Studies were carried out demonstrating that DC and other cell types can be activated in vitro by transfection with single stranded viral or synthetic RNA containing 5’ phosphates.

A self-inactivating lentiviral vector expressing shRNA specific for STAT3 is now available in the laboratory.

Serotype A C. albicans strain SC5314 was cultured overnight in Saboraud medium at 28°C and then shifted to RPMI medium for 18 hours at 37°C to allow hyphal growth.

S. cerevisiae strain BY4741 och1 (Mata his3delta1 leu2delta0 met15delta0 ura3delta0 OCH1::kanMX4) was cultured in complete medium till exponentially phase. The cellswere biotinylated, labeled and - after treatment of DCs - detected using APC-labeled streptavidin and analyzed by flow cytometry.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain SK1 (MATa/alpha HO gal2 cupS can1R BIO, Kane SM and Roth J. 1974 Bacteriol. 118: 8-14) was cultured in complete medium (YPD, 2% yeast extract, 1% peptone, 2% glucose) for 18 hours, then collected, washed twice with sterile water and resuspended at 108 cells/ml. The cells were biotinylated, labeled and - after treatment of DCs - detected using APC-labeled streptavidin and analyzed by flow cytometry.

There is siRNA available in the lab.

We have chemically coupled the S-epimer of the Pam3CSK4 to long peptides containing a CTL epitope and used this structure to investigate the behaviour of the diastereomer.

At the end of a process of total RNA extraction from yeast cells, when the pellets were dry, they were resuspended in RNase-free water.

We are examining the effects of a schistosome-derived protein on intestinal immune responses, and have shown that oral administration leads to the rapid appearance of cytokines in lymph.

The capacity of splenic DC, pulsed in vitro with protein antigens or peptides, to induce immunity was monitored after transfer into syngeneic animals. To improve existing strategies, the amplitude and polarisation of T cell responses was monitored in the presence or absence of regulatory T cells.

Shuttle plasmids into which antigens are inserted are available from a discontinued clinical program where an HSV vector expressing full length tyrosinase, gp100 and MART-1 was used to transduce DC from melanoma patients which were then to be used for vaccination. These could be of use to the project if partners would like to use HSV-based technology for the delivery of antigens to DC.

The LPS was used for stimulating DC. It was shown in mice that both IL-10 as well as IL-12 production is dependent on the signalling adaptor molecules either MyD88 or TRIF, respectively in response to CpG, LPS or PolyIC. Manufacturer: Alexis

It was shown in mice that both IL-10 as well as IL-12 production is dependent on the signalling adaptor molecules either MyD88 or TRIF, respectively in response to CpG, LPS or PolyIC.

It was shown in mice that both IL-10 as well as IL-12 production is dependent on the signalling adaptor molecules either MyD88 or TRIF, respectively in response to CpG, LPS or PolyIC.

This is spleen from patients that undergo surgery due to clinical situations that do not affect the immune system (most frequently malformations). We have attempted to identify and characterize CD8T lymphocyte populations in humans. We compared the distribution of phenotypically distinct cell sets using seven color staining in the blood, lymph nodes and spleen. We found that the addition of other markers allow to subdivide N, CM, TEM and TEMRA populations in additional cell types.

These Treg were induced after treatment of primed mice with intact anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. These regulatory T cells inhibit Th1 responses, in vitro and in vivo, and repress experimental intestinal inflammation, by a mechanism involving IL-10 and IDO.

For transient transfection of synthetic siRNA, commercially available siRNA Smart Pool from Dharmacon targeted against the STAT3 transcription factor have been successfully transfected in human MDDCs (Lipofectamine 2000 as transfection reagent). The efficiency of silencing, as detected by western blot or FACS analysis of the protein was of 50-80% (depending on the donor), and peaked at 72 h post-transfection. Transfection efficiency was reproducibly higher than 80% and did not induce any type I IFN production.

This vaccine consists of DC loaded with a single MAA-derived peptide (MAGE-3.A1 or -A2 or Na17.A2). It was tested in a trial in small cohorts of patients (3-9) who were vaccinated with differently composed DC-vaccines.

The protein vaccines were injected combined with a combination of iNKT cell-agonist alpha-GalCer and MPL, a detoxified version of LPS that signals through TLR4. This combination treatment stimulates antigen-specific T and B cell responses that are greater than those elicited with alpha-GalCer or MPL alone.

These DC were generated from monocytes after elutriation of leukapheresis product (patients with stage III or stage IV melanoma) and pulsed with irradiated tumor cells (apoptotic bodies) prepared from the removed lesion and matured for 48 hours in presence of TNF-alpha, and subsequently frozen.