Thus, local synthesis of 1α25VitD3 in tissues may influence Treg frequency, although what constitutes “physiological” levels of 1α25VitD3 generated locally in tissues, and how these reflect observations from in vitro studies is as yet difficult to ascertain. Production of 1 × 10−9–6 × 10−8 M 1α25VitD3 by antigen presenting cells has been reported [39, 42], which is not that dissimilar to what is used in the present study. In summary, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is increasing being LDK378 manufacturer associated with a wide

range of immune-mediated pathologies [22, 43]. In a translational setting, these data suggest that 1α25VitD3, over a broad concentration range, is likely to be safe and effective in enhancing the frequency of both Foxp3+ and IL-10+ Treg cell populations in patients. We believe, www.selleckchem.com/products/FK-506-(Tacrolimus).html supported by our data and others, that vitamin D delivered either through supplementation or pharmacologically, including novel derivatives that lack the side effect of hypercalcaemia,

could prove candidates for increasing the frequency of Treg cell populations in patients. This type of approach may be particularly amenable in patients where individually tailored therapies are impractical. Wild-type C57BL/6 and genetically modified Foxp3GFP C57BL/6 [44] and TCR transgenic (TCR7) mice on a Rag1–/– background specific for hen egg lysozyme [45] crossed to Foxp3GFP C57BL/6 (Foxp3GFP TCR7 Rag1−/−) mice [46] were bred and maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions at NIMR according to the Home Office UK Animals (Scientific

Procedures) Act 1986 to and used at 8–12 weeks of age. PBMCs were obtained from normal healthy individuals in the majority of experiments. The Ethics Committee at Guy’s Hospital approved the study and all donors provided informed consent. Twelve pediatric patients with severe therapy-resistant asthma were also studied (Supporting Information Table 1). Severe therapy-resistant asthma was defined as persistent chronic symptoms of airway obstruction, despite treatment with high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and trials of add on drugs, and/or recurrent severe asthma exacerbations. All children had been through a detailed protocol to optimize adherence and other aspects of basic management, as far as possible [47, 21]. Bronchoscopies in the pediatric subjects were performed as previously described [48]. The Royal Brompton Hospital Ethics Committee approved the study; written age-appropriate informed consent was obtained from parents and children. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured using a two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography system–tandem mass spectrometry. Human PBMCs were isolated as previously described [12]. CD4+ T cells were purified by positive selection using Dynabeads (Invitrogen; typical purity 98.5%) or cell sorting (typical purity 99.

V. vulnificus cells (107 CFU/mL) suspended in PBS with 1% BSA were inoculated into each 5 cm segment. After 8 hr, the rabbit was killed and the intestine removed. The fluid within the loops was collected with a syringe and the viable bacterial counts in each determined by plating on 2.5% NaCl HI agar plates. Overnight cultures of V. vulnificus strains were inoculated into fresh 2.5% NaCl HI broth and grown for 2 hr. After staining with Ruthenium red, the bacterial cells were observed with a JEOL JEM 1200 EXП electron microscope (Jeol, Tokyo, Japan). Vibrio vulnificus strains Selleckchem Torin 1 were freshly grown on HI agar plates with 1.5% agar at 37°C. The bacteria

were inoculated onto semisolid HI agar plates containing this website 0.3% agar and incubated for at 37°C for approximately 8 hr, as previously described [31]. HeLa cells were seeded into four-well LabTec chamber slides (Nunc, Naperville, IL, USA) and bacterial adhesion assayed as previously reported [31]. Briefly, V. vulnificus cells were infected at an MOI of 250 for 30 min. HeLa cells were thoroughly washed three times with pre-warmed DMEM and stained with Giemsa solution (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). Bacterial cells adhering to 90 HeLa cells were counted and the results reported as the average number of adhered bacteria per HeLa cell. Hemolytic and proteolytic activities in bacterial culture supernatants were assayed according to a previous report [12]. β-galactosidase activities

of PvvhA::lacZ and PvvpE::lacZ transcriptional reporters in V. vulnificus strains were assayed as previously described [12]. SPF 7-day-old CD-1 female mice were used for oral administration and 8-week-old mice for intraperitoneal injections. For each dose, five mice were given 10-fold serially diluted log Fossariinae phase bacterial suspensions. For iron-overload experiment, 8-week-old CD-1 mice were injected intraperitoneally with 900 µg of ferric ammonium citrate for 30 min before bacterial challenge. The infected mice were observed for 48 hr and LD50 values calculated by the Reed and Muench method [32]. This animal study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

of the Korean Food and Drug Administration. The protocol was approved by the Chonnam National University Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments. All efforts were made to treat the mice humanely. Human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells (Korean Cell Line Bank, Seoul, Korea) were maintained in high-glucose DMEM with 10% FBS (Gibco Invitrogen, Auckland, New Zealand) in a 37°C incubator with 5% CO2. HeLa cells cultured in eight-well glass chamber plates (Nalge Nunc International, Rochester, NY, USA) were infected with V. vulnificus strains at a MOI of 100 for 1 hr. F actin was visualized by Alexa Fluor 594-conjugated phalloidin and nuclei were stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR, USA) as described previously [7].

Nucleotide sequences of human primers are present in the GenBank database. The SYBR Green PCR Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, UK), 0.1–0.2 μg/μL specific primers, and 2.5 ng of cDNA were used in each reaction. Calculations to determine the relative level of gene expression were made according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with reference to the β-actin in each sample, using the cycle threshold method. Negative controls without RNA and without reverse transcriptase were included. The ANOVA test was used to compare stained areas in the immunohistochemistry Talazoparib research buy assay. Differences in neutrophil numbers were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U-test. Correlation analyses were performed by Spearman’s

test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Statistical analysis was performed using Prism 4 software (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). The authors are grateful to all patients and control subjects who participated in this RGFP966 datasheet study. This study was supported by CNPq, PRONEX (Grant number 738712006), FAPESB and FAPESP (Grant number 2004/08–868-0). J. S. S., V. M. B., M. B. N., C. B. and A. B. are senior investigators from CNPq. V. S. B. received a fellowship from CAPES. C. S. S.

received a fellowship from CNPq. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no financial or commercial conflict of interest. “
“Immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy is constantly evolving. Advances in the basic and clinical science of immunoglobulins have provided new perspectives in using polyclonal IgG to treat patients with Thymidylate synthase primary immunodeficiencies. Recent meta-analyses of patient data and outcomes, optimization of IgG administration and better understanding of the IgG receptor variability and clinical effect are new concepts which practising immunologists can use in tailoring their approach to treating patients with primary immunodeficiencies. This manuscript presents the proceedings of a satellite symposium, held in conjunction with the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) 2010 meeting, to inform attendees about new scientific concepts in IgG therapy, with the goal of empowering

expert level evaluation of what optimal IgG therapy is today. Primary immunodeficiencies (PI) disorders predispose patients to recurrent infections and chronic lung disease, requiring patients to undergo immunoglobulin (Ig) replacement therapy. Immunoglobulin formulations can be administered subcutaneously (SCIG) or intravenously (IVIG). Immunologists in the United States were asked if they thought their patients would be better served by SCIG compared to IVIG [1]. The most common response was that 25–50% of patients would be better served by SCIG (Fig. 1). European immunologists, however, are more likely to hold that greater percentages of patients will be better served by SCIG (Hernandez-Trujillo et al., manuscript in preparation).

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of DNase I in the morbidity of type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy. Methods: DNase I activity in diabetic patients and rats serum was examined by radial enzyme-diffusion method. DNase I level in human and rat pancreatic tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Western blot and real-time PCR were used to detect the DNase I level in INS-1cell which was cultured in high glucose. The cell apoptosis rate was examined selleck products by Flow Cytometer and TUNEL staining. Results: There was a significant increase of DNase I activity in type 2 diabetic rats(P < 0.05) and patients(P < 0.01)

serum compared with normal control, meanwhile immunohistochemistry showed that DNase I expression in pancreatic acinus and islet βcells were greatly increased. In vitro experiments showed that high glucose could induce the increase of DNase I and caspase-3 protein

level in INS-1 cell. In addition, high glucose can significantly increase CYC202 purchase the cell apoptosis rate. Conclusion: The present study suggests that high glucose can increase DNase I expression which might play an important role in the morbidity of type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (Grant no.2011DFA31860, Grant no.2006DFB31480), the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant no.2006CB504602) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no.81130066). SAKURAYA KOJI1,2, ENDO AMANE1, SOMEYA TOMONOSUKE1, HIRANO DAISHI3, FUJINAGA SHUICHIRO4, OHTOMO YOSHIYUKI1, SHIMIZU MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit TOSHIAKI1 1Department of Pediatrics, Juntendo University School of Medicine; 2Department of Pediatrics, Koshigaya Municipal Hospital; 3Department

of Pediatrics, The Jikei University School of Medicine; 4Division of Nephrology, Saitama Children’s Medical Center Introduction: Renal fibrosis is the major histopathological change observed in a variety of renal disorders and closely related to renal dysfunction. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) is a well-established model of experimental renal disease, which results in tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that both aliskiren and mizoribine (MZR) ameliorate UUO-induced renal fibrosis. However, the protective effect of combination therapy with aliskiren and MZR against renal fibrosis is unknown. In this study, we investigated the synergistic effects of combination therapy with aliskiren and MZR on UUO-induced fibrosis in rats. Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats underwent UUO, followed by treatment with either aliskiren, MZR, or both drugs. Kidney samples were fixed for histopathology and immunohistochemistry of myofibroblasts (α-smooth muscle actin; α-SMA) and macrophages (ED-1).

The PCR samples (100 μl final volume) contained 5 μl cDNA, 0·2 mm dNTPs, 1·5 mm MgCl2, 20 pmol Igκ-5′ primer, 10 pmol Igκ-3′ primer, and 0·5 μl Taq polymerase (5 U/μl) (Invitrogen). Primer sequences are provided in Supplementary material, see Table S1. Thermal cycling conditions were as follows: 94° for 1 min; 60° for 2 min and 72° for 2 min for 30 cycles, followed by a final extension at 72° for 6 min. Amplified cDNAs were cloned using the TOPO-TA cloning kit (Invitrogen),

and individual clones were sequenced. To identify Vκ segment usage in the cloned cDNA, the NCBI database was queried using IgBLAST. Cohorts of 8-week-old wild-type and dnRAG1 mice were immunized with the hapten NP (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetyl) conjugated to either chicken gamma-globulin (NP-CGG; Biosearch Technologies, Novato, CA) or aminoethylcarboxylmethyl-FICOLL (NP-AECM-FICOLL; Selleck Gefitinib Biosearch Technologies), essentially as described elsewhere.25 To prepare the immunogen, NP-CGG or NP-Ficoll (100 μg) was dissolved

in 10% aluminium potassium sulphate and precipitated by adjusting the pH to 6·2 with 1 m potassium hydroxide. Alum precipitates were washed three times with PBS, and resuspended SB203580 mw in 200 μl PBS. Wild-type and dnRAG1 mice were injected intraperitoneally with either NP-CGG or NP-Ficoll. Some animals received a booster injection of antigen at day 7 (10 μg intravenously). Animals receiving no injection Phosphatidylinositol diacylglycerol-lyase or alum only served as controls. Levels of NP-specific antibodies were measured by ELISA in peripheral blood collected at day 7 (primary) or day 21 (secondary). Serum IgM and IgG levels were quantified using a commercially available sandwich ELISA according to the manufacturer’s instructions (IMMUNO-TEK mouse IgM and IgG immunoglobulin ELISA kit; ZeptoMetrix, Buffalo, NY). The NP-specific antibodies were detected as described by von Bulow et al.26 Optical density was measured at 450 nm using the GENios ELISA plate reader running the Magellan reader

control and data reduction software (Tecan Austria Gmbh). To generate dnRAG1 mice, we prepared a construct containing a RAG1 cDNA encoding a full-length catalytically inactive form of RAG1 under the transcriptional control of an H-2kb promoter, a genomic fragment of the human β globin gene to provide RNA splice donor sites and a polyadenylation signal, and an immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancer element (IgH Eμ) (Fig. 1a). RAG1 expressed from this construct lacked an epitope tag to avoid potential tag-associated artefacts that could alter RAG protein localization, regulation, or activity. Previous studies have shown that this promoter–enhancer combination supports transgene expression in the B-cell and/or T-cell lineage in founder-specific manner.9 Using PCR and Southern blotting approaches to screen founder lines (Fig.

Single cell suspensions were prepared from the thymus, PaLN, and spleen, and filtered with a 70-μM strainer

(Fisher Scientific). PBL were obtained via submandibular puncture using lancets (Golden Rod) and RBC lysed with ACK solution. Islet infiltrating cells were isolated from purified, hand-picked islets. Briefly, pancreases were digested with 2.0 mg/mL collagenase P (Roche) for 20 min at 37°C, and islets purified on a Ficoll (Sigma-Aldrich) gradient. Lymphocytes infiltrating the islets were harvested by dissociating the islets using an enzyme-free cell dissociation solution (Sigma-Aldrich). Naïve CD4+ T cells were isolated from splenocytes using a bead-based naïve CD4 T-cell kit (Miltenyi Biotec). Briefly, total lymphocytes were incubated with a biotin-labeled Ab cocktail that selectively enriches for CD4+ T cells but depletes CD4+CD25+ cells. Enriched

CD4+CD25− T cells were then incubated Palbociclib nmr with CD62L-conjugated micro-beads and isolated using a magnetic column. For general T-cell cultures, 2×105 cells were resuspended in complete RPMI 1640 medium (Gibco) containing 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 100 U/mL penicillin/streptomycin (Gibco), and 50 μM 2-ME (Sigma-Aldrich). T cells were stimulated in 96-well plates coated with varying concentrations of purified anti-CD3 Ab (2C11, selleck chemical eBioscience) and soluble, functional-grade anti-CD28 Ab at 2 μg/mL (37.51, eBioscience). In some experiments supernatants were collected, diluted 1:3 in 1% BSA in PBS, and IL-2 secretion measured 24 h post

stimulation. An anti-IL-2 Ab set (eBioscience) was used at 2 μg/mL on a high-binding ELISA plate (Costar). Total cells from the respective tissues were stained with a variety of fluorochrome-conjugated monoclonal Ab including: anti-CD3 (2C11), anti-CD4 (L3T4), anti-CD8 (Ly-2), anti-CD25 (PC61.5), anti-CD44 (IM7), anti-CD62L (MEL14), and anti-FoxP3 (FJK.16 kit) (eBioscience). Fc receptors were blocked with a 1/200 dilution of rat Ig prior to staining. Intracellular Ki67 (B56; BD Biosciences) staining was done using cytofix/cytoperm reagents (BD Biosciences) according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Data were acquired on a Cyan flow cytometer (DakoCytomation), and analyzed using Summit software (DakoCytomation). In addition, CD4+CD25+ T cells (CD62Llo or CD62Lhi) were sorted by a MoFlo Thiamet G high-speed sorter (DakoCytomation). Intracellular cytokine staining was performed on single cell suspensions from PaLN or islet-infiltrating cells as previously described 50. Briefly, lymphocytes were stimulated with 10 ng/mL PMA (Sigma-Aldrich) and 150 ng/mL ionomycin (Sigma-Aldrich) in complete RPMI 1640 medium for 6 h at 37°C; 10 μg/mL of Brefeldin A (Sigma-Aldrich) was added for the final 4 h of incubation. Cells were stained for surface molecules, fixed and permeabilized with cytokfix/cytoperm reagents (BD Biosciences), and stained for intracellular IFN-γ (XMG1.2) (eBioscience).

Normal interleukin (IL)-7, IL-12 and IL-15 plasma levels were found. In one of the patients sporadic NK T cells were detected at the tumour site. α-Galactosylceramide (αGalCer) stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells or isolated NK T cell lines from both patients induced IFN-γ, but no IL-4 and no response towards autologous tumour Roscovitine molecular weight cells or lysates. The clinical course of disease in both patients was not exceptional with regard to histological subtype and extent of metastatic disease. Therefore, despite a constitutive high peripheral frequency

and in vitroαGalCer responsiveness, the NK T cells in the two RCC patients did not show anti-tumour responsiveness. Invariant NK T cells are a distinct set of T cells characterized by

expression of an invariant T cell receptor (TCR) Vα14-Jα18 chain, coupled preferentially to Vβ8·2,7 or -2 in mice or TCR Vα24-Jα18 and Vβ11 in humans [1]. NK T cells recognize glycolipids, rather than peptide antigens, presented by the major histocompatibility complex class I-like molecule CD1d. This results in rapid release of large amounts of T helper type 1 (Th1) [interferon (IFN)-γ] or Th2 [interleukin (IL)-4] cytokines, which in turn can activate dendritic cells, NK cells and B cells as well as conventional Small molecule library chemical structure CD4+ and CD8+ T cells [2,3]. Thereby, NK T cells play a pivotal role as intermediates between the innate and the adaptive immune system and have the capacity to enhance host immunity to microbial infections and cancer as well as prevent autoimmunity [4–6]. In healthy individuals, the frequency of NK T cells in the peripheral blood is relatively low and ranges between 0·01% to 0·2% of total lymphocytes [7–9]. In cancer patients, NK T cell counts are reduced further compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls [7,8] and usually defective in IFN-γ production upon stimulation [10,11]. Low circulating NK T cell numbers were found to predict poor clinical outcome in patients with Decitabine in vivo head and neck cancer [12]. Attempts have been made

to stimulate NK T cell expansion with the glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) in order to stimulate anti-tumour responses in cancer patients [13–18]. In 10 of 17 non-small cell lung cancer patients this resulted in prolonged median survival time [19]. In an IFN-α trial of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a disease that has not been associated with high NK T cell numbers previously, we detected unusually high levels of circulating NK T cells in two of 14 patients. This prompted us to characterize these cells further to elucidate whether they were related to the therapy and had anti-tumour effectivity. All patients had primary metastatic RCC, patient B2 had clear cell RCC with sarcomatoid component and patient B7 had papillary RCC.

Background: Poor graft survival in renal transplant recipients following transfer highlights the conflict between psychodevelopmental drives of adolescence and the management of a chronic illness. Transition programs improve graft survival reducing future healthcare Vemurafenib chemical structure expenditure incurred

by dialysis. The IPNA/ISN Consensus Statement was recently published to guide practice and service development. Our Transition Support Service provides support, coordination, resources, knowledge and advocacy for patients and families and for paediatric and adult clinicians. Young adults are seen in dedicated transition clinics lead by Youth Mentors with input from nursing co-ordinators from specialty teams. Youth mentors also track and facilitate progress, working with adolescents towards healthcare

independence. Methods: Between 2010 and 2012, 100% of referred patients across four sub-specialties (cardiology, haemophilia, cystic fibrosis and rheumatology) completed surveys at their first and final transition appointments, aimed at evaluating their level of self-management and knowledge about the transition process. From this data, a Nephrology Transition Protocol was developed utilising existing clinical services and the IPNA/ISN Consensus Statement. Results: The pilot, non-nephrology

cohort completed 160 pre-evaluation and 49 post-evaluation surveys. Following the Transition U0126 in vitro Program, more young adults were managing their appointments (90% post-evaluation vs 27% pre-evaluation), medications (100% vs 59%), prescriptions (90% vs 55%) and emergency care (90% vs 53%). Parental responses corroborated the responses of the young adults and documented improved medication concordance after the program (56.3% vs 9.5%). Conclusions: Young adults are more confident, knowledgeable and capable of self-management following intervention from our Transition Support Service. Florfenicol We present our institution’s Nephrology Transition Protocol. 186 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PODOCYTE DEPLETION, AGE, HYPERTENSION AND NEPHRON NUMBER IN NORMAL HUMAN KIDNEYS VG PUELLES1, LA CULLEN-MCEWEN1, GE TAYLOR1, MD HUGHSON2, WE HOY3, JF BERTRAM1 1Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; 2Department of Pathology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA; 3Centre for Chronic Disease, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Aim: This study aims to determine associations between CKD risk factors, including older age, hypertension and low nephron number (Nglom), and podocyte depletion.

05). Compared with the normal control group, the

protein expression of ES were significantly upregulated in the uraemic predialysis and PD group (all (P < 0.05), but the mRNA expression of ES did not have obvious differences in the uraemic predialysis and PD group as compared to the normal control group (P > 0.05). MVD of peritoneal tissue were increased in the uraemic predialysis selleck compound and PD group compared with the normal group (all P < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between VEGF mRNA expression and MVD, bFGF mRNA expression and MVD. Conclusion:  The mRNA expression of VEGF and bFGF, the protein expression of VEGF, bFGF, and ES and microvessel density (MVD) are increased both in the uraemic predialysis and PD patients. These results show that uraemia circumstances and non-physiological compatibility of peritoneal dialysis solution might increase VEGF, bFGF and ES expression and MVD, which might participate in the increment of the peritoneum neoangiogensis and ultrafiltration failure in PD patients. "
“Date draft complete: June 2008 Final submission: click here June 2009 No recommendations possible based on Level I or II evidence. (Suggestions are based on Level III and IV evidence) In the first 4 weeks after transplant, a diet providing at least 1.4 g protein/kg

body weight may reverse negative nitrogen balance and lead to increased muscle mass in kidney transplant recipients. (Level III) Kidney transplant recipients require high dose glucocorticoids in the early post-transplant period. Such high doses old are associated with a higher protein catabolic rate and greater risk of a state of negative nitrogen balance. Unless protein intake is increased to match protein catabolism, poor wound healing, muscle mass loss and other morbidities may result.2 Chronic renal insufficiency in kidney transplant recipients is caused by chronic graft rejection, recurrence of the original renal disease or chronic cyclosporine toxicity.3 In non-transplant

patients with chronic kidney disease, low protein diets have been shown to be effective in delaying end-stage kidney disease.4 This review set out to determine how much dietary protein is required by adult kidney transplant recipients to maintain lean body mass and achieve neutral or positive nitrogen balance; and to determine what level of protein intake might effectively and safely reverse or decelerate the progression of kidney disease with chronic renal insufficiency. Relevant reviews and studies were obtained from the sources below and reference lists of nephrology textbooks, review articles and relevant trials were also used to locate studies. Searches were limited to human studies on adult transplant recipients and to studies published in English.

This cytoplasmic motif is highly similar to motifs found in the cytoplasmic region of DECTIN-1 and CLEC-2 which have been shown to be essential in DECTIN-1-mediated phagocytosis of Zymosan [38] and in CLEC-2-mediated platelet activation [39]. No significant sequence similarities were detected between lectin-like receptors and FLJ31166 or GABARAPL1 (data not shown). Moreover, these two genes do not share any common characteristics and do not appear to be evolutionary related. To reveal the evolutionary relationship between

the novel lectin-like receptors CLEC12B, CLEC9A and murine NKG2i and the other C-type lectin-like proteins encoded in the centromeric part of the NK gene complex, a phylogenetic tree including www.selleckchem.com/ferroptosis.html gene sequences of the NKG2 gene family was constructed selleckchem based on the amino acid sequences of the CTLD (Fig. 2B). As expected, the C-type lectin-like receptors clearly form two separate groups, namely the myeloid and NK receptor group, CLEC9A and CLEC12B clearly belonging to the myeloid subfamily. The tree furthermore shows that CLEC12B is most closely related to DECTIN-1. CLEC9A is similarly high

related to CLEC-1, DECTIN-1 and CLEC12B. mNKG2i on the other hand is most highly related to mNKG2e and is clearly a member of the NK receptor subfamily. Thus, the relationship displayed by the phylogenetic tree corresponds to the arrangement of the receptors in the NK gene complex. It is Molecular motor of interest to note that in the myeloid subgroup, the sequences of

the human receptors show highest homology to their murine homologues, whereas the human NKG2A, C and E receptors appear to show higher homology with each other than with the murine homologues, probably providing an example for convergent evolution of these three receptor chains. Expression of DECTIN-1, CLEC-1, CLEC-2 and LOX-1 has been thoroughly studied; therefore we focused on a comprehensive overview of the expression of only the recently identified genes CLEC12B and CLEC9A as well as FLJ31166 and Gabarapl1 in various cell lineages of haematopoietic origin. In clear contrast to the expression pattern of the already characterized receptors of the myeloid cluster, GABARAPL1 was found in all cell types tested (Fig. 3A), whereas expression of FLJ31166 could not be detected in any of the cells (data not shown). Expression of the C-type lectin-like gene CLEC9A was very low (<100 molecules/one million molecules of β2-microglobulin) in DC, HUVEC, the NK cell line NK-92, the monocytic cell line U-937 and the myeloid–erythroid line K-562. Expression was higher (>300 molecules/one million molecules of β2-microglobulin) in the B lymphoid line RPMI 8866, the B-lymphoblastoid line 721.221 and the T cell line Jurkat.