and isoelectric points. RNAs from both of these cell lines direct the synthesis in vitro of two alpha polypeptides of Mr 59,000 and 62,000, the larger one being the precursor for membrane-bound alpha chain and the smaller one being the precursor for secreted alpha chain. These cell lines each …


Cellular Basis Of Decreased Immune Responses To Pneumococcal Vaccines In Aged Mice, Manju Garg, Wei Luo, Alan M. Kaplan, Subbarao Bondada Nov 1996

Cellular Basis Of Decreased Immune Responses To Pneumococcal Vaccines In Aged Mice, Manju Garg, Wei Luo, Alan M. Kaplan, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Previously, model systems were developed in our laboratory to study murine immune responses to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine Pnu-Imune, both in vivo and in vitro (M. Garg and B. Subbarao, Infect. Immun. 60:2329-2336, 1992; M. Garg, A. M. Kaplan, and S. Bondada, J. Immunol. 152: 1589-1596, 1994). Using these systems, we found that aged mice did not respond to the vaccine in vivo or in vitro. Cell separation studies showed that the unresponsiveness of the aged spleen cells to the vaccine was not due to an intrinsic B-cell defect or to T-cell-mediated immunosuppression but resulted from an accessory cell …


Primary Antibody Responses To Thymus-Independent Antigens In The Lungs And Hilar Lymph Nodes Of Mice, S. Niranjan Goud, Alan M. Kaplan, Subbarao Bondada Jul 1990

Primary Antibody Responses To Thymus-Independent Antigens In The Lungs And Hilar Lymph Nodes Of Mice, S. Niranjan Goud, Alan M. Kaplan, Subbarao Bondada

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

B lymphocytes from the pulmonary lymphoid tissues were stimulated with a variety of thymus-independent (TI) antigens by intratracheal (i.t.) immunization. Immune responses in the lungs and hilar lymph nodes (HLN), which are part of the localized lymphoid tissue, as well as in the spleen, the systemic lymphoid organ, were studied. Thus, primary i.t. immunization of mice with the TI-1 antigen trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) elicited both antigen-specific and polyclonal plaque-forming cell responses from HLN, lung, and splenic B lymphocytes. These responses appeared as early as 3 days after immunization and declined by day 7. Similar immunization with another TI-1 antigen, TNP-Brucella …