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H Nakauchi

Publications and source records attributed to H Nakauchi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and chromosomal mapping of a novel five-span transmembrane protein gene, M83.

In an attempt to identify novel transmembrane molecules expressed on hematopoietic cells, we identified a novel transmembrane protein gene, M83. Cloning of the full-length cDNAs of human and mouse M83 revealed that M83 encodes a type I transmembrane protein with a region containing five hydrophobic segments within the C-terminal part of the protein, suggesting that M83 is a five-span transmembrane molecule. The M83 protein was expressed on the cell surface as a glycosylated protein with a molecular mass of 84 kDa. The M83 gene was localized to human chromosome 16p13.3, mouse chromosome 17B1, and rat chromosome 10q12.3 distal. In human, M83 mRNA was highly expressed in placenta, pancreas, and lymphohematopoietic tissues including peripheral blood, spleen, and bone marrow. Among hematopoietic cells, it was highly expressed in resting T lymphocytes and was downregulated by cell activation, suggestive of its biological role related to the T cell resting status.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Induction of M-phase arrest and apoptosis after HIV-1 Vpr expression through uncoupling of nuclear and centrosomal cycle in HeLa cells.

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) accessory protein Vpr induces cell cycle arrest in the G2 phase of the cell cycle followed by apoptosis. The mechanism of the arrest is unknown but the arrest is believed to facilitate viral replication. In the present study, we have established cell lines that allow conditional expression of Vpr, and have examined the mechanism of cell death following Vpr expression. We found that cells expressing Vpr enter M phase after long G2 arrest but formed aberrant multipolar spindles that were incapable of completing karyokinesis or cytokinesis. This abnormality provided the basis for apoptosis, which always followed in these cells. The multipolar spindles formed in response to abnormal centrosomal duplication that occurred during the G2 arrest but did not occur in cells arrested in G2 by irradiation. Thus, the expression of Vpr appears to be responsible for abnormal centrosome duplication, which in turn contributes in part to the rapid cell death following HIV-1 infection.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and characterization of CRLM-2, a novel type I cytokine receptor preferentially expressed in hematopoietic cells.

A murine expressed sequence tag (EST) showing homology with erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) was identified in the EST database. Cloning of the full-length cDNA revealed a 359 amino acid novel type I cytokine receptor, designated cytokine receptor like molecule-2 (CRLM-2). While CRLM-2 lacks typical WSXWS motif, it has a significant homology with EPOR, IL-2 receptor beta and gamma, and IL-9 receptor alpha. The murine CRLM-2 gene is composed of 8 exons, and an alternative mRNA splicing generates a variant transcript encoding a soluble CRLM-2. CRLM-2 is preferentially expressed in hematopoietic cells, particularly in hematopoietic progenitors and myeloid cells. Furthermore, CRLM-2 is constitutively associated with JAK2, a well-known tyrosine kinase that transmits signals from cytokine receptors. These data strongly suggest that CRLM-2 is a novel cytokine receptor involved in the regulation of hematopoietic system.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2000

Expansion of hematopoietic stem cells in the developing liver of a mouse embryo.

The activity of hematopoietic stem cells in the developing liver of a C57BL/6 mouse embryo was quantified by a competitive repopulation assay. Different doses of fetal liver cells at days 11 to 18 of gestation were transplanted into irradiated mice together with 2 x 10(5) adult bone marrow cells. A long-term repopulation in myeloid-, B-cell, and T-cell lineage by fetal liver cells was evaluated at 20 weeks after transplantation. At day 12 of gestation multilineage repopulating activity was first detected in the liver as 50 repopulating units (RU) per liver. The number of RU per liver increased 10-fold and 33-fold by day 14 and day 16 of gestation, and decreased thereafter, suggesting a single wave of stem cell development in the fetal liver. A limiting dilution analysis revealed that the frequency of competitive repopulating units (CRU) in fetal liver cells at day 12 of gestation was similar to that at day 16 of gestation. Because of an increase of total fetal liver cell number, the absolute number of CRU per liver from days 12 to 16 of gestation increased 38-fold. Hence, the mean activity of stem cells (MAS) that is given by RU per CRU remained constant from days 12 to 16 of gestation. From these data we conclude that hematopoietic stem cells expand in the fetal liver maintaining their level of repopulating potential.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A role for pref-1 and HES-1 in thymocyte development.

T lymphocyte development requires a series of interactions between developing thymocytes and thymic epithelial (TE) cells. In this paper we show that TE cells in the developing thymus express Pref-1, a Delta-like cell-surface molecule. In fetal thymus organ cultures (FTOC), thymocyte cellularity was increased by the exogenous dimeric Pref-1 fusion protein, but was reduced by the soluble Pref-1 monomer or anti-Pref-1 Ab. Dimeric Pref-1 in FTOC also increased thymocyte expression of the HES-1 transcription factor. Thymocyte cellularity was increased in FTOC repopulated with immature thymocytes overexpressing HES-1, whereas FTOC from HES-1-deficient mice were hypocellular and unresponsive to the Pref-1 dimer. We detected no effects of either Pref-1 or HES-1 on developmental choice among thymocyte lineages. These results indicate that Pref-1 expressed by TE cells and HES-1 expressed by thymocytes are critically involved in supporting thymocyte cellularity.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Characterization of the mouse interleukin-13 receptor alpha1 gene.

Interleukin (IL)-13 is a pleiotropic immune regulatory cytokine that shares structural and biological characteristics with IL-4. The receptor for IL-13 is comprised of the IL-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Ralpha) subunit and a low-affinity IL-13-binding subunit, IL-13Ralpha1. An additional receptor, IL-13Ralpha2, binds to IL-13 with high affinity, but lacks the cytoplasmic domain for signaling. In this study, we isolated the mouse IL-13Ralpha1 gene (Il13ra1) of approximately 56 kb that spans the entire coding region. The mouse Il13ra1 gene is composed of 11 exons, and shows striking similarity in genomic structure to the previously reported class I cytokine receptor genes. Motifs characteristic of the cytokine receptor family are similarly organized on the genome, including conserved cysteines, a WSxWS motif, and Box1, indicating closely related genetic evolution of the cytokine receptor superfamily. Alternative mRNA splicings were demonstrated to generate variant transcripts that encode soluble IL-13Ralpha1. The mouse Ill13ra1 gene was mapped to the proximal region of the mouse X chromosome, and was closely linked to the DXPas3 locus by interspecific backcross analysis. Il13ra1 mRNA was co-expressed with I14ra mRNA in mouse myeloid and natural killer cells on which IL-13 has been known to act, whereas the Il13ra2 mRNA was not detected in these cells, indicating that IL-13Ralpha1 is the major component of the IL-13 receptor complex in lymphohematopoietic cells.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2000

Dominant expansion of human T cells in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice implanted with human bone fragments.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an in vivo animal model in which human T cells develop and function normally, a step toward developing new vaccines or chemical compounds that modulate immune functions and toward understanding T-cell immunity in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human bone fragments were implanted into non-obese diabetes/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice. The presence of human blood cells in the peripheral blood of these mice was monitored periodically by immunostaining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. RESULTS: After implantation of bone fragments, dominant expansion of human T lymphocytes, rather than myeloid and B cells, was observed over a 3-month period. In some cases, the proportion of human T cells rose to 40% of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These T cells showed CD4/CD8 ratios similar to those observed in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and had a broad repertoire of rearranged T-cell receptor genes. Graft-versus-host reaction was not noted in any organ analyzed. To assess the suitability of NOD/SCID mice implanted with human bone fragments (hu-bone-NOD/SCID mice) as an in vivo model for HIV infection, the mice were infected with a T-lymphotropic strain of HIV-1 (NL4-3) at 7 weeks posttransplant. Serum p24 gag was detected at 2 weeks after inoculation, after which total CD4-positive cell numbers declined, as seen clinically in patients infected with HIV. CONCLUSION: Although the precise mechanism is yet to be determined by which predominant expansion of human T cells occurs in hu-bone-NOD/SCID mice, such mice appear likely to serve as a useful and versatile model for studies involving human T-cell immunity.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Fc alpha/mu receptor mediates endocytosis of IgM-coated microbes.

IgM is the first antibody to be produced in a humoral immune response and plays an important role in the primary stages of immunity. Here we describe a mouse Fc receptor, designated Fc alpha/microR, and its human homolog, that bind both IgM and IgA with intermediate or high affinity. Fc alpha/microR is constitutively expressed on the majority of B lymphocytes and macrophages. Cross-linking Fc alpha/microR expressed on a pro-B cell line Ba/F3 transfectant with soluble IgM or IgM-coated microparticles induced internalization of the receptor. Fc alpha/microR also mediated primary B lymphocyte endocytosis of IgM-coated Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, Fc alpha/microR is involved in the primary stages of the immune response to microbes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Flow-cytometric separation and enrichment of hepatic progenitor cells in the developing mouse liver.

Stem cells responsible for tissue maintenance and repair are found in a number of organs. However, hepatic stem cells assumed to play a key role in liver development and regeneration remain to be well characterized. To address this issue, we set up a culture system in which primitive hepatic progenitor cells formed colonies. By combining this culture system with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), cells forming colonies containing distinct hepatocytes and cholangiocytes were identified in the fetal mouse liver. These cells express both CD49f and CD29 (alpha6 and beta1 integrin subunits), but do not mark for hematopoietic antigens such as CD45, TER119, and c-Kit. When transplanted into the spleen, these cells migrated to the recipient liver and differentiated into liver parenchymal cells. Our data demonstrate that hepatic progenitor cells are enriched by FACS and suggest approaches to supplanting organ allografting and improving artificial-organ hepatic support.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Differential level in co-down-modulation of CD4 and CXCR4 primed by HIV-1 gp120 in response to phorbol ester, PMA, among HIV-1 isolates.

HIV-1 enters cells through interacting with cell surface molecules such as CD4 and chemokine receptors. We generated recombinant soluble gp120s derived from T-cell line-tropic (T-tropic) and macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) HIV-1 strains using a baculovirus expression system and investigated the association of CD4-gp120 complex with the chemokine receptor and/or other surface molecule(s). For monitoring the co-down-modulations of the CD4-gp120 complex, a cytoplasmic domain deletion mutant (tailless CD4), which is not capable of undergoing down-modulation by itself in response to phorbol ester PMA, was used. Our studies revealed both cell-type and HIV-1 strain-specific differences. We found that T-tropic gp120s were capable of priming co-down-modulation with tailless CD4 by interacting with CXCR4, whereas M-tropic SF162 gp120 could not after PMA treatment even in the presence of CCR5. Among the T-tropic HIV-1 envelopes, IIIB gp120 was the most potent. Furthermore, the ability of gp120 to prime the PMA induced co-down-modulation of tailless CD4 appeared to be dependent on the concentration of the principal coreceptor CXCR4. Nevertheless, the observation that IIIB gp120 strongly primed tailless CD4 co-down-modulation on human osteosarcoma HOS cells that express undetectable levels of surface CXCR4 raised the possibility that membrane component(s) other than those recently identified can be involved in down-modulation of the CD4/gp120 complexes.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1999

Microchimerism in Japanese women patients with systemic sclerosis.

To examine whether microchimerism occurs in Japanese women patients with systemic sclerosis, we analysed the Y-chromosome in DNA by PCR. There was no significant difference between patients and healthy people, suggesting that microchimerism may not be the sole pathogenesis in Japanese women with systemic sclerosis.

Chimera↗
PubMed1999

Further characterization of CD34-low/negative mouse hematopoietic stem cells.

We have previously reported that in adult mouse bone marrow, CD34low/- c-kit+ Sca-1+ lineage markers negative (Lin-) (CD34-KSL) cells represent hematopoietic stem cells with long-term marrow repopulating ability whereas CD34+ c-kit+ Sca-1+ Lin- (CD34+KSL) cells are progenitors with short-term reconstitution capacity. To further characterize cells in those two populations, relative expression of various genes were examined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In CD34-KSL cells, none of the genes studied was found to be expressed with the exception of GATA-2, IL-1R alpha, IL-2R gamma, AIC-2B, c-kit, EPO-R, and c-mpl. In contrast, expression of GATA-1 and all cytokine receptor genes examined except IL-2R beta, IL-7R alpha and IL-9R alpha were found in CD34+KSL. The difference between these two populations was also shown in single cell culture analysis of these cells. When cells were clone-sorted and cultured in the presence of SCF, IL-3 and EPO, CD34-KSL cells required much more time to undergo the first cell division than CD34+KSL cells. Dormancy and random fashion of cell division by CD34-KSL cells were also evident by the analysis of the second cell division, which was found to be delayed and unsynchronous compared with CD34+KSL cells. Clonal culture analysis showed that CD34-KSL cells were more potent in proliferation and multilineage differentiation capacities than CD34+KSL cells. In a paired-daughter cell experiment, 75% of CD34-KSL and 50% of CD34+KSL paired-daughter-derived colonies were nonidentical with wide variety of lineage combinations. Taken together, these data support our previous notion that CD34-KSL cells are at higher rank in hematopoietic hierarchy than CD34+KSL cells. In addition, our results using highly enriched stem cell population directly obtained from mouse bone marrow support the proposed stochastic nature of lineage commitment.

Animals↗