@phdthesis{GonzalezLeal2014,
  author    = {Gonzalez-Leal, Iris Janet},
  title     = {Roles of cathepsins B and L in the Th1/Th2 polarization by dendritic cells},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114397},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease that can be manifested through different clinical forms, ranging from cutaneous to visceral. The host response against Leishmania spp. is greatly dependent on T cell-mediated immunity, in which T helper 1 responses are associated with macrophage activation and elimination of the parasite, while regulatory T cells and T helper 2 responses are correlated with parasite survival and persistence of infection. Leishmania uses different virulence factors as strategies for evading the immune response of the host. One of them are cathepsin-like cysteine proteases, which are currently under extensive investigation as targets for drug development. Previous studies with inhibitors of cathepsins B and L in vivo revealed an outstanding modulation of the host T helper cell response. However, the mechanisms behind these observations were not further investigated. Given the urgent need for better treatments against leishmaniasis, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects that the lack of cathepsin B and L activity have on the signals that dendritic cells use to instruct T helper cell polarization in response to infection with Leishmania major. The cathepsin inhibitors tested showed low or no cytotoxicity in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, and dendritic cells and macrophages could be generated from cathepsin B and cathepsin L-deficient mice without apparent alterations in their phenotype in comparison to wild-type controls. Furthermore, lack of cathepsin B and L activity showed no impact in the rate of promastigote processing by dendritic cells. Cathepsin B and cathepsin L-deficient macrophages showed no differences in parasite proliferation and capacity to produce nitric oxide in comparison to wild-type macrophages. In response to the parasite, dendritic cells treated with a cathepsin B inhibitor and dendritic cells from cathepsin B-deficient mice showed higher levels of expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules than dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or wild-type controls, but it was not accompanied by changes in the expression of costimulatory molecules. Wild-type dendritic cells and macrophages are not able to express the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-12 in response to promastigotes. However, cells treated with a cathepsin B inhibitor or cells deficient for cathepsin B were able to express IL-12, whilethe expression of other cytokines -including IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-remained unchanged. These characteristics point towards a more "pro-Th1" profile of dendritic cells in the absence of cathepsin B. This data is the first report on IL-12 regulation depending on cathepsin B. The IL-12 up-regulation observed was already present at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, it was also present in macrophages and dendritic cells in response to LPS, and the latter had a higher capacity to induce T cell helper 1 polarization in vitro than wild-type dendritic cells. The activation of different signaling pathways was analyzed, but the up-regulation of IL-12 could not be attributed to modulation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NFkappaB), p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extra-cellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 pathways. Thus, the mechanism behind IL-12 regulation by cathepsin B remains to be elucidated, and the impact of these effects is yet to be confirmed in vivo. Altogether it is tempting to speculate that cathepsin B, in addition to its role in processing endocytosed material, is involved in the modulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12.},
  subject      = {Leishmaniose},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{JordanGarrote2014,
  author    = {Jordan Garrote, Ana-Laura},
  title     = {The role of host dendritic cells during the effector phase of intestinal graft-versus-host disease},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-102130},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Monocytes can be functionally divided in two subsets, both capable to differentiate into dendritic cells (DCs): CX3CR1loCCR2+ classical monocytes, actively recruited to the sites of inflammation and direct precursors of inflammatory DCs; and CX3CR1hiCCR2- non-classical monocytes, characterized by CX3CR1-dependent recruitment to non-inflamed tissues. Yet, the function of non-classical monocyte-derived DCs (nc-mo-DCs), and the factors, which trigger their recruitment and DC differentiation, have not been clearly defined to date. Here we show that in situ differentiated nc-moDCs mediate immunosuppression in the context of intestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Employing multi-color confocal microscopy we observed a dramatic loss of steady state host-type CD103+ DC subset immediately after transplantation, followed by an enrichment of immune-regulatory CD11b+ nc-moDCs. Parabiosis experiments revealed that tissue-resident non-classical CX3CR1+ monocytes differentiated in situ into intestinal CD11b+ nc-moDCs after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Differentiation of this intestinal DC subset depended on CSF-1 but not on Flt3L, thus defining the precursors as monocytes and not pre-DCs. Importantly, CX3CR1 but not CCR2 was required for this DC subset differentiation, hence defining the precursors as non-classical monocytes. In addition, we identify PD-L1 expression by CX3CR1+ nc-moDCs as the major mechanism they employ to suppress alloreactive T cells during acute intestinal GVHD. All together, we demonstrate that host nc-moDCs surprisingly mediate immunosuppression in the context of murine intestinal GVHD - as opposed to classical "inflammatory" monocyte-derived dendritic cells (mo-DCs) - via coinhibitory signaling. This thorough study unravels for the first time a biological function of a - so far only in vitro and phenotypically described - DC subset. Our identification of this beneficial immunoregulatory DC subset points towards alternate future strategies in underpinning molecular pathways to foster their function. We describe an unexpected mechanism of nc-moDCs in allo-HCT and intestinal GVHD, which might also be important for autoimmune disorders or infections of the gastrointestinal tract.},
  subject      = {Knochenmarktransplantation},
  language  = {en}
}