@article{BuchnerBlancoRedondoBunzetal.2013, author = {Buchner, Erich and Blanco Redondo, Beatriz and Bunz, Melanie and Halder, Partho and Sadanandappa, Madhumala K. and M{\"u}hlbauer, Barbara and Erwin, Felix and Hofbauer, Alois and Rodrigues, Veronica and VijayRaghavan, K. and Ramaswami, Mani and Rieger, Dirk and Wegener, Christian and F{\"o}rster, Charlotte}, title = {Identification and Structural Characterization of Interneurons of the Drosophila Brain by Monoclonal Antibodies of the W{\"u}rzburg Hybridoma Library}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0075420}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97109}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Several novel synaptic proteins have been identified by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) of the W{\"u}rzburg hybridoma library generated against homogenized Drosophila brains, e.g. cysteine string protein, synapse-associated protein of 47 kDa, and Bruchpilot. However, at present no routine technique exists to identify the antigens of mAbs of our library that label only a small number of cells in the brain. Yet these antibodies can be used to reproducibly label and thereby identify these cells by immunohistochemical staining. Here we describe the staining patterns in the Drosophila brain for ten mAbs of the W{\"u}rzburg hybridoma library. Besides revealing the neuroanatomical structure and distribution of ten different sets of cells we compare the staining patterns with those of antibodies against known antigens and GFP expression patterns driven by selected Gal4 lines employing regulatory sequences of neuronal genes. We present examples where our antibodies apparently stain the same cells in different Gal4 lines suggesting that the corresponding regulatory sequences can be exploited by the split-Gal4 technique for transgene expression exclusively in these cells. The detection of Gal4 expression in cells labeled by mAbs may also help in the identification of the antigens recognized by the antibodies which then in addition to their value for neuroanatomy will represent important tools for the characterization of the antigens. Implications and future strategies for the identification of the antigens are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{MorschhaeuserRamirezZavalaWeyleretal.2013, author = {Morschh{\"a}user, Joachim and Ram{\´i}rez-Zavala, Bernardo and Weyler, Michael and Gildor, Tsvia and Schmauch, Christian and Kornitzer, Daniel and Arkowitz, Robert}, title = {Activation of the Cph1-Dependent MAP Kinase Signaling Pathway Induces White-Opaque Switching in Candida albicans}, series = {PLoS Pathogens}, journal = {PLoS Pathogens}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1003696}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97281}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Depending on the environmental conditions, the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans can undergo different developmental programs, which are controlled by dedicated transcription factors and upstream signaling pathways. C. albicans strains that are homozygous at the mating type locus can switch from the normal yeast form (white) to an elongated cell type (opaque), which is the mating-competent form of this fungus. Both white and opaque cells use the Ste11-Hst7-Cek1/Cek2 MAP kinase signaling pathway to react to the presence of mating pheromone. However, while opaque cells employ the transcription factor Cph1 to induce the mating response, white cells recruit a different downstream transcription factor, Tec1, to promote the formation of a biofilm that facilitates mating of opaque cells in the population. The switch from the white to the opaque cell form is itself induced by environmental signals that result in the upregulation of the transcription factor Wor1, the master regulator of white-opaque switching. To get insight into the upstream signaling pathways controlling the switch, we expressed all C. albicans protein kinases from a tetracycline-inducible promoter in a switching-competent strain. Screening of this library of strains showed that a hyperactive form of Ste11 lacking its N-terminal domain (Ste11ΔN467) efficiently stimulated white cells to switch to the opaque phase, a behavior that did not occur in response to pheromone. Ste11ΔN467-induced switching specifically required the downstream MAP kinase Cek1 and its target transcription factor Cph1, but not Cek2 and Tec1, and forced expression of Cph1 also promoted white-opaque switching in a Wor1-dependent manner. Therefore, depending on the activation mechanism, components of the pheromone-responsive MAP kinase pathway can be reconnected to stimulate an alternative developmental program, switching of white cells to the mating-competent opaque phase.}, language = {en} } @article{RydzekNerreterPengetal.2019, author = {Rydzek, Julian and Nerreter, Thomas and Peng, Haiyong and Jutz, Sabrina and Leitner, Judith and Steinberger, Peter and Einsele, Hermann and Rader, Christoph and Hudecek, Michael}, title = {Chimeric Antigen Receptor Library Screening Using a Novel NF-kappa B/NFAT Reporter Cell Platform}, series = {Molecular Therapy}, volume = {27}, journal = {Molecular Therapy}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.11.015}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227193}, pages = {287-299}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell immunotherapy is under intense preclinical and clinical investigation, and it involves a rapidly increasing portfolio of novel target antigens and CAR designs. We established a platform that enables rapid and high-throughput CAR-screening campaigns with reporter cells derived from the T cell lymphoma line Jurkat. Reporter cells were equipped with nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B) and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) reporter genes that generate a duplex output of enhanced CFP (ECFP) and EGFP, respectively. As a proof of concept, we modified reporter cells with CD19-specific and ROR1-specific CARs, and we detected high-level reporter signals that allowed distinguishing functional from non-functional CAR constructs. The reporter data were highly reproducible, and the time required for completing each testing campaign was substantially shorter with reporter cells (6 days) compared to primary CAR-T cells (21 days). We challenged the reporter platform to a large-scale screening campaign on a ROR1-CAR library, and we showed that reporter cells retrieved a functional CAR variant that was present with a frequency of only 6 in 1.05 x 10(6). The data illustrate the potential to implement this reporter platform into the preclinical development path of novel CAR-T cell products and to inform and accelerate the selection of lead CAR candidates for clinical translation.}, language = {en} }