After alveolar formation, >20% of interstitial lung fibroblasts undergo apoptosis, a process that is of critical importance for normal lung maturation. The immature lung contains two morphologically distinct fibroblast populations, lipid-filled interstitial fibroblasts (LIF) and non-LIF (NLIF), which differ with respect to contractile protein content, proliferative capacity, and expression of m...

Within the ruminant system, several possibilities exist to generate dendritic cells migrating out from the tissue into the regional draining lymph nodes as afferent lymph dendritic cells (ALDCs). Here, we analyzed toll-like receptor (TLR) 1-10 mRNA expression by using quantitative real-time PCR in highly purified subsets of bovine ALDC. As TLR expression may be influenced by pathogens or vaccin...

Regulatory CD25 CD4 T cells (Treg cells) are a central element of peripheral tolerance. Little is known, however, about phenotypic and functional characteristics of these cells with regard to memory. In this study we show that the chemokine receptor CCR6 is expressed on a distinct subset of mouse Treg cells. Similar to their CD25– counterparts, CCR6 Treg cells exhibit markers of activation, mem...

Neonatal Meningitis Escherichia coli (NMEC) is one of the most common causes of neonatal bacterial meningitis in the US and elsewhere resulting in mortality or neurologic deficits in survivors. Large plasmids have been shown experimentally to increase the virulence of NMEC in the rat model of neonatal meningitis. Here, 9 ExPEC-like plasmids were isolated from NMEC and sequenced to identify the ...

The transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is critical for normal trafficking of T lymphocytes, but its role in B cells is unclear. We report that B cell-specific KLF2 deficiency leads to decreased expression of the trafficking molecules CD62L and β7-integrin, yet expression of sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor 1 (which is a critical target of KLF2 in T cells) was, unexpectedly, minim...

18 cloned T cell lines reactive with Borrelia burgdorferi proteins, all CD3+4+8-TCR-alpha/beta+ and restricted by HLA class II proteins, were isolated from four patients with chronic Lyme arthritis. Analysis of these T cell clones indicated that the T cell response to the Lyme disease spirochete is not oligoclonally restricted; yet all produced the same pattern of lymphokines, resembling that o...

The main DC subsets in murine spleen arise from BM-derived precursors. Recently, a novel APC type was described in spleen. To determine if spleen contains the progenitors of this subset, a stromal coculture system was used to assess candidate progenitors for their hematopoietic potential. Here, the progenitor of that subset is identified as a spleen endogenous Lin(-)c-kit(lo) hematopoietic prog...