Rat sciatic nerve Schwann cells in culture respond to a limited range of mitogens, including glial growth factor, transforming growth factors beta-1 and beta-2 (TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2), some cell membrane-associated factors, and to agents such as cholera toxin and forskolin which raise intracellular levels of cAMP. These responses require the presence of FCS, which exhibits little or no mitogen...

This unit describes procedures for measuring the capacity of purified B cells to undergo proliferation. The method centers on the use of polyclonal stimulating agents (mitogens) because these agents stimulate the majority of B cells and because the alternative (measurement of antigen-induced proliferation) requires the laborious procedures of isolating antigen-specific B cells (which are otherw...

Human pulmonary surfactant has not been shown to have immunoregulatory properties. A study was designed to examine the effect of whole surfactant (lyophilised bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) and purified surfactant lipids obtained from normal lungs of three species (man, pig, rabbit) on the lymphoproliferative responses of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to mitogens and alloantigens. Whole sur...

Rat sciatic nerve Schwann cells in culture respond to a limited range of mitogens, including glial growth factor, transforming growth factors beta-1 and beta-2 (TGF-fll, TGF-/~2), some cell membrane-associated factors, and to agents such as cholera toxin and forskolin which raise intracellular levels of cAME These responses require the presence of FCS, which exhibits little or no mitogenic acti...

The cytoplasmic adaptor protein FADD is an essential component of the death-inducing signaling complexes (DISCs) that assemble when TNF receptor family members, such as Fas, are ligated. FADD inititates the proteolytic cascade that leads to apoptosis by binding to and promoting the autocatalytic activation of caspase-8 [1-4]. Surprisingly, FADD (but not caspase-8) is also required for T cells t...