The murine CD8(+) cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) repertoire appears to be quite limited in response to influenza A viruses. The CTL responses to influenza A virus in humans were examined to determine if the CTL repertoire is also very limited. Bulk cultures revealed that a number of virus proteins were recognized in CTL assays. CTL lines were isolated from three donors for detailed study and foun...

Bone marrow (BM)-derived professional antigen-presenting cells (pAPCs) are required for the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to vaccinia virus and poliovirus. Furthermore, these BM-derived pAPCs require a functional transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP). In this report we analyze the requirements for BM-derived pAPCs and TAP in the initiation of CTL response...

We examine simple mathematical models to investigate the circumstances under which the dynamics of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activation and differentiation may result in the loss of virus specific CD8+ cells, a process known as CTL exhaustion. We distinguish between two general classes of viruses: (i) viruses infecting cells that are not involved in the immune response; and (ii) viruses infe...

The unique ether glycerolipids of Archaea can be formulated into vesicles (archaeosomes) with strong adjuvant activity for MHC class II presentation. Herein, we assess the ability of archaeosomes to facilitate MHC class I presentation of entrapped protein Ag. Immunization of mice with OVA entrapped in archaeosomes resulted in a potent Ag-specific CD8(+) T cell response, as measured by IFN-gamma...

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are considered to be the principal type-I IFN (IFN-I) source in response to viruses, whereas the contribution of conventional DCs (cDCs) has been underestimated because, on a per-cell basis, they are not considered professional IFN-I-producing cells. We have investigated their respective roles in the IFN-I response required for CTL activation. Using a nonrepl...

We have shown previously that immunization of B6 mice (H-2b) with tumor cells of B6 origin transformed by the human adenovirus type 5 early region 1 (Ad5E1) induces an H-2Db-restricted CTL response against an E1B-encoded CTL epitope. We now report that immunization of B6 mice with Ad5E1-transformed tumor cells of BALB/c origin (H-2d), apart from inducing a B6 anti-BALB/c allo-response, also ind...

Mouse models suggest that the processing of exogenous Ag by dendritic cells can be important for priming the CD8(+) CTL response. To study the situation in humans, we have exploited the CTL response to EBV infection. In this context EBV expresses eight latent proteins, of which EBV-encoded nuclear Ag (EBNA) 3A, 3B, and 3C appear to be immunodominant for CTL responses, whereas another nuclear Ag...

HLA-B57 has been shown to be strongly associated with slow disease progression in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients from the Amsterdam Cohort. Since HIV-1-specific CTL can control and eliminate virus-infected cells, we sought to characterize the dominant HLA-B57-restricted CTL responses at the epitope level. It was found that HLA-B57-restricted CTL responses were tar...

The skin hosts a variety of dendritic cells (DCs), which act as professional APC to control cutaneous immunity. Langerhans cells (LCs) are the only DC subset in the healthy epidermis. However, due to the complexity of the skin DC network, their relative contribution to either immune activation or immune tolerance is still not entirely understood. To specifically study the function of LCs in viv...

Aim: To evaluate the cardiovascular effect of carvacrol treatment in a D(+)galactose accelerated aging model, investigating effects on vascular reactivity, oxidative stress, and systolic blood pressure (SBP).
 Methodology: Eight-week-old male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were used for oral eight weeks. Organ baths reactivity studies (FEN, ACh, NPS), fluorescence microscopy to detect rea...