CD4+CD25+ Tregs regulate immunity, but little is known about their own regulation. We now report that the human 60-kDa heat shock protein (HSP60) acts as a costimulator of human Tregs, both CD4+CD25int and CD4+CD25hi. Treatment of Tregs with HSP60, or its peptide p277, before anti-CD3 activation significantly enhanced the ability of relatively low concentrations of the Tregs to downregulate CD4...

To fulfill its mission, the immune system must maintain a complete set of different cellular subpopulations that play specific roles in immune responses. We have investigated the mechanisms regulating CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cell homeostasis. We show that the expression of the high-affinity IL-2Ralpha endows these cells with the capacity to explore the IL-2 resource, ensuring their presen...

Receptors belonging to the TNF-receptor (TNF-R) superfamily include important costimulatory molecules, many of which specifically affect T cell activation. TNF receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) are recruited to many TNF-R superfamily members and are important modulators of the proximal signaling events that occur at the time of receptor engagement and activation. TRAF5 has been shown to be a ...

Mammals infected with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi develop suppressed cellular and humoral immune responses. This immunosuppression has been correlated with reduced T-cell responses involving deficient interleukin-2 (IL-2) production and is apparently mediated primarily by suppressor macrophages. Various forms of immunosuppression in other systems have been associated with increased...

Vacuoles are membrane vesicles in eukaryotic cells, the digestive system of cells that break down substances absorbed outside cell and digest useless components itself. Researches on anti-cancer intractable diseases using vacuoles being actively conducted. The practical application this study to animals requires determination biocompatibility vacuole. In present study, we evaluated effects isol...

Today, cell therapy is known as an important tool in the treatment of chronic diseases where cells lose their normal function. Immunoisolation systems using microencapsulation or PEGylation have been developed to evade the problem of rejection by the immune system. The aim of the present study was to investigate a combination of microencapsulation and PEGylation methods in coating mouse embryon...

Induction of a T-cell mediated antitumor response is the ultimate goal for tumor immunotherapy. We demonstrate here that antibody-targeted IL2 therapy is effective against established pulmonary and hepatic melanoma metastases in a syngeneic murine tumor model. The effector mechanisms involved in this tumor eradication are not dependent on NK cells, since the therapeutic effect of antibody-IL2 f...