This study was aimed to establish the quantitative analysis of hIL-2 in culture supernatant by multifunctional Luminex 100. The lymphocytes were separated from ACD-anticoagulated peripheral blood by density gradient method. The lymphocytes were stimulated with PHA for 48 hours, and frozen at -20 degrees C The relative fluorescence units of standard preparations and samples were detected by multifunctional Luminex 100, and the sample concentrations were calculated by standard curve. The results indicated that the regression equation of standard preparation is Lg (RFU) = 1.547 + 0.867 LgC. ANOVA F = 301.7427, p < 0.05 (nu = 6). The analysis of variance showed F = 301.7427, p < 0.05 (nu = 6). The test of regression coefficient showed t = 17.3707 (nu = 6), p < 0.05. It is concluded that method for induction and measurement of human IL-2 in vitro is established. The standard curve established by this way is statistically significant. There is linear relationship between the concentration of hIL-2 and fluorescence intensity.
Cell Separation ; methods ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; analysis ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Phytohemagglutinins ; pharmacology

The purpose of study was to investigate the in vitro proliferation ability of PHA-induced CIK cells and traditionally prepared CIK cells, the effector cell level and its influence on killing activity to K562 cells, and to analyze the difference between them. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMNC) of healthy persons were isolated and divided into A and B group. The CIK cells in A group were obtained by using traditional culture method, the CIK cells in B group were prepared by PHA induction. During the cultivation, the cell survival rate and cell absolute value in the cell culture system were counted every 3 days. On day 15 of culture, the cell immunophenotype of 2 groups were detected by flow cytometry, and the ratios of CD3(+)CD56(+), CD3(+)CD8(+) and CD3(+)CD4(+) cells in total cell amount of culture system were accounted. Meantime, the killing activity to K562 cells in different effector-target ratios was detected by using CCK-8 kit between the 2 groups. The results showed that the method of preparing CIK by PHA induction promoted the cell proliferation more than that of the traditional method (P < 0.05), moreover, both the survival rate of cells in 2 groups was more than 90%. The CD3(+)CD8(+), CD3(+)CD56(+) cell ratio in 2 groups obviously increased. As compared with traditional method, the CD3(+)CD8(+) cell level in B group was enhanced (P < 0.05); but there were no statistical differences in increase of CD3(+)CD56(+) cell level and decrease of CD3(+)CD4(+) cell level between 2 groups. while the effector-target ratio is 5:1, 10:1, 20:1 and 40:1, the killing activity of PHA-induced CIK cells to K562 cells was more stronger than traditionally-prepared CIK cells (P < 0.05), moreover, along with increase of effector-target ratio, the difference of killing activity to K562 cells in 2 groups significantly increased. It is concluded that compared with traditional method for preparing CIK cells, the new way by PHA induction can increase the proliferation of CIK cells obviously, enhance the ratio of CD3(+)CD8(+) cells and strengthen the killing activity to the K562 cells. This new way provides a new source of CIK cells and reliable evidence for cyto-immune therapy of leukemia and other tumors.
Cell Proliferation ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; Phytohemagglutinins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study melanoma cell fusion and find a highly efficient fusion method for tumor cells.

METHODSMelanoma cells were labeled with green fluorescent protein and red fluorescent protein, respectively, and fused by a modified phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-ECM830 fusion method. Melanoma fusion cells were selected by the fluorescence activated cell sorting. DNA content was determined by propidium iodide staining.

RESULTSMelanoma cells were labeled with green fluorescent protein and red fluorescent protein markers and successfully fused through PHA-ECM830 fusion method. The fusion efficiency (7.18%) was much higher compared with ECM830 electricfusion method (0.50%). Melanoma fusion cells were successfully obtained by the fluorescence activated cell sorting.DNA content was doubled in melanoma fusion cells compared to B16-F10 melanoma cells. The proliferation rate of melanoma fusion cells was significantly decreased in vitro and in vivo.

CONCLUSIONSWe successfully obtained the melanoma fusion cells by the improved PHA-ECM830 fusion method. The proliferation rate of melanoma fusion cells dramatically decreases.

Animals ; Cell Fusion ; methods ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Melanoma, Experimental ; pathology ; Mice ; Phytohemagglutinins ; pharmacology

The present study was carried out to investigate the glycoconjugate properties of the nasal mucosa in the rat after inhalation of formaldehyde. Sprague-Dawley male rats were inhalated 30 ppm formaldehyde for 3 times with 3 hours exposure. The olfactory and respiratory mucosa in the nasal mucosa were taken from the animals on 3, 6,9 days and 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks after inhalation of formaldehyde. The properties of glycoconjugate of the olfactory and respiratory mucosa were investigated using nine biotinylated lectins (PSA, UEA I, PHA-L, BSL I, PNA, MAL I, DBA, BSL II or sWGA). In experimental groups, the degenerative changes of the olfactory epithelium were observed until 3 weeks after inhalation of formaldehyde, but the respiratory epithelium was no change. In control group, the olfactory cells in the olfactory epithelium reacted with PSA, UEA I, PNA, DBA, BSL II, sWGA, and the supporting cells reacted with PSA, PHA-L, PNA, MAL I, DBA, BSL II, sWGA, and Bowman's glands reacted with all the lectins. In experimental groups, the olfactory cells reacted with UEA I, DBA, and the supporting cells reacted with PHA-L, MAL I, DBA, UEA I, and the positive reaction of Bowman's glands was increased. In control group, the goblet cells in the respiratory epithelium reacted with UEA I, MAL I, and the ciliated columnar cells reacted with PSA, UEA I, PHA-L, BSL I, DBA, BSL II, sWGA, and the septal nasal glands reacted with all the lectins except UEA I. In experimental groups, the goblet cells reacted with UEA I, MAL I and PNA. Conclusively, the olfactory mucosa was shown a lot of changes in the properties of glycoconjugates following inhalation of formaldehyde, but respiratory mucosa was shown feeble change. These results suggest that there were different sugar residues of glycoconjugate in the olfactory and respiratory mucosa following inhalation of formaldehyde, respectively.
Animals ; Formaldehyde ; Glycoconjugates ; Goblet Cells ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lectins ; Male ; Nasal Mucosa ; Olfactory Mucosa ; Phytohemagglutinins ; Rats ; Respiratory Mucosa ; Wheat Germ Agglutinins

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of different concentration of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) on mouse embryo development.

METHODIn experiment 1, crude and purified PHA extracted from Yunnan white kidney bean with different concentration were added into M16 culture medium, the final concentration of PHA were: 50, 100, 200, 500, 1 000, 2 000 and 5 000 mg x L(-1) respectively. 2-cell stage embryos were collected and cultured in PHA containing or control medium for 72-96 h and their development were recorded. In experiment 2, different stage of embryos from 1-cell to blastocyst were treated by different concentrations of PHA same as experiment 1 and 10 000 mg x L(-1) in culture medium for 24 h before washing and cultured in M16 + PVA without PHA to blastocyst or hatching blastocyst stage.

RESULTLow concentrations PHA at 50-100 mg x L(-1) promoted embryo development and increased the number of blastocyst stage embryos. In contrast, high concentrations of PHA (> 1 000 mg x L(-1)) blocked the embryos development from 1-cell to blastocyst stage and showed apoptosis morphology or death.

CONCLUSIONDepending on the concentrations, PHA from white kidney bean shown promotion or inhibition on mouse embryo development. 1-cell stage embryo shown more sensitive to PHA treatment than that of later stage embryos. Pretreatment 24 h in PHA containing medium can influence the further development of embryos. Low concentrations of PHA is benefit to embryo development, but high concentrations of PHA (> 1 000 mg x L(-1)) will block of the development of embryos.

Animals ; Embryo, Mammalian ; drug effects ; Embryonic Development ; drug effects ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Phaseolus ; chemistry ; Phytohemagglutinins ; pharmacology ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVETo use a lectin microarray to study the alteration of glycan affinity profiles of serum glycoproteins during the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroconversion in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) following treatment with antiviral therapy,and to explore its biological significance.

METHODSCHB patients were divided into the following four groups:untreated HBeAg-positive,HBeAg seroconversion after anti-HBV therapy,HBsAg loss after anti-HBV therapy,and healthy individuals (controls).Serum samples were collected from each participant,depleted of high abundance proteins and analyzed by a lectin microarray containing 50 lectins.The lectin-affinity glycan profiles of serum proteins were partially verified by lectin blotting.Between-group differences were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance,and pairwise comparisons were carried out with the Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) method.

RESULTSThe results from the lectin microarray and lectin blotting assay showed significantly reduced affinity for 16 lectins in the untreated HBeAg-positive group compared to the control group (P less than 0.05);in addition,the specific glycan profiles of the untreated HBeAg-positive group included decreased terminal and core fructose,GalNAc alpha-Thr/Ser (T,Tn-antigen),GalNac alpha,terminal beta1-4,and beta-D galactose,bisecting and/or GlcNAc,mannose and Sia.However,the HBeAg seroconversion after anti-HBV therapy group showed enhanced binding of PSA,MPL and the above-mentioned 16 lectins (P less than 0.05),suggesting that the reduced serum glycoprotein glycan structures returned to normal or slightly higher than healthy levels after the therapy-induced seroconversion.Comparison of the group with HBsAg loss after anti-HBV therapy to the group with HBeAg seroconversion after anti-HBV therapy showed the binding ability of ten lectins (AAL,ACL,HAL,HPL,RCA-I,LEL,STL,PHA-E,NML and PCL) were weakened to near control levels and six lectins (VAL,LCA,GNL,PSA,MPL and JAC) were significantly strengthened (all P less than 0.05). These findings implied that the glycan containing terminal fructose, GalNacalpha, terminal beta1-4 galactose,and bisecting GlcNAc glycan structures dropped to near control levels, while the terminal beta-D-galactose residues and core fructose structure increased significantly.

CONCLUSIONThe glycan structures of serum glycoproteins are closely related to HBeAg and HBsAg seroconversion in CHB patients.It is possible that a special lectin binding glycan involving the terminal beta-D-galactose residues and core fructose may act as sugar markers associated with the disappearance of serum HBsAg during anti-HBV therapy for CHB.

Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Galactose ; Glycoproteins ; blood ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Phytohemagglutinins ; Polysaccharides ; analysis

PURPOSE: Many researchers have tried to develop animal models that mimic the human immune system, e.g. a humanized mouse model, to improve the engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells and develop human immune cells in an animal model. This study evaluated the feasibility of the cultured human umbilical cord blood (hUCB)-derived CD34(+) cells for cell expansion, in Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) mice, and establish co-transplantation with human fetal thymus/liver tissue (Thy/Liv) under the kidney capsule. METHODS: Co-transplantation of hUCB-derived CD34(+) cells with Thy/Liv was performed. The hUCB-derived CD34(+) cells were prepared by freshly thawing (G1) and culturing for 7 days with two types of cytokine combinations (G2, G3). The CD45(+) cell populations were measured at 6, 8, 10 and 16 weeks in the peripheral blood. The splenocytes were cultured with mitogenic stimuli (PHA -L or IL-2) at 20 weeks post- transplantation, and the proliferation of human immune cells was evaluated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the human CD45(+) cell populations at 6, 8, 10 and 16 weeks post-transplantation between the groups. In the cultured splenocytes at 20 weeks post-transplant with PHA-L or IL-2, there was remarkable expansion of CD3(+) cells in the three groups. Although no CD19(+) cells were detected in the spleen, human Ig G was detected in the sera of these mice. CONCLUSION: The cultured and expanded hUCB-derived cells with cytokine combinations might be a feasible cell source in humanized mouse modeling. In addition, human immune cells can be reconstituted from the co-transplantation of Thy/Liv and cultured hUCB-derived CD34(+) cells.
Animals ; Fetal Blood ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Hydrazines ; Immune System ; Interleukin-2 ; Kidney ; Mice ; Models, Animal ; Phytohemagglutinins ; Spleen ; Transplants ; Umbilical Cord

OBJECTIVEThis study was to expand the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) through inducing the differentiation of umbilical blood monomuclear cells (UBMNC) by using various combination of cytokines, and to investigate the functions of expanded CTL.

METHODSThe MNC were isolated by ficoll density gradient centrifugation. Then, the PHA-P, IFN-γ combined with IL-2, IL-15 and other cytokines were used for induction and expansion of the cord blood-derived CTL. The biological function of CTL was examined by phenotype analysis, cytotoxic tests and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

RESULTSAfter expansion for 15 days, the cell number increased by 1522% ± 137%. The content of CD3(-)CD8(-) cells in uncultured cord blood MNC was 95%, and the CD3(+)CD8(+) CTL cells reached 82.77% in cultured cord blood MNC after expansion for 15 days. The expanded CTL cell showed the cytotoxic activity against K562 and HeLa cell line. The killing rate of MNC was 61.88 ± 1.08%. After expansion, the killing rate could reach to 90% with the average value of 90.33 ± 2.02%. The expanded CTL cells highly expressed some key cytokines, such as granzyme A, granzyme B, GM-CSF, granulysin, IFN-γ, TGF-β, TNF-α and perforin. Compared with the control group, the expression of IFN-γ and TGF-β significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the other factors dramatically increased (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe cord blood-derived CTL can be expanded by different combinations of cytokines. These protocols may provide alternative choices for CTL cell expansion in tumor adoptive immunotherapy.

Cytokines ; Fetal Blood ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Granzymes ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class II ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Perforin ; Phytohemagglutinins ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic

OBJECTIVETo explore the immunoregulatory effects of human amniotic mesenchymal cells (hAMCs) on allogeneic peripheral blood lymphocytes.

METHODSThe hAMCs were isolated from abandoned human amnion. Peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes (PBMLs) were separated from healthy donors by density gradient centrifugation. Then, PBMLs were treated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and different concentrations of hAMCs. Proliferation effect of PBMLs was tested using MTS assay, and production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha by PBMLs was detected by ELISA.

RESULTShAMCs could remarkably inhibit the lymphocytes proliferation. When the ratios of hAMCs to PBMLs were 0.05: 1, 0.10 :1, 0.20: 1, the inhibitory rates of PBMLs proliferation were 16.91%, 20.83% and 28.19%, respectively. HAMCs also decreased the production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha by PBMLs in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSHAMCs could inhibit the proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes and reduce secretion of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, which might be one of the mechanism for prevention and remission of transplant rejection.

Amnion ; cytology ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Interferon-gamma ; biosynthesis ; Lymphocyte Activation ; immunology ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Mesoderm ; cytology ; Phytohemagglutinins ; immunology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo observe the TH cell subset function in children with recurrent tonsillitis (RT) at the remission stage and to study the effects of astragalus membranacus (AM) on TH cell subset function.

METHODSThe peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 27 children with RT at the remission stage were stimulated with either phytohemagalutinin (PHA) (RT-PHA group) or PHA together with AM (RT-AM group) and were then cultured in vitro for 48 hrs. The samples from 21 healthy children stimulated with PHA were used as the Control group. The levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the supernatants of PBMC were detected using ELISA.

RESULTSThe IFN-gamma level and the ratio of IFN-gamma/IL-4 in the RT-PHA group were statistically lower than those in the Control group (P < 0.01). The level of IFN-gamma and the ratio of IFN-gamma/IL-4 in the RT-AM group were markedly higher than those in the RT-PHA group (P < 0.01), but were significantly lower than those in the Control group (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the IL-4 level among the three groups.

CONCLUSIONSTH1 cell subset dysfunction may exit in RT children at the remission stage, suggesting that TH1 cell subset dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of RT. AM can improve TH1 cell subset function and therefore shows an important significance in treating RT.

Adolescent ; Astragalus membranaceus ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; biosynthesis ; Interleukin-4 ; biosynthesis ; Male ; Phytohemagglutinins ; pharmacology ; Recurrence ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology ; Tonsillitis ; etiology ; immunology