The Effects of Physical and Chemical Modulating Agents on the Induction of Vaccine-Induced Immune Responses

After the development of the viral-based prostate cancer vaccine, Ad5-PSA, much research has been orientated to help enhance the induced immune response by combining the vaccine with physical and chemical modulating agents, more specifically the polymers polyethylenimine (PEI), chitosan, and chitosan coated with CD3 complex antibodies; all previously shown to stimulate an immune response as isolated gene carriers. To compare the vaccine-induced immune responses between the naked vaccine and the polymer-vaccine combinations, a mouse model using the ovalbumin- specific Ad-OVA vaccine was tested using intracellular cytokine staining (ICS), tetramer staining, and cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte assays to measure the activation of CD8+ T-cells, interferon gamma proteins (INFƒ×), and the induced cytotoxicity to ovalbumin. The Ad-OVA vaccine combined with both chitosan and chitosan with CD3 complex antibodies, both natural polymers, were found to induce similar immune responses to the naked vaccine while the vaccine combined with the synthetic polymer, PEI, diminished the immune response.

Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors Show Unique Distribution and Localization in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus of the Rhesus Monkey

The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) receives auditory information via the auditory nerve coming from the cochlea. It is responsible for much of the integration of auditory information, and it projects this auditory information to higher auditory brain centers for further processing. This study focuses on the DCN of adult Rhesus monkeys to characterize two specific cell types, the fusiform and cartwheel cell, based on morphometric parameters and type of glutamate receptor they express. The fusiform cell is the main projection neuron, while the cartwheel cell is the main inhibitory interneuron. Expression of AMPA glutamate receptor subunits is localized to certain cell types. The activity of the CN depends on the AMPA receptor subunit composition and expression. Immunocytochemistry, using specific antibodies for AMPA glutamate receptor subunits GluR1, GluR2/3 and GluR4, was used in conjunction with morphometry to determine the location, morphological characteristics and expression of AMPA receptor subunits in fusiform and cartwheel cells in the primate DCN. Qualitative as well as quantitative data indicates that there are important morphological differences in cell location and expression of AMPA glutamate receptor subunits between the rodent DCN and that of primates. GluR2/3 is widely expressed in the primate DCN. GluR1 is also widely expressed in the primate DCN. GluR4 is diffusely expressed. Expression of GluR2/3 and GluR4 in the primate is similar to that of the rodent. However, expression of GluR1 is different. GluR1 is only expressed by cartwheel cells in the rodent DCN, but is expressed by a variety of cells, including fusiform cells, in the DCN of the primate.