Current Protocols in Immunology最新文献

Pyroptosis is a form of programmed pro-inflammatory cell death that plays a protective role in the host response to infection, but can also promote pathogenic inflammation. Pyroptosis is mediated by the cysteine protease, caspase-1. Caspase-1 cleaves gasdermin D, releasing the N-terminal pore-forming domain, which inserts into the plasma membrane and drives osmotic lysis. Caspase-1 also proteolytically activates the inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18. This unit describes methods for stimulating pyroptosis and assessing subsequent loss of plasma membrane integrity. We also describe an ELISA to quantify released IL-1β. These methods can be applied to many different types of experiments. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This unit describes procedures for infecting newborn and adult mice with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Methods are included for propagating MCMV in cell cultures and for preparing a more virulent form of MCMV from salivary glands of infected mice. A plaque assay is provided for determining MCMV titers of infected tissues or virus stocks. Also, a method is described for preparing the murine embryonic fibroblasts used for propagating MCMV and for the plaque assay. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apoptosis is a ubiquitous process occurring in the brain under both physiological and pathological conditions. The central nervous system (CNS) requires an active and efficient clean-up system to prevent the spillover of intracellular contents into the surrounding parenchyma and suppress the initiation of inflammatory and immune responses. Microglia, the resident professional phagocytes of the brain, are the cells in charge of the removal of these dead cells by the process named phagocytosis. Therefore, microglial phagocytosis is a vital mechanism to maintain tissue homeostasis. Traditionally, this process has been assessed using indirect methods, which have resulted in poor or inaccurate estimations of microglial phagocytosis efficiency. In these protocols, we describe a series of parameters to directly quantify microglial phagocytosis efficiency in vivo and in vitro. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This article describes methods for isolating mouse monocytes and neutrophils, as well as in vitro protocols for measuring cell phagocytosis, migration, and polarization. The method employed here for the isolation of naive phagocytes overcomes many of the difficulties previously encountered concerning phagocyte activation. Three in vitro protocols are provided for the analysis of cell migration, one requiring no specialized equipment, one requiring a modified Boyden chamber, and the other employing a flow chamber, which measures cell adhesion, rolling, and migration. Three in vitro protocols to examine phagocytosis have been included in this updated version. Finally, a method is provided for imaging polarized cells by confocal microscopy. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs, frequently also called MSCs) represent a cell population within the bone marrow, a subset of which contains multipotent stem cells. Their primary role is to produce and maintain both bone tissue and bone marrow microenvironment necessary for hematopoiesis. The latter is achieved by secreting a wide variety of different cytokines and growth factors, many of which also have a regulatory role in immune processes. BMSCs have recently been introduced into the field of immunobiology after their successful clinical use in GVHD was reported in 2004. Since then, numerous studies confirmed and expanded the knowledge on the immunosuppressive potential of BMSCs in various in vitro and in vivo models. Although the immunomodulatory capacity of BMSCs is well established, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the cytokines, chemokines, receptors, and molecular pathways that play a role in this effect. To study these cells and answer many of the questions, researchers must be able to reliably and reproducibly isolate, culture, and use these cells. Below a practical guide on how to culture and characterize mouse and human BMSCs, which can then be applied in various in vitro and in vivo assays, is provided. Curr. Protoc. Immunol. 102:22F.12.1-22F.12.13. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are a highly specialized subset of professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that reside in peripheral and lymphoid tissues. DCs capture antigen in the periphery and migrate to the lymph node where they prime naïve T cells. In addition, DCs have been recently appreciated to have function in innate immunity within tissues. In the skin, heterogeneous populations of DCs reside within the epidermis and the dermis. Analysis of the cutaneous DC subsets is complicated by requirements of distinct enzymatic digestion protocols for isolation of APCs from distinct anatomical compartments of the skin. Here, specific approaches for isolation of DCs from the epidermis, dermis, and the skin-draining lymph nodes of mice are described. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Animal models are essential to dissect host-microbiota interactions that impact health and the development of disease. In addition to providing pre-clinical models for the development of novel therapeutics and diagnostic biomarkers, mouse systems actively support microbiome studies by defining microbial contributions to normal development and homeostasis, as well as the role of microbes in promoting diseases such as inflammatory auto-immune disorders, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and susceptibility to infectious agents. Mice provide a genetically tenable host that can be reared under gnotobiotic (germ-free) conditions, allowing colonization studies with human- or mouse-origin defined or complex microbial communities to define specific in vivo effects. The protocols and background information detail key aspects to consider in designing host-microbiome experiments with mouse models, and in developing robust systems that leverage gnotobiotic mice, microbial consortia, and specific environmental perturbations to identify causal effects in vivo. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Neuroimmunologists aim to understand the interactions between the central nervous system and the immune system under both homeostatic and pathological conditions. The meninges, contrary to the brain parenchyma, are populated by numerous immune cells. Soluble factors produced by these cells are capable of diffusing into the brain parenchyma and influencing the brain cells within the parenchyma, including neurons. In this unit, we describe two protocols: the analysis of the meningeal compartment of rodents and the use flow cytometry to study the cells of the brain parenchyma (particularly neurons). © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In the last 20 years, the study of human natural killer (NK) cells has moved from the first molecular characterizations of very few receptor molecules to the identification of a plethora of receptors displaying surprisingly divergent functions. We have contributed to the description of inhibitory receptors and their signaling pathways, important in fine regulation in many cell types, but unknown until their discovery in the NK cells. Inhibitory function is central to regulating NK-mediated cytolysis, with different molecular structures evolving during speciation to assure its persistence. More recently, it has become possible to characterize the NK triggering receptors mediating natural cytotoxicity, unveiling the existence of a network of cellular interactions between effectors of both natural and adaptive immunity. This unit reviews the contemporary history of molecular studies of receptors and ligands involved in NK cell function, characterizing the ligands of the triggering receptor and the mechanisms for finely regulating their expression in pathogen-infected or tumor cells. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A continual dialogue exists between the central nervous system (CNS) and immune system that contributes to neural homeostasis as well as protection from microbes, repair following damage, autoimmune disease, and neurodegeneration. Characterization of resident and peripherally derived leukocyte populations within the central nervous system can provide valuable information regarding how these cells contribute to steady-state and inflammatory conditions. Flow cytometry provides a method to conduct detailed multi-parameter analyses of immune cells isolated from various tissues. This protocol provides a method to isolate leukocytes from brain, spinal cord, and meninges for flow cytometric analysis and provides a basic framework for phenotyping these cells. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.