• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.186-196
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• 2007

Background: Although IL-12 has been widely accepted to playa central role in the control of pathogen infection, the use of recombinant IL-12 (rIL-12) as a vaccine adjuvant has been known to be ineffective because of its rapid clearance in the body. Methods: To investigate the effect of sustained release of IL-12 in vivo in the peptide and protein vaccination models, rIL-12 was encapsulated into poly ($A_{DL}$-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Results: We found that codelivery of IL-12-encapsulated microspheres (IL-12EM) could dramatically increase not only antibody responses, but also antigen-specific $CD4^+\;and\;CD8^+$ T cell responses. Enhanced immune responses were shown to be correlated with protective immunity against influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virus challenge. Interestingly, the enhancement of $CD8^+$ T cell response was not detectable when $CD4^+$ T cell knockout mice were subjected to vaccination, indicating that the enhancement of the $CD8^+$ T cell response by IL-12EM is dependent on $CD4^+$ T cell "help". Conclusion: Thus, IL-12EM could be applied as an adjuvant of protein and peptide vaccines to enhance protective immunity against virus infection.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 1985

This study was undertaken to assess the susceptibility of pigmented and nonpigmented strains of Serratia marcescens to antibiotics and human sera, and the effect of culture filtrates from pigmented and nonpigmented of Serratia marcescens on humoral and cellular immune responses in mice to thymus-dependent and indepependent antigens. Humoral immune response was measured by hemagglutinin (HA) and hemolysin (HE) to sheep red blood cell (SRBC), and Arthus or antibody response to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The cellular immune response was measured by delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) determined by footpad swelling reactin to SRBC. The resistance of pigmented strains of Serratia marcescens to the bactericidal action of heat inactivated human serum was insignificantly greater than that of nonpigmented strains. However, the pigmented strains were significantly more resistant to the bactericidal action of heat-untreated human serum than that of nonpigmented strains. The clinical isolates of Serratia marcestens was also tested for their resistance to several antibiotics. There was no difference between the pigmented and non-pigmented strains in the resistance to carbenicillin. However, nonpigmented strains were more resistant to gentamicin, kanamycin and tobramycin than the pigmented strains. The intraperitoneal administration of culture filtrates from the pigmented or nonpigmented strains into mice caused enhancemented of antibody response to SRBC or PVP, and of DTH to SRBC. Besides, their enhancement of immune responses was more prominent when culture filtrate from the pigmented strains was administered.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.18
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• 2021

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still threatening human health, economy, and social life worldwide. As a counteraction for this devastating disease, a number of vaccines are being developed with unprecedented speed combined with new technologies. As COVID-19 vaccines are being developed in the absence of a licensed human coronavirus vaccine, there remain further questions regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of the vaccines, as well as immunological mechanisms in depth. This review article discusses the current status of COVID-19 vaccine development, mainly focusing on antigen design, clinical trials in later stages, and immunological considerations for further study.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2004

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites which cause infection by invading and replicating within cells. The immune system has mechanisms which can attack the virus in extracellular and intracellular phase of life cycle, and which involve both non-specific and specific effectors. The survival of viruses depends on the survival of their hosts, and therefore the immune system and viruses have evolved together. Immune responses to viral infection may be variable depending on the site of infection, the mechanism of cell-to-cell spread of virus, physiology of the host, host genetic variation, and environmental condition. Viral infection of cells directly stimulates the production of interferons and they induce antiviral state in the surrounding cells. Complement system is also involved in the elimination of viruses and establishes the first line of defence with other non-specific immunity. During the course of viral infection, antibody is most effective at an early stage, especially before the virus enters its target cells. The virus- specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes are the principal effector cells in clearing established viral infections. But many viruses have resistant mechanism to host immune responses in every step of viral infection to cells. Some viruses have immune evasion mechanism and establish latency or persistency indefinitely. Furthermore antibodies to some viruses can enhance the disease by the second infection. Immune responses to viral infection are very different from those to bacterial infection.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.391-398
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• 1998

In vitro effects of acetone, methanol, and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on liver microsomal cytochrome P450 (P450) content, and P450-dependent arylhydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (ECOD) activities were studied in rats. Acetone at 1% (v/v) enhanced the content ofP450, assayed spectrally in 3-methylcholanethrene (MC)- and ${\beta}-naphthoflavone$ (BNF)-inducible microsomes by 18 and 7%, respectively. Methanol, up to 5% (v/v) applied, also showed enhancement effects on P450 content in liver microsomes from rats treated with phenobarbital (PB), MC, and BNF, as well as uninduced microsomes with similar but low strength. DMSO, however, did not show such enhancing effects at the ranges of the concentrations applied. AHH and ECOD activities in MC-inducible microsomes were also enhanced by acetone at 1%, which was in proportion to the increase in P450 content by the same concentration. However, the P450 content, and AHH and ECOD activities, were decreased by increasing the concentration of acetone. Methanol at the same concentration with acetone also enhanced ECOD activity but not AHH activity in MCinducible microsomes. The enhancing effect of acetone on the enzymes was negligible when the microsomes were pretreated with a specific monoclonal antibody of MC-inducible isozyme. The difference in the effects of these solvents on P450 system might be due to their different properties that cause the P450 active site to be exposed in milieu.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.267-273
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• 1999

In this study we examined the potential for the synergistic augmentation of the antitumor activity of inflammatory mouse peritoneal macrophages by stimulation with protein A combined with $IFN-\gamma$. The moderate augmentative effect induced by preincubation with protein A was demonstrated to be concentration-dependent, whereas IFN-, had a very low activating effect. Following preincubation with both protein A and $IFN-\gamma$, a marked enhancement of macrophage activity was noted. In addition, based on the utilization of neutralizing antibody to TNF-$\alpha$ or the inhibition of NO Production, TNF-$\alpha$ and NO were proven to be involved as mediators during the activation of tumoricidal macrophages by protein A in combination with $IFN-\gamma$. We also demonstrated that supernatants from macrophages treated with protein A plus $IFN-\gamma$ contained both TNF-$\alpha$ and NO at markedly increased levels. Thus, tumor cell lysis in the combined system was mediated via TNF-$\alpha$ or NO. These results demonstrate the synergistic effects on mouse pertioneal macrophage function of protein A in combination with $IFN-\gamma$ and suggest that combinations of such agents may serve as the basis for future in vivo immunotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7857-7861
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• 2014

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. Interleukin (IL)-18 is an immunoregulatory cytokine that induces potent NK cell-dependent anti-tumor responses when administrated with other cytokines. In this study, we explored the effects of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytotoxicity as well as expression levels of the NK cell receptor NKG2D in vitro. Freshly isolated PBMCs were incubated for 48 h with IL-18 and IL-2, then CD107a expression on $CD3^-CD56^+$ NK cells was determined by three-colour flow cytometry to evaluate the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human erythroleukemia K562 cells and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was also employed to determine NKG2D expression on NK cells. The combined use of IL-18 and IL-2 significantly increased CD107a expression on NK cells compared with using IL-18 or IL-2 alone, suggesting that the combination of these two cytokines exerted synergistic enhancement of NK cytotoxicity. IL-18 also enhanced NKG2D expression on NK cells when administered with IL-2. In addition, blockade of NKG2D signaling with NKG2D-blocking antibody attenuated the up-regulatory effect of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytolysis. Our data revealed that IL-18 synergized with IL-2 to dramatically enhance the cytolytic activity of human NK cells in a NKG2D-dependent manner. The results appear encouraging for the use of combined IL-18 and IL-2 in tumor immunotherapy.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.257-272
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• 2022

In addition to inducing apoptosis, caspase inhibition contributes to necroptosis and/or autophagy depending on the cell type and cellular context. In macrophages, necroptosis can be induced by co-treatment with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands (lipopolysaccharide [LPS] for TLR4 and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly I:C] for TLR3) and a cell-permeable pan-caspase inhibitor zVAD. Here, we elucidated the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms of cell death. We showed that LPS/zVAD- and poly I:C/zVAD-induced cell death in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) was inhibited by receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) inhibitor necrostatin-1 and autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine. Electron microscopic images displayed autophagosome/autolysosomes, and immunoblotting data revealed increased LC3II expression. Although zVAD did not affect LPS- or poly I:C-induced activation of IKK, JNK, and p38, it enhanced IRF3 and STAT1 activation as well as type I interferon (IFN) expression. In addition, zVAD inhibited ERK and Akt phosphorylation induced by LPS and poly I:C. Of note, zVAD-induced enhancement of the IRF3/IFN/STAT1 axis was abolished by necrostatin-1, while zVAD-induced inhibition of ERK and Akt was not. Our data further support the involvement of autocrine IFNs action in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent necroptosis, LPS/zVAD-elicited ROS production was inhibited by necrostatin-1, neutralizing antibody of IFN receptor (IFNR) and JAK inhibitor AZD1480. Accordingly, both cell death and ROS production induced by TLR ligands plus zVAD were abrogated in STAT1 knockout macrophages. We conclude that enhanced TRIF-RIP1-dependent autocrine action of IFNβ, rather than inhibition of ERK or Akt, is involved in TLRs/zVAD-induced autophagic and necroptotic cell death via the JAK/STAT1/ROS pathway.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2012

Background: Therapeutic approaches using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against complement regulatory proteins (CRPs:i.e.,CD46,CD55 and CD59) have been reported for adjuvant cancer therapy. In this study, we generated a recombinant 1E8 single-chain anti-CD59 antibody (scFv-Fc) and tested anti-cancer effect.by using complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Methods: We isolated mRNA from 1E8 hybridoma cells and amplified the variable regions of the heavy chain (VH) and light chain (VL) genes using reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Using a linker, the amplified sequences for the heavy and light chains were each connected to the sequence for a single polypeptide chain that was designed to be expressed. The VL and VH fragments were cloned into the pOptiVEC-TOPO vector that contained the human CH2-CH3 fragment. Then, 293T cells were transfected with the 1E8 single-chain Fv-Fc (scFv-Fc) constructs. CD59 expression was evaluated in the prostate cancer cell lines using flow cytometry. The enhancement of CDC effect by mouse 1E8 and 1E8 scFv-Fc were evaluated using a cytotoxicity assay. Results: The scFv-Fc constructs were expressed by the transfected 293T cells and secreted into the culture medium. The immunoreactivity of the secreted scFv-Fc construct was similar to that of the mouse 1E8 for CCRF-CEM cells. The molecular masses of 1E8 scFv-Fc were about 120 kDa and 55 kDa under reducing and non-reducing conditions, respectively. The DNA sequence of 1E8 scFv-Fc was obtained and presented. CD59 was highly expressed by the prostate cancer cell line. The recombinant 1E8 scFv-Fc mAb revealed significantly enhanced CDC effect similar with mouse 1E8 for prostate cancer cells. Conclusion: A 1E8 scFv-Fc construct for adjuvant cancer therapy was developed.