We have investigated the regulation of self tolerance in mice by examining lymphocyte reactivity in vitro against two subpopulations of autologous testicular cells: germ cells that were derived from the seminiferous tubules, and interstitial somatic cells. In the presence of germ cells, lymphocyte proliferation was strongly reduced. In contrast, somatic interstitial cells stimulated lymphocyte ...

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b) is a mediator released by nearly all cell types. It has suppression activity on the immune system, but exactly how this effect is carried out is not clear. Previous experiments showed that IgG interacts with or carriers active TGF-b, that could suppresses cytotoxic T-cell responses to an immunogenic tumor in mice. Since T cell receptor (TCR) has structura...

Lymphocyte proliferation in vitro may follow antigen recognition and serve as a correlate of cell-mediated immunity. Lymphocyte proliferation can also be simulated by nonimmune mechanisms as, for example, following culture with plant lectin, lipopolysaccharides, or staphylococcal protein A (1). The autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) refers to the proliferation of T lymphocytes cultured ...

Backgrounds: Most of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections elicit poor immune responses and 75% to 85% of cases become chronic therefore, the development of an effective vaccine against HCV is of paramount importance. In this study, we aimed to evaluate co-administration of HCV non-Structural Protein 2 and IL-12 DNA vaccines in C57BL/6 mice. Methods: A plasmid encoding full-length HCV NS2 prot...

Gamma irradiation is routinely used for suppression of lymphocyte function in transfusion and transplantation procedures. In recent years, some investigators focused on the effects of ionizing radiation on special aspects of lymphocyte function and considered the possibility of its clinical application for treatment of some immunological disorders. In this study, we evaluated the effects of fiv...

Background: Hepatitis C (HCV) is a worldwide problem without an effective vaccine with more than 170 million chronically infected people worldwide. DNA vaccines expressing antigenic portions of the virus with adjutants have recently been developed as a novel vaccination technology. Objectives: In the present study, a DNA vaccine expressing HCV core protein was developed with IL12 as a genetic a...

The capacity of retinole acid to modulate human T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte activation by mitogens was examined. Tlymphocyte proliferation stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) or phytohemagglutinin was enhanced by 5 nw to 5 U.Mretinoic acid in a dose-dependent manner with a 65 ± 35% (SD) increase (n = 6, P < 0.01) in TPA-stimulated proliferation induced by 5 U.Mretinoic a...

The capacity of retinole acid to modulate human T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte activation by mitogens was examined. Tlymphocyte proliferation stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) or phytohemagglutinin was enhanced by 5 nw to 5 U.Mretinoic acid in a dose-dependent manner with a 65 ± 35% (SD) increase (n = 6, P < 0.01) in TPA-stimulated proliferation induced by 5 U.Mretinoic a...

Background: Human colorectal cancer cells overexpress carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). CEA is a glycoprotein which has shown to be a promising vaccine target for immunotherapy against colorectal cancer. Objective: To design a DNA vaccine harboring CEA antigen and evaluate its effect on inducing immunity against colorectal cancer cells in tumor bearing mice. <str...