• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 2009

Rice cells were transformed to express human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) using RAmy3D promoter. hCTLA4Ig was produced and secreted into culture media inducibly when sugar was depleted. The obstacles of this system are the cell death and release of proteases by sugar starvation. These problems resulted in the losses of stability and productivity of hCTLA4Ig. Therefore, the effects of proline as an inhibitor of cell death were investigated. When 4 mM proline was added in sugar-free media, the cell death and release of proteases were reduced. As a consequence, the production of hCTLA4Ig was enhanced. In addition, the effects of protein stabilizers such as gelling agents were studied. It was found that the application of 0.01 g/L gelatin led to an increase in hCTLA4Ig production. This increase might be originated from the stabilization of hCTLA4Ig. In conclusion, the production of hCTLA4Ig could be enhanced by the additions of proline and gelatin in transgenic rice cell cultures.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.904-910
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• 2006

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the only antigen presenting cells (APCs) capable of initiating immune responses, which is crucial for priming the specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response and tumor immunity. Upon activation by DCs, CD4+ helper T cells can cross-prime CD8+ CTLs via IL-12. However, recently activated DCs were described to prime in vitro strong T helper cell type 1 $(Th_1)$ responses, whereas at later time points, they preferentially prime $Th_2$ cells. Therfore, we examined in this study the optimum kinetic state of DCs activation impacted on in vivo priming of tumor-specific CTLs by using ovalbumin (OVA) tumor antigen model. Bone-marrow-derived DCs showed an appropriate expression of surface MHC and costimulatory molecules after 6 or 7-day differentiation. The 6-day differentiated DCs pulsed with OVA antigen for 8 h (8-h DC) and followed by restimulation with LPS for 24 h maintained high interleukin (IL)-12 production potential, accompanying the decreased level in their secretion by delayed re-exposure time to LPS. Furthermore, immunization with 8-h DC induced higher intracellular $interferon(IFN)-{\gamma}+/CD8+T$ cells and elicited more powerful cytotoxicity of splenocytes to EG7 cells, a clone of EL4 cells transfected with an OVA cDNA, than immunization with 24-h DC. In the animal study for the evaluation of therapeutic or protective antitumor immunity, immunization with 8-h DC induced an effective antitumor immunity against tumor of EG7 cells and completely protected mice from tumor formation and prolonged survival, respectively. The most commonly used and clinically applied DC-based vaccine is based on in vitro antigen loading for 24 h. However, our data indicated that antigen stimulation over 8 h decreased antitumor immunity with functional exhaustion of DCs, and that the 8-h DC would be an optimum activation state impacted on in vivo priming of tumor-specific CTLs and subsequently lead to induction of strong antitumor immunity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.287-299
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• 1994

Plasma protein which has been known as one of nonspecific immunostimulators was added to feedstuff to examine its effect on the enhancement of cellular immune response in porcine immune system. A total of 40 piglets, 20 male and 20 female each, were fed for 30 days with or without plasma protein. The peripheral blood were collected and analyzed for the investigation of leukocyte subpopulations and their activities by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific to porcine leukocyte differentiation antigens and flow cytometry. The results obtained as follows. 1. Subpopulations expressing major histocompatibility complex(MHC) class I antigen were $96.2{\pm}3.1%$ and $86.6{\pm}3.8%$ in piglets fed with plasma protein and in piglets fed without plasma protein, respectively. 2. Proportion of leukocyte subpopulation expressing MHC class II antigens were significantly higher in the piglets fed with plasma protein than ones without plasma protein. The proportion was $27.6{\pm}3.6%$ and $16.6{\pm}2.2%$ in MHC class II DQ antigen, and $28.1{\pm}2.0%$ and $20.0{\pm}0.3%$ in MHC class II DR antigen, respectively. 3. A significant increase in the proportion of cells expressing poCD2 was not found in piglets fed plasma protein. 4. Proportion of subpopulation expressed porcine(Po) CD4 antigens which specific to helper T lymphocytes were not increased (18.3-19.1% vs. 25.6-28.8%), rather slightly decreased, in plasma protein-treated group. 5. The most important increase of proportion in plasma protein-treated group was the leukocyte subpopulation specific to $poCD8^+$ T cytotoxic/suppressor lymphocytes. The expression level was significantly higher up to 45.9-47.1% in plasma protein-treated group in comparing with 29.7-33.0% in non-plasma protein-treated group. 6. Lymphoblastogenetic responses using different concentrations of Con A mitogen and plasma protein has found that the responses of lymphocyte from piglets fed plasma protein was significantly activated (p<0.01). The activities measured by 3[H]-thymidine incorporation showed 3-6 times stronger in plasma protein-treated group than those in non-plasma protein-treated group. The study has concluded that plasma protein, which has known as a nonspecific immunostimulator, may have an immunoenhancing activities in porcine lymphoid system by increase the activated cell proportions and their blastogenetic properties which is critical to host immune responses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1944-1948
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• 2007

Silkworm hemolymph (SH), prepared from fifth-instar larvae of Bombyx mori and heat-treated at $60^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, was used to improve cell viability and the production of human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) in transgenic Oryza sativa L. cell suspension cultures. Even though SH could not elevate cell viability at the concentrations up to 3% (v/v), addition of 0.3% (v/v) SH to a culture medium enhanced the production of hCTLA4Ig by 36.8% over an SH-free medium. Moreover, the production period of hCTLA4Ig could be shortened in a 0.3% (v/v) SH-added medium compared with that in an SH-free culture. As a result, addition of 0.3% (v/v) SH improved the productivity of hCTLA4Ig significantly in transgenic rice cell cultures.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.80-84
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• 2003

Objective : Bipolar disorder is known to have strong genetic background and cellular immune activation. Based on the hypothesis that abnormalities of normal inhibitory control of T cell immunity can contribute to the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder, we investigated the relationship between the first exon at position +49(A/G) polymorphism of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4(CTLA4) gene and bipolar disorder. Method : Among the Korean patients diagnosed as bipolar disorder according to DSM-IV, 90 patients without serious medical illness, neurologic illness, hormonal disorder, or concomitant mental illness were selected. The normal control group consisted of 149 age-and sex-matched subjects without current or past history of autoimmune diseases or mental disorder. DNA was extracted from whole blood and the exon 1 region of CTLA-4 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Gene typing was performed using single strand conformation polymorphism. Results : There were no significant differences in genotype frequencies of G/G, G/A, and A/A between the patients with bipolar disorder and the control group(48.9% vs 46.3%, 44.4% vs 39.6%, and 6.7% vs 14.1%, respectively). There were no significant differences in allelic frequencies of G and A between the patients with bipolar disorder and the control group(71.1% vs 66.1%, and 28.9% vs 33.9%, respectively). Conclusion : This study did not show the association of exon 1 polymorphism of CTLA-4 gene with bipolar disorder.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.823-830
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• 1995

Background: It has been found that Helper T cells in the peripheral blood are decreased in the cell mediated immunity in the pulmonary tuberculosis. But it has not been confirmed yet that only decrease in number of cells which has phenotype in the peripheral blood is defined to decrease in cell mediated immunity. The immunocytochemical study was performed to observe the change of the percentage of T-lymphocytes with their subsets and activated T cells in the peripheral blood of pulmonary tuberculosis and to know how many T cells would be activated, relative to resting cells in the peripheral blood. Methods: The peripheral blood obtained from twenty two patients and ten healthy controls were smeared on the gelatin coated slide glass prepared for of mononuclear cells. The double bridge technique of alkaline phosphatase-antialkaline phosphatase(APAAP) method was used. As the primary antibodies, $T_1$(anti-human T cell), $T_4$(anti-human helper/inducer T cells) and $T_8$(anti-human supressor/cytotoxic T cell) antibodies and interleukin-2 receptor (for early activated T cell), very late activation antigen (for activated cytotoxic T cell), T cell lineage specific activation antigen monoclonal actibodies were used. Results: 1) There were significantly decrease in the absolute number of $T_4$(+) cells but significantly increase of $T_8$(+) cells in the peripheral blood of pulmonary tuberculosis (p<0.05). 2) The percentage of $T_4$(+) cells showed significantly decrease in pulmonary tuberculosis but $T_8$(+)cells significantly increase(p<0.05). $T_4(+)/T_8(+)$ ratio showed significantly decrease in the peripheral blood of the pulmonary tuberculosis(p<0.05). 3) There were significantly increase in the absolute number of variable stages of activated T cells in the peripheral blood of the pulmonary tuberculosis(p<0.05). 4) The percentage of IL-2R, VLA-1, TLiSA were 6.45+1.56%, $7.64+1.34^*$, 10.45+1.16% in order which showed significantly increase in the peripheral blood of the pulmonary tuberculosis(p<0.05). Conclusion: We speculate that only a few percentage of T lymphocyte is activated in cell mediated immunity in pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2018

Objective: Over the last several years, immunotherapy has become one of the most promising therapeutic options for cancer. This study aims to summarize the updates on cancer immunotherapy focusing on immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors, which have received attention as new anticancer therapeutic agents. Methods: A literature survey was carried out on PubMed to identify high-impact papers on cancer immunotherapy from 2010. The most recent data on clinical efficacy and safety have been included highlighting the response characteristics to recently approved immunotherapeutic agents. Results: In various cancers, immune checkpoints are a means for cancer cells to evade the immune system. Furthermore, CTLA-4 and PD-L1 can be overexpressed, allowing malignant cells to evade T-cells. Numerous clinical trials have been performed to seek appropriate indication of these products in various cancer types. Among them, the most conspicuous types are melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and head and neck cancer. The approval of ipilimumab by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commenced a new era of cancer immunotherapy. This was followed by the approval of nivolumab and pembrolizumab. Currently, combination therapies are being investigated for various cancer types. Conclusion: In this study, we reviewed recently reported scientific and clinical evidence for currently approved immune checkpoint inhibitors. Although these novel checkpoint inhibitors are ever evolving for cancer therapies, there exist limitations that need to be overcome, indicating the necessity for further studies aiming to improve their efficacy, toxicity, and cost.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.304-316
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• 2021

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza virus infections. However, conventional vaccines based on hemagglutinin (HA) have to be annually updated because the HA of influenza viruses constantly mutates. In this study, we produced a 3M2e-3HA2-NP chimeric protein as a vaccine antigen candidate using an Escherichia coli expression system. The vaccination of chimeric protein (15 ㎍) conferred complete protection against A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1; PR8) in mice. It strongly induced influenza virus-specific antibody responses, cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. To spare the dose and enhance the cross-reactivity of the chimeric, we used a complex of poly-γ-glutamic acid and alum (PGA/alum) as an adjuvant. PGA/alum-adjuvanted, low-dose chimeric protein (1 or 5 ㎍) exhibited higher cross-protective effects against influenza A viruses (PR8, CA04, and H3N2) compared with those of chimeric alone or alum-adjuvanted proteins in vaccinated mice. Moreover, the depletion of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and NK cells reduced the survival rate and efficacy of the PGA/alum-adjuvanted chimeric protein. Collectively, the vaccination of PGA/alum-adjuvanted chimeric protein induced strong protection efficacy against homologous and heterologous influenza viruses in mice, which suggests that it may be a promising universal influenza vaccine candidate.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.284-290
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• 2016

In this research, recombinant human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) was produced by transgenic rice cells. RAmy3D promoter was used for overcome the limitation of low expression level in transgenic plant cells, and the secretion of target protein was accomplished by signal peptide. However, the RAmy3D promoter system which can be induced only by sugar starvation causes the decrease of cell viability. As a result, cell death promotes the release of protease which degrades the target proteins. The protein stability and productivity can be significantly influenced by proteolysis activity. Therefore, development of new strategies are necessary for the in situ recovery of target proteins from cell culture media. In this study, in situ recovery was performed by various strategies. Direct addition of Protein A resin with nylon bag leads to cell death by increased shear stress and decrease in production of hCTLA4Ig by protease. Medium exchange through modified flask could recover hCTLA4Ig with high cell viability and low protease activity, on the other hand, the productivity was lower than that of control. When in situ recovery was conducted at day 7 after induction in air-lift bioreactor, 1.94-fold of hCTLA4Ig could be recovered compared to control culture without in situ recovery. Consequently, in situ recovery of hCTLA4Ig from transgenic rice cell culture could enhance productivity significantly and prevent degradation of target proteins effectively.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.260-268
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• 2013

Transgenic plant cell cultures are an attractive expression system for the production of industrial and pharmaceutical proteins because of their advantages in safety and low production cost. Human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) was produced and secreted when sugar was depleted in culture medium by transgenic rice cell lines (Oryza sativa L.) using RAmy3D promoter. Due to the production of the target protein by sugar depletion, concomitant occurrence of cell death is inevitable. For that reason, inhibition of cell death for enhancing productivity was necessary for the production period without energy sources. Supplementation of 0.1 mM sodium nitroprusside improved cell viability by 1.4-fold and maximum hCTLA4Ig production by 1.3-fold compared to those of control. Addition of 1 and 10 mM glutathione, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and nicotinamide inhibited apoptotic-like programmed cell death by decreasing the activity of reactive oxygen species. Production hCTLA4Ig was enhanced 1.4-, 1.25-, and 1.15-fold with 10 mM NAC, 1 mM NAC, and 1 mM glutathione, respectively. In addition, it was found that the supplementation of NAC enhanced the cell viability.