Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) remains the primary animal model of MS. MS/EAE are considered to be autoimmune diseases mediated by CD4 T helper (TH) cells. The role of B cells and antibody is under debate. Previous studies established B cell dependent (induced with re...

BACKGROUND The ever-present threat of infectious disease, e.g. influenza pandemics, and the increasing need for new and effective treatments in immunotherapy are the driving forces that motivate research into new and innovative vaccine platforms. Ideally, such platforms should trigger an efficient CTL response, be safe, and easy to manufacture. We recently developed a novel nanoparticle adjuvan...

T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity may play an important role in control of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this study, we have identified and characterized a relatively conserved epitope in the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase recognized by murine and human cytotoxic T cells. This epitope was identified using a murine antigen-specific CD8+ class I major histocompatibility complex-...

More than 40% of allergic patients suffer from grass pollen allergy. Phl p 1, the major timothy grass pollen allergen, belongs to the cross-reactive group 1 grass pollen allergens that are thought to initiate allergic sensitization to grass pollen. Repeated allergen encounter boosts allergen-specific IgE production and enhances clinical sensitivity in patients. To investigate immunological mech...

CTL are important in controlling HIV and SIV infection. To quantify cellular immune responses induced by immunization, CD8(+) T cells specific for the subdominant Env p15m and p54m epitopes and/or the dominant Gag p11C epitope were evaluated by tetramer staining in nine macaques immunized with an adenovirus (Ad) 5 host range mutant (Ad5hr)-SIVenv/rev recombinant and in four of nine which also r...

Natural peptide agonists of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors bind to the receptor by a two-site mechanism as follows: the carboxyl end of the ligand binds the N-terminal extracellular domain (ECD) of the receptor and the amino portion of the ligand binds the extracellular face of the seven transmembrane region. Recently, peptide antagonists homologous to the 12 C-terminal residue...

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a validated target for several cancers including lung, colorectal, and certain subtypes of breast cancer. Cetuximab targets ligand binding of EGFR, but major problems like high cost, short t1/2, toxicity, and emergence of resistance are associated with the drug. Immunization with EGFR B cell epitopes will train the immune system to produce specific Abs...

For the induction of an optimal immune response against cancer or infections not only CD8(+) CTLs but also CD4(+) T helper cells must be induced, in particular IFN-gamma-secreting type 1 T helper cells. Several strategies have been explored to target tumor-associated antigens to the HLA class II processing compartments. We engineered a genetic construct encoding an invariant chain (Ii) protein ...

House dust mites (HDM) are most important indoor allergens for humans. Der f3, one of the potent allergens with allergenicity, is derived from Dermatophagoides farina (D. farinae), and exhibits strong allergenicity that was confirmed in our previous work. The current study was undertaken to determine the localization of T-cell epitope of Der f3. We initially developed the T-cell fraction from B...

Accumulating evidence indicates that recognition by TCRs is far more degenerate than formerly presumed. Cross-recognition of microbial Ags by autoreactive T cells is implicated in the development of autoimmunity, and elucidating the recognition nature of TCRs has great significance for revelation of the disease process. A major drawback of currently used means, including positional scanning syn...