Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Immune complex diseases Immunological aspects'

The effects of vitamin E (VE) and Arginine (ARG) on humoral and cellular immunity in chickens were investigated in two experiments. The humoral immunity was measured by antibody responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and maternal antibody titers to the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), while the cellular immunity was studied using the cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity test to phytogemagglutinin (PHA) and by counting subpopulations of T-lymphocytes. We used two levels of ARG: normal (NARG, 1.2% in feed) and high ARG (HARG, additional 0.3% in drinking water or 1% in feed in experiments 1 and 2, respectively); and three levels of VE were given: 40, 80, and 400 IU/kg feed in experiment 1, and 40, 80, and 200 in experiment 2.
HARG improved the antibody response to SRBC compared with NARG ( P<0.01 for experiment 1 and P<0.013 for experiment 2) 4 days after injection in both experiments. In experiment 1, the VE80 birds maintained higher antibody titers to SRBC (P<0.001) than the VE40 and VE400 birds 4, 8 and 16 d after inoculation. In experiment 2, the antibody titers to SRBC were higher in the VE80 birds compared with the VE200 birds at days 5, 8, and 12 after inoculation (P<0.001). Maternal antibody titers (log10) to the IBDV were higher in the HARG than in the NARG diet in 17-day-old birds (P<0.001) and higher in the VE80 than in the VE40 birds (P<0.001), yet similar to those of the VE200 birds. No interactions were found between ARG and VE.
Naive birds fed HARG exhibited a higher response than NARG birds (P<0.05) to PHA-P at d 17 and to PHA-M at d 41, but, after a second exposure, high ARG levels did not have an effect. Also, in naive birds, the effects of VE were not significant at d 17, but showed an influence after a second exposure in 41-d-old birds.
The percentage of T-helper (Th) and T-cytotoxic (Tc) cells in the blood of 29-d-old birds were not different between ARG levels (P=0.07 and P=0.06, respectively), but Th cells were higher in the VE80 and VE200 birds than in the VE40 birds, and Tc was higher in the VE80 than in the VE40 birds (P=0.02). The B-cell:T-cell ratio was higher in the HARG than the NARG birds (P=0.01) and in the VE40 compared with the VE80 and VE200 birds (P<0.001). Neither ARG nor VE had an effect on the ratio of Th:Tc cells, nor on the percentage of immature T-lymphocytes.
A combination of high levels of ARG and high levels of VE (80 IU/kg of BW) has an important immunomodulation effect on the cellular and humoral immune responses in broiler chickens, improving both maternal antibody titers against the IBDV and antibody titers against SRBC. A combination of ARG and VE increases the proportions of Th and Tc cells, the B-cell:T-cell ratio, and growth performance. The evidence suggests that ARG and VE play complementary and regulatory role on immune response and may enhance the resistance of broilers to infectious diseases.
Key words. Arginine, vitamin E, humoral immunity, cell-mediated immunity, lymphocyte, ELISA.
L'effet de la vitamine E (VE) et l'arginine (ARG) sur les systèmes hummoraireet cellulaire de l'immunité a était évalué chez la volaille dans deux recherches. Lesystème hummoraire de l'immunité a était évalué en utilisant les paramètres tels que laproduction d'anticorps après une injection des globules rouge provenant des moutons(SRBC) et le niveau d'anticorps maternelle après une infection avec les virus causantla maladie 'infectious bursal disease' (lBDV), tandis que les effets sur le systemcellulaire de l'immunité avaient aussi été évalués en utilisant les paramètres comme'cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity test to phytogemagglutinin (PHA)' et endéterminant la concentration des lymphocytes T. Deux concentrations de ARG avaientété utilisées: normale (NARG, 1.2 % de la diète) et une concentration élevée (HARG,additionel 0.3 % dans l'eau ou 1 % dans les diètes); et 3 concentrations de VE: 40, 80et 400 lU/kg dans les diètes dans la première recherche et 40, 80, et 200 lU/kg dans ladeuxième recherche.

This post-positivist research study explored the possible relationship between Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and the presence of underlying psychological and emotional issues. An exploratory design with naturalistic methods of inquiry was utilized to investigate whether the presence, or absence, of these issues had any impact on the overall disease process.

This KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) based study investigates hypertension, glomerulonephritides and the rarity of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) in Africans in association with the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA). A retrospective hypertensive study found a positive association with HLA-B40 (P c<0.05) and HLA-B15 (Pc<0.02) in Indians and Africans respectively. No association was found in Whites. A prospective study showed glomerulonephritides to be positively associated with HLA-A33 in Indians (Pc 0.049). No associations were found with glomerulonephritides in Africans and Whites. Combined Race groups show no HLA associations. HLA-A30; HLA-A34; HLA-A29; HLA-B42; HLA-B58; HLA-B70 and HLA-DR11 were extremely significantly higher in Africans compared to Indians and Whites (all P<0.0001). In conclusion, HLA-B40 and I 1LA-B15 are possible disease susceptibility markers in Indian and African hypertensives; HLA-A33 is a possible disease susceptibility marker for glomerulonephritides in Indians and alleles in linkage might be responsible for the rarity of IgAN in Africans but further studies need to be employed.
Thesis (M.Med)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

Marburg virus (MARV)–along with Ebola Virus–comprises Filoviridae, a family of virus which causes the life-threatening hemorrhagic fever in human and non-human primates for which there is no clinically approved vaccine. For this reason, this virus can potentially lend itself to pandemic and weapons of bioterrorism. Strikingly, this virus yields asymptomatic responses in its recently discovered host Rousettus aegyptiacus. Understanding of the interaction between MARV and different animal hosts will enable the improved understanding of filovirus immunology and the development of effective therapeutic agents. Although cell lines and primary cells have been used to investigate gene expression analysis of this virus, the transcriptomic view of MARV infection on the tissue samples of animal hosts has been an uncharted territory. The comprehensive analysis of transcriptome in hosts and spillover hosts will shed light on the immune responses on a molecular level and potentially allow the comparative analysis to understand the phenotypical differences. However, there have been gaps in resources necessary to carry the transcriptome research for MARV. For example, MARV host Rousettus aegyptiacus genome and transcriptome had not been available. Furthermore, the statistical machinery necessary to analyze multi-tissue/multi-time data was not available. In this dissertation, I introduce the two items that fill these gaps and show the application of the tools I built for novel biological discovery. In particular, I have built 1) the comprehensive de novo transcriptome reference of Rousettus aegyptiacus and 2) the Multilevel Analysis of Gene Expression (MAGE) pipeline to analyze the RNA-seq data with the complex experimental design. I show the application of MAGE in multi-time, multi-tissue transcriptome data of Macaca mulata infected with MARV. In this study, 15 rhesus macaques were sequentially sacrificed via aerosol exposure to MARV Angola over the course of 9 days, and 3 types of lymph node tissues (tracheobronchial, mesenteric, and inguinal) were extracted from each sample and sequenced for gene expression analysis. With MAGE pipeline, I discovered that the posterior median log2FC of genes separates the samples based on day post infection and viral load. I discovered the set of genes such as CD40LG and TMEM197 with interesting trends over time and how similar and different pathways have been influenced in three lymph nodes. I also identified the biologically meaningful clusters of genes based on the topology-based clustering algorithm known as Mapper. Using the MAGE posterior samples, I also determined the genes that are preferentially expressed in tracheobronchial lymph nodes. In addition to new analysis tools and biological findings, I built the gene expression exploration tool for biologists to examine differential gene expression over time in various immune-related pathways and contributing members of the pathways. In conclusion, I have contributed to the two important components in the transcriptome analysis in MARV research and discovered novel biological insights. The MAGE pipeline is modular and extensible and will be useful for the transcriptome research with the complex experimental designs which are becoming increasingly prevalent with the decrease in the cost of sequencing.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) causes viral encephalitis in new born and young adults that is prevalent in different parts of India and other parts of South East Asia with an estimated 6000 deaths per year. JEV is a single stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirusgenus of the family Flaviviridae. It is a neurotropic virus which infects the central nervous system (CNS). The virus follows a zoonotic life-cycle involving mosquitoes and vertebrates, chiefly pigs and ardeid birds, as amplifying hosts. Humans are dead end hosts. After entry into the host following a mosquito bite, JEV infection leads to acute peripheral leukocytosis in the brain and damage to Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The exact role of the endothelial cells during CNS infection is still unclear. However, disruption of this endothelial barrier has been shown to be an important step in entry of the virus into the brain. Humoral and cell mediated immune responses during JEV infection have been intensively investigated. Previous studies from our lab have shown the activation of cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) upon JEV infection. MHC molecules play pivotal role in eliciting both adaptive (T-cells) and innate (NK cells) immune response against viral invasion. Many viruses such as HIV, MCMV, HCMV, AdV and EBV have been found to decrease MHC expression upon infection. On the contrary, flaviviruses like West Nile Virus (WNV) have been found to increase MHC-I and MHC-II expression. More recently, data from our lab has shown that JEV infection can lead to upregulation of mouse non-classical MHC class Ib molecules like Qb1, Qa1 and T-10 along with classical MHC molecules. Non-classical MHC molecules are important components of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Non-classical MHC molecules differ from their classical MHC class I counterparts by their limited polymorphism, restricted tissue distribution and lower levels of cell surface expression. Human classical MHC class I molecules are HLA-A, -B and –C while non-classical MHC Class Ib molecules are HLA-E, -G and –F. HLA-E, the human homologue of the mouse non-classical MHC molecule, Qa-1b has been shown to be the ligand for the inhibitory NK, NKG2A/CD94 and may bridge innate and adaptive immune responses. In this thesis, we have studied the expression of human classical class I molecules HLA-A, -B, -C and the non-classical HLA molecule, HLA-E in immortalized human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), human endothelial like cell line ECV304 (ECV), human glioblastoma cell line U87MG and human foreskin fibroblast cells (HFF). We observed an upregulation of classical HLA molecules and HLA-E mRNA in endothelial and fibroblast cells upon JEV infection. This mRNA increase also resulted in upregulation of cell surface classical HLA molecules and HLA-E in HFF cells but not in both the human endothelial cell lines, ECV and HBMECs. Release of soluble classical HLA molecules upon cytokine treatment has been a long known phenomenon. Recently HLA-E has also been shown to be released as a 37 kDa protein from endothelial cells upon cytokine treatments. Our study suggests that JEV mediated upregulation of classical HLA and HLA-E upregulation leads to release of both Classical HLA molecules and HLA-E as soluble forms in the human endothelial cell lines, ECV and HBMEC. This shedding of sHLA-E from human endothelial cells was found to be mediated by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteolytic activity. MMP-9, a protease implicated in release of sHLA molecules was also found to be upregulated upon JEV infection only in endothelial cell lines but not in HFF cells. Our study provides evidence that the JEV mediated solubilisation of HLA-E could be mediated by MMP-9. Further, we have tried to understand the role of the MAPK pathway and NF-κB pathway in the process of HLA-E solubilisation by using specific inhibitors of these pathways during JEV infection of ECV cells. Our data suggests that release of sHLA-E is dependent on p38 and JNK pathways while ERK 1/2 and NF-κB pathway only had a minor role to play in this process. Treatment of endothelial cells with TNF-α, IL-1β and IFN-γ is known to result in release of sHLA-E. In addition to TNF-α and IFNtreatment, we observed that activating agents like poly (I:C), LPS and PMA also resulted in the shedding of sHLA-E from ECV as well as U87MG but not from HFF cells. Treatment of endothelial cells with IFN-β, a type-I interferon also led to release of sHLA-E. IFN-γ, a type II interferon and TNF-α are known to show additive increase in solubilisation of HLA-E. We studied the interaction between type I interferon, IFN-β and TNF-α with regard to shedding of sHLA- E. Both IFNand TNF, when present together caused an additive increase in the shedding of sHLA-E. These two cytokines were also found to potentiate the HLA-E and MMP-9 mRNA expression. Hence, our data suggest that these two cytokines could be working conjunctly to release HLA-E, when these two cytokines are present together as in the case of virus infection of endothelial cells. HLA-E is known to be a ligand for NKG2A/CD94 inhibitory receptors present on NK and a subset of T cells. Previous reports have suggested that NKG2A/CD94 mediated signaling events could inhibit ERK 1/2 phosphorylation leading to inhibition of NK cell activation. IL-2 mediated ERK 1/2 phosphorylation is known to play a very important role in maintenance and activation of NK cells. We studied the effects of sHLA-E that was released, either by JEV infection or IFN-γ treatment on IL-2 mediated ERK 1/2 phosphorylation in two NK cell lines, Nishi and NKL. The soluble HLA-E that was released upon JEV infection was functionally active since it inhibited IL-2 and PMA induced phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 in NKL and Nishi cells. Virus infected or IFN-γ treated ECV cell culture supernatants containing sHLA-E was also found to partially inhibit IL-2 mediated induction of CD25 molecules on NKL cells. CD25 is a component of the high affinity IL-2 receptor and hence could play an important role in proliferation and activation of NK cells. sHLA-E was also found to inhibit IL-2 induced [3H]-thymidine incorporation suggesting that, similar to cell surface expressed HLA-E, sHLA-E could also inhibit the proliferation and activation of NK cells. In summary, we found that establishment of JEV infection and production of cytokines like IFN-β, TNF-α, IL-6 along with MMP-9 in human endothelial cells. These cytokines may also indirectly lead to the reported damage and leukocyte infiltration across infected and uninfected vicinal endothelial cells. The increased surface expression of HLA-E in fibroblast and release of sHLA and sHLA-E molecules from endothelial cells may have an important immunoregulatory role. HLA-E is an inhibitory ligand for NKG2A/CD94 positive CD8+ T and NK cells. Hence our finding that sHLA-E can inhibit NK cell proliferation suggests an immune evasive strategy by JEV.

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) and exercise immunology have been the focus of research for the past five years. Trained athletes are particularly susceptible to a wide variety of viral and bacterial infections and this has been related to oxidative damage which is a mediator of apoptosis. Apoptosis, a normal physiological mechanism has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of a wide-variety of diseases. To date, the link between apoptosis and exercise has not been shown by established methods or ultrastructurally. The objective of the study was t.o determine the effects of a single bout of high intensity exercise on lymphocyte DNA and antioxidant status in trained athletes. The study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, 11 trained athletes were subjected to a treadmill run to exhaustion using a ramp protocol to determine their maximum oxygen uptake (V02 max). Fifteen millimetres of blood was collected before exercise, immediately after exercise, 24 hours and 48 hours after exercise. Whole blood (4 ul) was used in the determination of DNA damage in lymphocytes using the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay. The remaining blood was centrifuged and used for the following: Vitamin C concentration was determined by the 2,4 dinitrophenylhydrazine method, vitamin E concentration was determined by the High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method and lipid peroxides were determined by the measurement ofhydroperoxides. In the second phase, 3 trained athletes who had participated in phase 1, were subjected to a V02 max. test. Blood samples (10 ml) were collected before and immediately after exercise, 24 hours and 48 hours later. Lymphocytes were isolated using Histopaque 1077. An in situ cell death detection kit, Fluorescein was used for the detection and quantification of apoptosis in lymphocytes at a single cell level, based on labelling of DNA strand breaks. Analysis was carried out using flow cytometry. Lymphocytes were also prepared for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) using conventional techniques. The results showed that immediately after exercise there was a non-significant decrease in vitamin C concentrations (p=o, 16), and a non-significant increase in vitamin E (p=0,82) and lipid peroxide concentrations (p=0,21). There was no significant difference in all 3 levels over the 48 hour period, when compared to the pre-exercise values. The SCGE assay revealed that the immediate post exercise samples showed DNA damage in lymphocytes of all subjects as evidenced by fluorescent strands of DNA outside the cell while DNA damage was observed in only one subsequent sample. In the pre-exercise samples, DNA was visualised as a central core, whereas in all samples taken after exercise, DNA was located at the periphery or confined to one pole of the cell. The pattern of DNA distribution seen in the SCGE assay over the 48 hour period were characteristic features of apoptosis. Flow cytometric analysis showed an increase in apoptosis in lymphocytes immediately after exercise with a further increase after 24 hours. After 48 hours the numbers decreased to control levels. TEM showed that majority of cells were normal before exercise while other lymphocytes were smaller with indented nuclei. Immediately after exercise the lymphocytes displayed features of indented nuclei and microsegregation, cell shrinkage, swelling of the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and Golgi. These changes persisted after 24 hours but were not observed after 48 hours when most of the cells showed normal morphology. The ultrastructural changes observed were also characteristic features of apoptosis. These results suggest that high intensity exercise may cause an increase in apoptosis as evidenced by DNA damage in the SCGE assay and fully supported by the results achieved during flow cytometry and by the ultrastructural changes observed.
Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Regulatory T (Treg) cells represent an important layer of immune-regulation indispensible for curtailing exuberant inflammatory responses and maintaining self-tolerance. Treg cells have translational potential for autoimmunity, inflammation, transplantation and cancer. Therefore, delineating the molecular underpinnings underlying the development, suppressor function and stability of Tregs is particularly warranted. The transcriptional repressor Bcl6 is a critical arbiter of helper T cell fate, promoting the follicular helper (Tfh) lineage while repressing Th1, Th2 and Th17 differentiation. Bcl6-deficient mice develop a spontaneous and severe Th2-type inflammatory disease including myocarditis and pulmonary vasculitis, suggesting a potential role for Bcl6 in Treg cell function. Bcl6-deficient Treg cells are competent in controlling Th1 responses, but fail to control Th2 inflammation in an airway allergen model. Importantly, mice with Bcl6 deleted specifically in the Treg lineage develop severe myocarditis, thus highlighting a critical role for Bcl6 in Treg-mediated control of Th2 inflammation. Bcl6-deficient Tregs display an intrinsic increase in Th2 genes and microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression. MiR-21 is a novel Bcl6 gene target in T cells and ectopic expression of miR-21 directs Th2 differentiation in non-polarized T cells. MiR-21 is up-regulated in mouse models of airway inflammation and also in human patients with eosinophilic esophagitis and asthma. Thus, miR-21 is a clinically relevant biomarker for Th2-type pathologies. Our results define a key function for Bcl6 in repressing Gata3 function and miR-21 expression in Tregs, and provide greater understanding of the control of Th2 inflammatory responses by Treg cells.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled eukaryotic pathogen, has infected one-third of the world’s population and is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis. The disease primarily affects immunocompromised individuals such as AIDS, cancer, and transplant patients. The parasites can infect any nucleated cell in warm-blooded vertebrates, but because they preferentially target CNS, heart, and ocular tissue, manifestations of infection often include encephalitis, myocarditis, and a host of neurological and ocular disorders. Toxoplasma can also be transmitted congenitally by a mother who becomes infected for the first time during pregnancy, which may result in spontaneous abortion or birth defects in the child. Unfortunately, the therapy currently available for treating toxoplasmosis exhibits serious side effects and can cause severe allergic reactions. Therefore, there is a desperate need to identify novel drug targets for developing more effective, less toxic treatments. The regulation of proteins via lysine acetylation, a reversible post-translational modification, has previously been validated as a promising avenue for drug development. Lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) are responsible for the acetylation of hundreds of proteins throughout prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In Toxoplasma, we identified a KAT that exhibits homology to Elongator protein 3 (TgElp3), the catalytic component of a transcriptional elongation complex. TgElp3 contains the highly conserved radical S-adenosylmethionine and KAT domains but also possesses a unique C-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD). Interestingly, we found that the TMD anchors TgElp3 in the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) such that the catalytic domains are oriented towards the cytosol. Our results uncovered the first tail-anchored mitochondrial KAT reported for any species to date. We also discovered a shortened form of Elp3 present in mouse mitochondria, suggesting that Elp3 functions beyond transcriptional elongation across eukaryotes. Furthermore, we established that TgElp3 is essential for parasite viability and that its OMM localization is important for its function, highlighting its value as a potential target for future drug development.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is one of the major causes of encephalitis in Asia. JEV causes serious inflammation of the brain, which may lead to permanent brain damage and has a high mortality rate. Almost 3 billion people live in JE endemic areas and JEV causes an estimated 20,000 cases of disease and 6000 deaths per year. JEV is a positive stranded RNA virus belonging to the Flavivirus genus of the family Flaviviridae. The genome of JEV is about 11 kb long and codes for a polyprotein which is cleaved by both host and viral encoded proteases to form 3 structural and 7 non-structural proteins. JEV transmission occurs through a zoonotic cycle involving mosquitoes and vertebrate amplifying hosts, chiefly pigs and ardeid birds. Humans are infected when bitten by an infected mosquito and are dead end hosts. The role of humoral and cell mediated immune responses during JEV infection have been studied by several groups. While the humoral responses play a central role in protection against JEV, the cell mediated immune responses contributing to this end are not fully understood. The MHC molecules have been known to play predominant roles in host responses to viral infections and the consequences of virus infection on the expression of MHC molecules are varied. The expression of MHC-I molecules is known to decrease upon infection with many viruses such as HIV, MCMV, HCMV, Adv, and EBV. In contrast, infection with flavivirus such as West Nile Virus (WNV) has been shown to increase the cell surface expression of both MHC-I and MHC-II molecules. It has been reported previously that WNV infection increases the cell surface expression of adhesion molecules such as ICAM-1, VCAM-1 as well as E-Selectin and these changes were mediated directly by WNV and not by soluble cytokines. In contrast to classical MHC-I molecules, the nonclassical MHC-I molecules do not belong to a single group of structurally and functionally homologous proteins and normally have lower cell surface expression. Earlier studies have shown that the expression of nonclassical MHC-I molecules were induced during infection with JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). However, the functional significance of this induction is unclear. Expression of nonclassical MHC-I molecules upon flaviviral infection is not very well understood. In this thesis, evidence is presented that JEV infection induces the expression of both classical and nonclassical MHC-I molecules on primary mouse brain astrocytes, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and H6 (hepatoma cell). The levels of adhesion molecules as well as molecules involved in antigen processing and presentation were also analyzed and our results clearly demonstrate that JEV infection induces their expression on astrocytes, MEFs and H6. The role of NF-κB and type-I IFNs in the induction of classical and nonclassical MHC-I molecules as well as molecules involved in antigen processing and presentation were also analyzed and our results demonstrated that type-I IFN mediated signaling is responsible for the induction of these molecules during JEV infection. Chapter 1 discusses the innate and adaptive immune system, the role of classical and nonclassical MHC molecules in the initiation of immune response and diverse strategies adapted by different viruses to evade the immune response. It also includes a detailed discussion about the IFN and NF-κB signaling pathways and their modulation by viral infection. Finally, the genome organization, epidemiology, transmission cycle, pathogenesis and pathology, clinical features, humoral as well as cell mediated immune response to JEV infection and the current vaccine status to JEV infection are briefly discussed. Chapter 2 describes the general materials and methods used in this study. It includes the details of the reagents and cell lines used in the experiments. It also discusses the various techniques such as RT-PCR, FACS analysis, EMSA and ELISA. Chapter 3 focusses on the validation of different knockout MEFs used in the study as well as confirming the purity of primary astrocyte cultures established from pub brains. The susceptibility of various cells to JEV infection has also been investigated. Our results confirmed the authenticity of all the cells and the purity of primary astrocyte cultures used in the study. Our results also indicated that all the cells used in the study are susceptible to JEV infection. Chapter 4 discusses the expression of MHC and related genes involved in immune response upon JEV infection of primary mouse brain astrocytes, MEFs and H6. Chapter 4 demonstrates for the first time that JEV infection induces the expression of nonclassical MHC-I or class Ib molecules namely Qa-1, Qb1 and T10 in addition to the induction of classical MHC-I molecules. In contrast to WNV, there was no increase in the cell surface expression of MHC-II molecules upon JEV infection of primary mouse brain astrocytes. JEV infection also induces the expression of adhesion molecules as well as molecules involved in antigen processing and presentation namely Tap1, Tap2, Tapasin, Lmp2, Lmp7 and Lmp10. Chapter 5 demonstrates that JEV infection induces NF-κB activation in astrocytes and MEFs. Studies using MEFs deficient in classical and alternate pathways of NF-κB activation indicate that JEV activates the classical pathway of NF-κB activation and is dependent on canonical lKKβ/IKK2 activity. JEV infection of astrocytes, MEFs and H6 induces the production of type-I IFNs. To determine the mechanism of type-I IFN induction during JEV infection, MEFs deficient in NF-κB signaling and IFN signaling were used. Results indicate that type-I IFN production in MEFs occurs by both NF-κB dependent and independent mechanisms. In contrast, the production of IFN-α was completely abrogated in IFNAR-\- MEFs whereas IFN-β production was greatly reduced. Production of type-I IFNs in IFNGR-\- MEFs is also reduced upon JEV infection but the reason for this is unclear. Chapter 6 demonstrates that JEV induced expression of classical MHC-I molecules occurs by type-I IFN mediated signaling. This result is in contrast to WNV infection, in which both NF-κB and type-I IFNs are involved in the induction of classical MHC-I molecules. Type-I IFNs were also shown to be involved in the induction of nonclassical MHC molecules namely, Qa-1 and Qb1 during JEV infection. In contrast, the expression of T10, another nonclassical MHC molecule occurs independent of type-I IFN signaling. The expression of molecules involved in antigen processing and presentation namely, Tap1, Tap2, Lmp2 and Lmp7 was type-I IFN-mediated, whereas the expression of Tapasin and Lmp10 was mediated by both type-I IFN dependent and independent mechanisms. The expression of VCAM-1 was dependent on NF-κB mediated signaling. Chapter 7 precisely describes the underlying mechanism of induction of MHC and various other related molecules and their significance during JEV infection. In addition, it also includes a working model for the induction of these molecules during JEV infection. In summary, this is the first study in which the mechanism of JEV mediated induction of classical as well as nonclassical MHC molecules has been studied in detail. This study clearly demonstrated that type-I IFNs are involved in the induction of classical and nonclassical MHC-I molecules during JEV infection. The functional significance of this JEV mediated induction of classical MHC-I molecules is unclear, but it has been proposed that this is to escape from the action of NK cells. The absence of MHC-II induction during JEV infection could be important because it may lead to the initiation of an immune response which is different from that induced during other viral infections which induce the expression of MHC-II molecules. In contrast to classical MHC-I molecules, the functional and biological significance of nonclassical MHC-I molecules are poorly studied. Nonclassical MHC-I molecules play an important role in bridging adaptive and innate immune response. So the nonclassical MHC molecules induced during JEV infection may play an important role in the initiation of immune response during JEV infection. The role these nonclassical MHC-I molecules in antigen presentation during JEV infection is not known. These nonclassical antigens are also recognized by NK and γδT cells, thus the expression of nonclassical MHC-I molecules during JEV infection might also confer a protective role.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
The transcriptional repressor BCL6 has been shown to be essential for the differentiation of germinal center (GC) B cells and follicular T helper (TFH) cells. The interaction of TFH and GC B cells is necessary for the development of high affinity antibodies specific for an invading pathogen. Germline BCL6-deficient mouse models limit our ability to study BCL6 function in T cells due to the strong inflammatory responses seen in these mice. To overcome this, our lab has developed a new BCL6 conditional knockout (cKO) mouse using the cre/lox system, wherein the zinc finger region of the BCL6 gene is flanked by loxP sites. Mating to a CD4-Cre mouse allowed us to study the effects of BCL6 loss specifically in T cells, without the confounding effects seen in germline knockout models. Using this cKO model, we have reaffirmed the necessity of BCL6 for TFH differentiation, including its role in sustained CXCR5 surface expression, a signature marker for TFH cells. This model also allowed us to recognize the role of BCL6 in promoting the expression of PD-1, another key surface marker for TFH cells. Without BCL6, CD4+ T cells cannot express PD-1 at the high levels seen on TFH cells. Our discovery of DNMT3b as a target for BCL6 suggests BCL6-deficient T cells have increased DNA methyltransferase activity at the PD-1 promoter. This data establishes a novel pathway for explaining how BCL6, a transcriptional repressor, can activate genes. Experiments with the BCL6 cKO model have also established a role for BCL6 in naïve CD4+ T cell activation. Furthermore, we did not observe increased differentiation of other helper T cell subsets, in contrast to what has been reported elsewhere with germline BCL6-deficient models. Unexpectedly, we found decreased T helper type 2 (Th2) cells, whereas mouse models with a germline mutation of BCL6 have increased Th2 cells. These results indicate that BCL6 activity in non-T cells is critical for controlling T cell differentiation. Finally, using an HIV-1 gp120 immunization model, we have, for the first time, shown BCL6-dependent GCs to be limiting for antibody development and affinity maturation in a prime-boost vaccine scheme.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
IL-17-producing T cells are critical to the development of pathogen and tumor immunity, but also contribute to the pathology of autoimmune diseases and allergic inflammation. CD8+ (Tc17) and CD4+ (Th17) IL-17-secreting T cells develop in response to a cytokine environment that activates Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins, though the mechanisms underlying Tc17/Th17 development and stability are still unclear. In vivo, Tc17 cells clear vaccinia virus infection and acquire cytotoxic potential, that is independent of IL-17 production and the acquisition of IFN-γ-secreting potential, but partially dependent on Fas ligand, suggesting that Tc17-mediated vaccinia virus clearance is through cell killing independent of an acquired Tc1 phenotype. In contrast, memory Th cells and NKT cells display STAT4-dependent IL-23-induced IL-17 production that correlates with Il23r expression. IL-23 does not activate STAT4 nor do other STAT4-activating cytokines induce Il23r expression in these populations, suggesting a T cell-extrinsic role for STAT4 in mediating IL-23 responsiveness. Although IL-23 is important for the maintenance of IL-17-secreting T cells, it also promotes their instability, often resulting in a pathogenic Th1-like phenotype in vitro and in vivo. In vitro-derived Th17 cells are also flexible when cultured under polarizing conditions that promote Th2 or Th9 differentiation, adopting the respective effector programs, and decreasing IL-17 production. However, in models of allergic airway disease, Th17 cells do not secrete alternative cytokines nor adopt other effector programs, and remain stable IL-17-secretors. In contrast to Th1-biased pro-inflammatory environments that induce Th17 instability in vivo, during allergic inflammatory disease, Th17 cells are comparatively stable, and retain the potential to produce IL-17. Together these data document that the inflammatory environment has distinct effects on the stability of IL-17-secreting T cells in vivo.