Laboratory of Molecular Biology

About: Laboratory of Molecular Biology is a facility organization based out in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Gene & RNA. The organization has 19395 authors who have published 24236 publications receiving 2101480 citations.

B cells and professional APCs recruit regulatory T cells via CCL4.

Abstract: Using gene expression profiling, we show here that activation of B cells and professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) induces the expression of common chemokines Among these, CCL4 was the most potent chemoattractant of a CD4+CD25+ T cell population, which is a characteristic phenotype of regulatory T cells Depletion of either regulatory T cells or CCL4 resulted in a deregulated humoral response, which culminated in the production of autoantibodies This suggested that the recruitment of regulatory T cells to B cells and APCs by CCL4 plays a central role in the normal initiation of T cell and humoral responses, and failure to do this leads to autoimmune activation

T1/St2-Deficient Mice Demonstrate the Importance of T1/St2 in Developing Primary T Helper Cell Type 2 Responses

Abstract: We have generated mice with a deficiency in T1/ST2 expression to clarify the roles of T1/ST2 in T helper cell type 2 (Th2) responses. Using immunological challenges normally characterized by a Th2-like response, we have compared the responses of T1/ST2-deficient mice with those generated by wild-type mice. Using a primary pulmonary granuloma model, induced with Schistosoma mansoni eggs, we demonstrate that granuloma formation, characterized by eosinophil infiltration, is abrogated in T1/ST2-deficient mice. Furthermore, we clearly demonstrate that in the absence of T1/ST2 expression, the levels of Th2 cytokine production are severely impaired after immunization. Thus, in a secondary pulmonary granuloma model, draining lymph node cells from the T1/ST2-deficient animals produced significantly reduced levels of IL-4 and IL-5, despite developing granulomas of a magnitude similar to those of wild-type mice and comparable antigen-specific immunoglobulin isotype production. These data clearly demonstrate that T1/ST2 expression plays a role in the development of Th2-like cytokine responses and indicate that effector functions are inhibited in its absence.