• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.953-963
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• 2018

The stepwise development of T cells from a multipotent precursor is guided by diverse mechanisms, including interactions among lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs) and epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation, which play crucial roles in mammalian development and lineage commitment. To elucidate the transcriptional networks and epigenetic mechanisms underlying T-cell lineage commitment, we investigated genome-wide changes in gene expression, DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation among populations representing five successive stages of T-cell development (DN3, DN4, DP, $CD4^+$, and $CD8^+$) by performing RNA-seq, MBD-seq and hMeDIP-seq, respectively. The most significant changes in the transcriptomes and epigenomes occurred during the DN4 to DP transition. During the DP stage, many genes involved in chromatin modification were up-regulated and exhibited dramatic changes in DNA hydroxymethylation. We also observed 436 alternative splicing events, and approximately 57% (252) of these events occurred during the DP stage. Many stage-specific, differentially methylated regions were observed near the stage-specific, differentially expressed genes. The dynamic changes in DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation were associated with the recruitment of stage-specific TFs. We elucidated interactive networks comprising TFs, chromatin modifiers, and DNA methylation and hope that this study provides a framework for the understanding of the molecular networks underlying T-cell lineage commitment.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.127-132
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• 2015

To overcome the hyperacute immune rejection during pig-to-non-human primates xenotranasplantation, we have produced and bred ${\alpha}$-1,3-galactosyltransferase knock-out ($GalT^{-/-}$) pigs. In this study, the somatic cells and tissues from the $GalT^{-/-}$ pigs were characterized by an analysis of the expression of Gal${\alpha}$-1,3-Gal (${\alpha}-Gal$) epitope. Briefly, ear fibroblast cell lines of 19 homozygous $GalT^{-/-}$ pigs were established and cryopreserved. The expression of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope in the cells was measured by fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis using BS-I-B4 lectin. Also, the homozygous ($GalT^{-/-}$) cells and tissues samples were immunostained with BS-I-B4 lectin for analysis of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope expression. The results showed that the expression of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope in $GalT^{-/-}$ cells (0.2 %) were significantly (p<0.05) down-regulated to the range of cynomolgus monkey fibroblast (0.2 %) cells compared to heterozygous ($GalT^{-/+}$) (9.3 %) and wild type ($GalT^{+/+}$) (93.7 %) fibroblast cells. In the immunostaining results, while the expression of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope was detected a partly in $GalT^{-/+}$ cells and mostly in $GalT^{+/+}$ cells, it was almost not detected in the $GalT^{-/-}$ cells. Also, immunostaining results from various tissues of the $GalT^{-/-}$ pig showed that the expression of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope was not detectable, whereas various tissues from $GalT^{+/+}$ pig showed a strong expression of ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope. Our results demonstrated that ${\alpha}-Gal$ epitope expressions from $GalT^{-/-}$ pigs were successfully knocked out to prevent hyperacute immune rejection for further study of xenotransplantation.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 1996

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of co-culture for the development rate to morula/blastocyst stages of early porcine embryos, derived from oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro, with porcine oviductal epithelial cell monolayers(POEC) in the two different media, respectively. The rates of embryos developed to 2-, 4-, 8∼16-cell and morula/blastocyst stage were 57.2, 48.2, 37.2 and 19.3% in Ham's F-10 with POEC, and 51.4, 41.2, 31.1, and 15.5% in TCM-HEPES with POEC, respectively. The above development rates to morula/blastocyst stages were significantly higher than those of the embryos cultured in the Ham's F-10 and TCM-HEPES with out POEC(P<0.05). The in vitro development rates to the morula/blastocyst stage of 1-cell embryos cultured in Ham's F-10 and TCM-HEPES without POEC were 1.1∼1.2%. Especially, most of embryos were observed to arrest the development beyond 4-cell stages. As shown in the above results, the co-culture of in vitro produced porcine embryos with POEC in the two different media enhanced the development of fertilized eggs to morula/blastocyst stages in vitro. However, we didn't find out any difference for the in vitro development to morula/blastocyst stages between Ham's F-10 and TCM-HEPES media.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.35.1-35.16
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• 2023

Defining the molecular dynamics associated with T cell differentiation enhances our understanding of T cell biology and opens up new possibilities for clinical implications. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of CD5 expression in CD8⁺ T cell differentiation and explored its potential clinical uses. Using PBMCs from 29 healthy donors, we observed a stepwise decrease in CD5 expression as CD8⁺ T cells progressed through the differentiation stages. Interestingly, we found that CD5 expression was initially upregulated in response to T cell receptor stimulation, but diminished as the cells underwent proliferation, potentially explaining the differentiation-associated CD5 downregulation. Based on the proliferation-dependent downregulation of CD5, we hypothesized that relative CD5 expression could serve as a marker to distinguish the heterogeneous CD8⁺ T cell population based on their proliferation history. In support of this, we demonstrated that effector memory CD8⁺ T cells with higher CD5 expression exhibited phenotypic and functional characteristics resembling less differentiated cells compared to those with lower CD5 expression. Furthermore, in the retrospective analysis of PBMCs from 30 non-small cell lung cancer patients, we found that patients with higher CD5 expression in effector memory T cells displayed CD8⁺ T cells with a phenotype closer to the less differentiated cells, leading to favorable clinical outcomes in response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. These findings highlight the dynamics of CD5 expression as an indicator of CD8⁺ T cell differentiation status, and have implications for the development of predictive biomarker for ICI therapy.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.437-447
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• 1999

Type I diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) results from the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic $\beta$ cells by a progressive $\beta$ cell-specific autoimmune process. The pathogenesis of autoimmune IDDM has been extensively studied for the past two decades using animal models such as the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse and the Bio-Breeding (BB) rat. However, the initial events that trigger the immune responses leading to the selective destruction of the $\beta$ cells are poorly understood. It is thought that $\beta$ cell auto-antigens are involved in the triggering of $\beta$ cell-specific autoimmunity. Among a dozen putative $\beta$ cell autoantigens, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) has bee proposed as perhaps the strongest candidate in both humans and the NOD mouse. In the NOD mouse, GAD, as compared with other $\beta$ cell autoantigens, provokes the earliest T cell proliferative response. The suppression of GAD expression in the $\beta$ cells results in the prevention of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. In addition, the major populations of cells infiltrating the iselts during the early stage of insulitis in BB rats and NOD mice are macrophages and dendritic cells. The inactivation of macrophages in NOD mice results in the prevention of T cell mediated autoimmune diabetes. Macrophages are primary contributors to the creation of the immune environment conducive to the development and activation of $\beta$cell-specific Th1-type CD4+ T cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells that cause autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are both believed to be important for the destruction of $\beta$ cells. These cells, as final effectors, can kill the insulin-producing $\beta$ cells by the induction of apoptosis. In addition, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells release granzyme and cytolysin (perforin), which are also toxic to $\beta$ cells. In this way, macrophages, CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells act synergistically to kill the $\beta$ cells in conjunction with $\beta$ cell autoantigens and MHC class I and II antigens, resulting in the onset of autoimmune type I diabetes.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.177-181
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• 1995

To investigate the possibility of Panax ginseng as a therapeutic agent for the immune suppression, ginseng total saponin (GTS) extracted from korean red ginseng was tested on immune functions from morphine-induced immune suppressed mice. To study how immune functions are affected by morphine and also to test whether GTS can be an useful therapeutic agent for morphine toxicity, several parameters were employed, body weight, immune organ weight, B cell functions, and T cell function. Morphine impaired the development of body weight and immune organ weight such as spleen and thymus. Morphine also depressed a B-cell function, antibody production. T-cell functions studied by type IV hypersensitivity test were most markedly affected by morphine treatment. GTS restored most of morphine-induced immune suppression. GTS restored the morphine-induced decrease in spleen weight to body weight ratio in a dose dependent manner, but not the body weight decrease. Also all of the morphine-induced impairments of B cell functions and cellmediated immunity were fully recovered by GTS. These results suggest that ginseng product could be very helpful for the treatment of immune suppression occurring in morphine abusers.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2016

The serine/threonine kinase mTOR is essential for the phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) signaling pathway, and regulates the development and function of immune cells. Aberrant activation of mTOR signaling pathway is associated with many cancers including leukemia. Here, we report the contributions of mTOR signaling to growth of human leukemic cell lines and mouse T-cell acute leukemia (T-ALL) cells. Torin, an ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitor, was found to have both cytotoxic and cytostatic effects on U-937, THP-1, and RPMI-8226 cells, but not on Jurkat or K-562 cells. All cells were relatively resistant to rapamycin even with suppressed activity of mTOR complex 1. Growth of T-ALL cells induced by Notch1 was profoundly affected by torin partially due to increased expression of Bcl2l11 and Bbc3. Of note, activation of Akt or knockdown of FoxO1 mitigated the effect of mTOR inhibition on T-ALL cells. Our data provide insight on the effect of mTOR inhibitors on the survival and proliferation of leukemic cells, thus further improving our understanding on cell-context-dependent impacts of mTOR signaling. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(1): 63-68]

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4041-4047
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• 2013

Cancer vaccine development is in the process of becoming reality in future, due to successful phase II/III clinical trials. However, there are still problems due to the specificity of tumor antigens and weakness of tumor associated antigens in eliciting an effective immune response. Computational models to assess the vaccine efficacy have helped to improve and understand what is necessary for personalized treatment. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of activation of antigen specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, decreased TREG number functionality and antigen cascade, so that overall improvement in vaccine efficacy and disease free survival can be attained. T cell epitomic based in sillico approaches might be very effective for the design and development of novel cancer vaccines.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2000

Objective: This study was to determine the effect of different concentration of calcium III medium on the preimplantational development of zygotes and early 2 cell embryos. Methods: Female mice of ICR strain ($5{\sim}8$ weeks old) were superovulated and mated with fertile males. Zygotes or early 2-cell embryos were collected by flushing the oviducts $31{\sim}32$ hours after hCG injection. The embryos were cultured in various concentrations of $Ca^{2+}$ in medium or with EDTA, EGTA and $Ni^{2+}$. Result and Conclusion: Treatment of high concentraion of $Ca^{2+}$ (3.42 mM $(2X){\sim}17.l$ mM (10X)) in medium didn't develop well compared to the control. Low concentrations of $Ca^{2+}$ (0.214mM $(1/8X){\sim}0.855$ mM (1/2X) were deterimental to development beyond 2-cell stage. EDTA, $Ca^{2+}$ chelating agent was treated with ranged concentrations of EDTA (0.014 $mM{\sim}0.107$ mM) to medium contaning 1.71 mM $Ca^{2+}$ showed beneficial effect to development to blastocyst compared to the control. EGTA, extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator, was treated with ranged concentrations of EGTA ($0.014{\sim}0.107$ mM) to the medium contaning 1.71 mM $Ca^{2+}$. There is no significant difference with the control. $Ni^{2+}$ (50 ${\mu}M$), T-type $Ca^{2+}$-channel blocker was treated to medium contaning low concentration of $Ca^{2+}$. It overcame 2-cell block significantly. Rate of degenerated embryos decreased and developmental rate to morula and blastocyst increased more than low $Ca^{2+}$ concentration alone. Further studies are needed for the overcoming effect of 2-cell block by $Ni^{2+}$.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.62-64
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• 2008

A major hurdle to the development of RNA interference as therapy for HIV infection is the delivery of siRNA to T lymphocytes which are difficult cells to transfect even in vitro. We have employed a single chain antibody to the pan T cell surface antigen CD7 was conjugated to an oligo-9-arginine peptide (scFvCD7-9R) for T cell-specific siRNA delivery in NOD/SCIDIL2${\gamma}$-/- mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood lymphocytes (Hu-PBL). Using a novel delivery, we first show that scFvCD7-9R efficiently delivered CD4 siRNA into human T cells in vitro. In vivo administration to Hu-PBL mice resulted in reduced levels of surface CD4 expression on T cells. Mice infected with HIV-1 and treated on a weekly basis with scFvCD7-9R-siRNA complexes targeting a combination of viral genes and the host coreceptor molecule CCR5 successfully maintained CD4/CD3 T cell ratios up to 4 weeks after infection in contrast to control mice that displayed a marked reduction in CD4 T cell numbers. p24 antigen levels were undetectable in 3 of the 4 protected mice. scFvCD7-9R/antiviral siRNA treatment also helped maintain CD4 T cell numbers with reduced plasma viral loads in Hu-PBL mice reconstituted with PBMC from donors seropositive for HIV, indicating that this method can contain viral replication even in established HIV infections. Our results show that scFvCD7-9R could be further developed as a potential therapeutic for HIV-1 infection.