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Biomedical subjects

Armand Bensussan

Publications and source records attributed to Armand Bensussan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Identification of a novel CD160+ CD4+ T-lymphocyte subset in the skin: a possible role for CD160 in skin inflammation.

CD160 is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell surface molecule expressed by human circulating cytotoxic lymphocytes that correspond to the majority of natural killer cell (NK) expressing CD56(dim), TCRgammadelta lymphocytes, and to a minor CD8 T-cell subset. CD160 engagement by major histocompatibility complex class I molecules triggers by itself both cytotoxic function and cytokine production in NK lymphocytes, whereas it provides co-activating signals to TCR-induced proliferation in T CD8+ lymphocytes. In this study, we analyzed by immunohistochemistry the phenotype of lymphocytes infiltrating normal skin and inflammatory skin lesions of atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and psoriasis. We identified a minor original subset of CD4+ CD160+ T cells infiltrating inflammatory lesions. We found that this lymphocyte subset localization is not restricted to the skin, as we demonstrated that CD160 transcripts could be induced in IL-2 or IL-15-activated CD4+ peripheral blood lymphocytes. Finally, we report that CD160 acts as a co-activator receptor for CD3-induced proliferation of CD4+ CD160+ T cells isolated from inflammatory skin lesions. Thus, we hypothesize that the unique CD4+ CD160+ lymphocyte subset plays a role in the pathogenesis of skin inflammation.

Adolescent↗

CD molecules 2006--human cell differentiation molecules.

The Human Leucocyte Differentiation Antigens Workshops (HLDA) have since 1984 provided a forum for the characterization and study of leucocyte surface molecules and antibodies against them. HLDA devised the CD nomenclature, which is sanctioned by IUIS. The HLDA Council reviewed and modified the objectives of HLDA in 2004, and changed the name of the organization to Human Cell Differentiation Molecules (HCDM) to reflect the broader objectives. Workshop studies under the HCDM banner proceeded during 2005 and early 2006, culminating in a meeting in May 2006. At that meeting the Council, acting as Nomenclature Committee, approved a number of new CD designations and changes to some pre-existing CD designations, which are summarized in this report.

Antigens, CD↗

Engagement of the CD160 activating NK cell receptor leads to its association with CD2 in circulating human NK cells.

CD160 activating NK cell receptor is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored molecule. Upon specific engagement by its HLA class I physiological ligand, CD160 NK cell receptor triggers cytotoxicity and release of different cytokines, including IL-6. How CD160 intracellular signaling is mediated following its specific ligation is unknown. One key element of this signaling may be through the co-activation of other receptors associated to CD160. Using confocal microscopy and freshly isolated human peripheral blood NK cells, we observed a co-polarization of CD160 and CD2 after their respective specific engagement. These results demonstrate that CD160 activating NK cell receptor, upon its specific engagement, physically associates to the CD2 co-activating receptor present in the lipid raft that might play a role as signaling molecule.

Antigens, CD↗

Soluble HLA-G1 inhibits angiogenesis through an apoptotic pathway and by direct binding to CD160 receptor expressed by endothelial cells.

HLA-G is a major histocompatibility complex class Ib molecule whose constitutive tissue distribution is restricted mainly to trophoblast cells at the maternal-fetal interface during pregnancy. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of the soluble HLA-G1 (sHLA-G1) isoform to inhibit fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2)-induced capillary-like tubule formation. Using a rabbit corneal neovascularization model, we further showed that sHLA-G1 inhibits FGF2-induced angiogenesis in vivo. We also demonstrated that sHLA-G1 induces endothelial cell apoptosis through binding to BY55/CD160, a glycosylphosphatidylinositolanchored receptor expressed by endothelial cells. Furthermore, we showed that the specific CL1-R2 anti-CD160 monoclonal antibody mimics sHLA-G1-mediated inhibition of endothelial cell tube formation and induction of apoptosis. Thus, the engagement of CD160 in endothelial cells may be essential for the inhibition of angiogenesis. sHLA-G1/CD160-mediated antiangiogenic property may participate in the vascular remodeling of maternal spiral arteries during pregnancy, and, given that we found that CD160 is strongly expressed in the vasculature of a murine tumor, it offers an attractive therapeutic target for preventing pathologic neovascularization.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Significance of circulating T-cell clones in Sezary syndrome.

Identification of malignant Sézary cells by T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality studies is routinely used for the diagnosis of Sézary syndrome, but T-cell clones expressed in a single patient have never been accurately characterized. We previously reported that CD158k expression delineates Sézary syndrome malignant cells, and, more recently, we identified vimentin at the surface membranes of Sézary cells and normal activated lymphocytes. In the present study, T-cell clones from 13 patients with Sézary syndrome were identified by immunoscopy and further characterized in the blood according to their TCR Vbeta, CD158k, and vimentin cell-surface expression. We found in most patients a unique malignant T-cell clone that coexpressed CD158k and vimentin and that, when patients were tested, was also present in the skin. However, in some patients we detected the presence of a nonmalignant circulating clone expressing high amounts of vimentin and lacking CD158k. These results indicate that clonal expansion may originate from circulating malignant and nonmalignant CD4(+) T cell populations in patients with Sézary syndrome. Identification of the malignant cells in Sézary syndrome cannot be achieved by T-cell clonality studies or by TCR Vbeta monoclonal antibody (mAb) analysis alone; it also relies on CD158k phenotyping.

Adolescent↗

SC5 mAb represents a unique tool for the detection of extracellular vimentin as a specific marker of Sezary cells.

Circulating malignant Sézary lymphocytes result from a clonal proliferation of memory/activated CD4(+)CD45RO(+) T lymphocytes primarily involving the skin. Recently, the CD158k/KIR3DL2 cell surface receptor has been identified to phenotypically characterize these cells. We previously described a mAb termed SC5 that identifies an unknown early activation cell membrane molecule. It is expressed selectively by T lymphocytes isolated from healthy individuals upon activation, and by circulating Sézary syndrome lymphocytes. In addition, we found that SC5 mAb was reactive with all resting T lymphocytes once permeabilized, indicating that SC5 mAb-reactive molecule might present distinct cellular localization according to the T cell activation status. In this study, we show for the first time that SC5 mAb recognizes the intermediate filament protein vimentin when exported to the extracellular side of the plasma membrane of viable Sézary malignant cells. We demonstrate that SC5 mAb is unique as it reacts with both viable malignant lymphocytes and apoptotic T cells. As vimentin is also detected rapidly at the cell membrane surface after normal T lymphocyte activation, it suggests that its extracellular detection on Sézary cells could be a consequence of their constitutive activation status. Finally, as a probable outcome of vimentin cell surface expression, autoantibodies against vimentin were found in the sera of Sézary syndrome patients.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

The co-expression of 2B4 (CD244) and CD160 delineates a subpopulation of human CD8+ T cells with a potent CD160-mediated cytolytic effector function.

Within human CD8+ T lymphocytes, the CD27-CD45RAhigh or CD56+ phenotypes contribute to precisely define the cells with CTL effector function. Novel markers were demonstrated to correlate with CTL properties, such as the 2B4 (CD244) receptor, a member of the CD2 subset of the immunoglobulin superfamily or the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored CD160 receptor. We performed a study of these markers to further define the population of effectors with CTL functions. Here we show that cytotoxic subpopulations defined by surface markers CD160, CD56 and CD57 are mostly contained in the 2B4+CD8+ T cell population. Expression of CD160 identifies two populations in the 2B4+ population. The 2B4+CD160+ subset expresses a bona fide CTL phenotype. The co-expression of 2B4 and CD160 defines T cells containing high amounts of perforin and granzyme B. During CTL ontogeny, an up-regulation of 2B4 and CD160 is observed from a naive to a terminally differentiated phenotype. Finally, we demonstrated that CD160 triggering failed to induce cytotoxicity per se, but costimulated CD3-redirected killing. We conclude that the co-expression of 2B4 and CD160 defines a CD8+ T lymphocyte subpopulation with high CTL activity.

Antigens, CD↗

Heterogeneous abnormalities of CCND1 and RB1 in primary cutaneous T-Cell lymphomas suggesting impaired cell cycle control in disease pathogenesis.

Upregulation of cyclin D1/B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 1 (CCND1/BCL1) is present in most mantle cell lymphomas with the t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation. However, little is known about the abnormalities of CCND1 and its regulator RB1 in primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). We analyzed CCND and RB status in CTCL using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and Affymetrix expression microarray. FISH revealed loss of CCND1/BCL1 in five of nine Sézary syndrome (SS) cases but gain in two cases, and RB1 loss in four of seven SS cases. IHC showed absent CCND1/BCL1 expression in 18 of 30 SS, 10 of 23 mycosis fungoides (MF), and three of 10 primary cutaneous CD30+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (C-ALCL). Increased CCND1/BCL1 expression was seen in nine MF, seven C-ALCL, and six SS cases. Absent RB1 expression was detected in 8 of 12 MF and 7 of 9 SS cases, and raised RB1 expression in 7 of 8 C-ALCL. Affymetrix revealed increased gene expression of CCND2 in four of eight CTCL cases, CCND3 in three cases, and CDKN2C in two cases with a normal expression of CCND1 and RB1. These findings suggest heterogeneous abnormalities of CCND and RB in CTCL, in which dysregulated CCND and RB1 may lead to impaired cell cycle control.

Cell Nucleus↗

[Epidermal necrolysis: mechanisms of keratinocyte apoptosis].

Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome are acute and severe adverse reaction to drugs, characterized by the widespread destruction of the epithelium of the skin and mucous membranes. This destruction by massive apoptosis leads to a clinical pattern of epidermal necrolysis resembling second degree burns, with sheets of necrotic epidermis detached from the underlying dermis. The mechanisms of acute and extensive destruction of the skin are not yet fully understood. At the onset of the reaction blisters develop from the fluid that accumulates between the dead epidermis and the dermis. High concentrations of mononuclear cells are present in this blister fluid, principally CD8 T-lymphocytes that may exhibit a drug specific MHC class I restricted cytotoxicity against autologous cells. The intervention of soluble mediators such as TNFalpha, perforin/granzyme, or Fas-Ligand may be necessary for amplifying the apoptosis of keratinocytes. A strong association between epidermal necrolysis to certain drugs and rare HLA-B genotypes suggests that direct interaction between these drugs and HLA-B molecules may initiate a reaction resembling the acute rejection of allogeneic epidermis.

Animals↗

[Epidermotropic T cell lymphomas as models for tumor progression].

Primary cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL) represent the most frequently occurring group of extra-nodal T cell lymphomas, originating from skin-homing memory T cells. Sezary syndrome (SS) is a leukemic variant of CTCL that presents with erythroderma, lymphadenopathies and presence of malignant T cells in peripheral blood. SS has an unfavourable prognosis, and is refractory to current treatments. Progress in understanding the pathogenesis and tumor progression of SS is limited. In the past few years, we have identified and reported several CTCL-associated antigens, CD158k/KIR3DL2, CD85j/ILT2, and SC5/vimentin. KIR3DL2 is the first phenotypic marker of Sezary cells that can be used for the diagnostic and follow-up of Sezary syndrome. The SC5 antibody is the only monoclonal antibody reacting with vimentin on the surface of viable Sezary cells. CTCL are characterized by a predominance of Th2 cytokines. The recent suggestion that CTCL cells could be regulatory T (Tr) cells remains controversial. Gene expression studies suggest that in the future we may develop new diagnostic and prognostic tools, and identify subsets of patients who would benefit from more appropriate treatment protocols. Future challenges are to render tumor cells sensitive to apoptosis by inhibiting specific signalling pathways such as the constitutively activated NF-KB pathway, to identify specific surface kinase receptors and to develop specific inhibitors, to develop humanized monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor specific antigens, able to kill tumor cells via complement-dependent and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, and to stimulate innate immunity.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

The CD160+ CD8high cytotoxic T cell subset correlates with response to HAART in HIV-1+ patients.

We investigated the circulating cytotoxic CD160+ CD8(high) subset in correlation to antiviral immunity and response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV+ subjects. The study included 45 treatment-naive patients receiving HAART for 18 months, retrospectively defined as good (n=29) and transient (n=16) responders. HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocyte levels were measured by IFNgamma production in response to p17 Gag, in the presence of immobilized anti-CD160 mAb. We report a significantly increased baseline level of CD160+ CD8(high) subset in good therapy responders. CD160+ CD8(high) subset correlates with CD4+ T cell count, immune activation, and viral load. CD160+ CD8(high) lymphocytes contain a high amount of Granzyme B and include virus-specific T lymphocytes in HIV-1+ subjects. Co-stimulation through CD160 molecules enhances IFNgamma production in response to p17 Gag. Therefore, the CD160+ CD8(high) subset may be useful for monitoring of virus-specific cellular immunity and predicting response to antiretroviral therapy in chronic HIV-1 infection.

Adolescent↗

T-cell: section report.

The antibodies submitted to the T-cell section were evaluated by different laboratories. We focused our studies on antibodies that reacted to defined molecules to the CD28 family and their ligands B7/butyrophilin family.

Animals↗

SC3 monoclonal antibody defines a novel specific human B-cell surface antigen differentially expressed on B-cell leukaemias and lymphomas and involved in the proliferation of normal and malignant B lymphocytes.

The monoclonal antibody SC3 was raised against the NK leukaemia cell line YTindi. It detected a 98-kDa surface antigen with weak expression on a restricted number of leukaemia cell lines under reducing conditions. SC3 mAb labelled 5-10% of normal peripheral blood lymphocytes corresponding almost exclusively to B lymphocytes, and 60-70% of tonsillar B cells. It did not react with erythrocytes, platelets or monocytes whereas it stained granulocytes. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression and functional effects of SC3 mAb reactive epitope on normal and malignant B cells. Most SC3+ B cells from healthy donors were CD23+, some co-expressed CD5 and CD27 and a few were CD38+. SC3 epitope was expressed exclusively by B-lineage malignant proliferations, including B-lineage ALL. Practically, all B-CLL studied expressed SC3 mAb reactive epitope although with variable intensity, while MCL and PLL were negative. Other low grade and high grade B-NHL were variably stained. SC3 mAb alone triggered the proliferation of CD2-depleted PBL and significantly increased the proliferation induced by suboptimal concentrations of LPS. This effect was much weaker with B-CLL cells but was increased after cross-linking with an anti-IgM antibody. The restricted expression pattern combined with molecular weight and functional data indicate that SC3 mAb may detect a novel B-cell antigen mostly expressed by early and naive B cells. Although its expression in B-cell malignancies was not limited to a single differentiation stage, it might confer specific functional characteristics to the positive malignant cells.

Animals↗

CD molecules 2005: human cell differentiation molecules.

The immune system works through leukocytes interacting with each other, with other cells, with tissue matrices, with infectious agents, and with other antigens. These interactions are mediated by cell-surface glycoproteins and glycolipids. Antibodies against these leukocyte molecules have provided powerful tools for analysis of their structure, function, and distribution. Antibodies have been used widely in hematology, immunology, and pathology, and in research, diagnosis, and therapy. The associated CD nomenclature is commonly used when referring to leukocyte surface molecules and antibodies against them. It provides an essential classification for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The most recent (8th) Workshop and Conference on Human Leukocyte Differentiation Antigens (HLDA), held in Adelaide, Australia, in December 2004, allocated 95 new CD designations and made radical changes to its aims and future operational strategy in order to maintain its relevance to modern human biology and clinical practice.

Antigens, CD↗

Soluble CD100 functions on human monocytes and immature dendritic cells require plexin C1 and plexin B1, respectively.

CD100 represents the first semaphorin described in the immune system. It is expressed as a 300-kDa homodimer at the surface of most hematopoietic cells, but is also found in a soluble form following a proteolytic cleavage upon cell activation. We herein established that soluble CD100 (sCD100) impaired the migration of human monocytes and immature dendritic cells (DCs), but not of mature DCs. Performing competition assays, we identified plexin C1 (VESPR/CD232) as being involved in sCD100-mediated effects on human monocytes. Interestingly, we observed a complete down-regulation of plexin C1 expression during the in vitro differentiation process of monocytes to immature DCs, while concomitantly the surface expression of plexin B1 was induced. The latter receptor then binds sCD100 on immature DCs, mediating its inhibitory effect on cell migration. Finally, we showed that sCD100 modulated the cytokine production from monocytes and immature DCs. Together these results suggest that sCD100 plays a critical role in the regulation of antigen-presenting cell migration and functions via a tightly regulated process of receptor expression.

Antigens, CD↗

Circulating natural killer lymphocytes are potential cytotoxic effectors against autologous malignant cells in sezary syndrome patients.

Patients with advanced cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) exhibit profound defects in cell-mediated immunity. Although it has been suggested that Sezary syndrome (SS) patients have a decreased natural killer (NK) lymphocyte activity, nothing has been reported concerning the sensitivity of Sezary cells to NK lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity. Peripheral blood NK cells from healthy donors were tested against Sezary tumoral cell lines as well as against freshly isolated Sezary cells. Further, we studied their ability to exhibit antibody -dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity using either the murine anti-CD158k/KIR3DL2 monoclonal antibody (moAb) AZ158 that specifically recognizes Sezary cells, or the anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab. The results show that Sezary cell lines are susceptible to NK lymphocyte lysis. More importantly, we found that freshly isolated malignant cells are killed either by IL-2 activated allogeneic NK lymphocytes or when the tumor lymphocyte targets are incubated with an anti-MHC class I F(ab)'2 antibody. Further, anti-KIR3DL2 and anti-CD52 moAb can enhance the NK lysis. Finally, we report that NK lymphocytes isolated from SS patients are potentially cytotoxic lymphocytes against autologous malignant Sezary cells. These findings indicate that antitumor-mediated NK lymphocyte cytotoxic activity can be triggered in patients with CTCL and raise the possibility of developing novel therapeutic strategies by stimulating their innate immunity.

Antigens, CD↗