Biomedical subjects

D N Ernst

Publications and source records attributed to D N Ernst.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1987

Retention of T cell reactivity to mitogens and alloantigens by Peyer's patch cells of aged mice.

Immune function generally declines with advancing age. However, recent evidence suggests that this decline may differentially affect the lymphoid compartments comprising the immune system. The effect of age on the T cell-mediated competency of cells from two different lymphoid compartments, Peyer's patch (PP) and spleen, was studied. PP cells of aged C57BL/6 mice retained a greater capacity to proliferate in response to concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and alloantigen and to generate alloimmune cytotoxic cells than did splenocytes of aged mice when compared with their young counterparts. These results could not be explained by significant shifts in the response kinetics or in the proportions of T cells in individual tissues. These results support the concept that lymphoid compartments are not equally sensitive to the deleterious effects of the aging process.

Aging↗

PubMed1984

Membrane antigen phenotype of sensitized T lymphocytes mediating tuberculin-delayed hypersensitivity in rats.

The membrane antigen phenotype of immune lymph node cells (LNC) which mediate tuberculin-delayed hypersensitivity (DH) in Lewis rats was examined. The results show that the T-cell population which expresses the RT7.1 alloantigen defined by the BC 84A monoclonal antibody contained cells capable of transferring DH. Separation of the RT7.1-positive T-cell population with the monoclonal antibodies W3/25, MRC OX-8, or DS 4.23 (which defines the RT6.1 alloantigen) revealed that either the W3/25-positive or the RT6.1-negative T-cell subpopulations contained DH effector cells, whereas the corresponding MRC OX-8-positive or RT6.1-positive T-cell subpopulations did not. Moreover, when the W3/25-positive T-cell subpopulation was divided into either RT6.1-positive or RT6.1-negative T-cell subsets, only the W3/25-positive, RT6.1-negative subset transferred DH. These results indicate that the effector cells that mediate tuberculin DH are contained within the immune T-cell subset which bears both the RT7.1 and the W3/25 markers, but lacks both the MRC OX-8 and the RT6.1 markers.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Potentiation of the rat delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction by the Fc portion of human IgG1.

Fc fragments derived from a human IgG1 myeloma protein potentiate the rat delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction to antigen challenge. Lewis rats immunized with heat-killed tubercle bacilli give augmented DTH reactions to the purified protein derivative of tuberculin when Fc fragments are included in the challenge dose. Similar potentiation of DTH by pFc' fragments indicates that the active site is located in the CH3 domain of IgG1. Histologic evaluation of the augmented reaction sites revealed predominantly mononuclear cell infiltrates characteristic of DTH reactions. Skin tests of tubercle bacilli-sensitized rats with an unrelated antigen and/or Fc fragments fail to elicit significant reactions. Augmentation of the DTH reaction to purified protein derivative is restricted to the Fc or pFc' region fragments since intact monomeric IgG1, Fab fragments, and bovine serum albumin were all shown not to be active potentiators. The DTH reaction of ovalbumin-sensitized rats was similarly augmented when Fc fragments were included with a challenge dose of ovalbumin, thus supporting the general nature of the phenomenon. These results support the concept of Ig molecules as multifunctional proteins that can not only serve effector functions but also participate in the regulation of immune responses.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

T cell differentiation and cytokine expression in late life.

Elderly humans are at significant risk with regard to the incidence and severity of many infectious diseases and cancers. Current theory holds that these late-life vulnerabilities arise, in part, through age-related changes in immune function, particularly in the T lymphocyte lineage. Herein, we discuss how such factors as thymic involution and ongoing T cell differentiation in the peripheral tissues contribute to progressive and irreversible shifts in the state of differentiation of the mature T cell pool. We propose that, by late life, these processes yield a T cell compartment with a suboptimal balance of naive and memory T cell subsets, each with altered, subset-specific programs for cytokine gene expression. As such, the T cell compartment in late life may be more prone to immune deficiency or cytokine-mediated dysregulation in response to new or previously encountered pathogens.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

CD3 complex.

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Amino Acid Sequence↗