2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Development of new immunotherapy through activation of Langerhans cells
| Project/Area Number |
25461715
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Dermatology
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| Research Institution | Nippon Medical School |
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Principal Investigator |
Takahashi Hidemi 日本医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (40221361)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
|
| Keywords | Langerhans cells / Dendritic cells / Langerin / DC-SIGN / DEC-205 / cross-presentation / α-galactosylceramide |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Langerhans cells (LC) belong to dendritic cell lineage, and mainly reside within surface compartment such as skin and mucosa. Similar to keratinocytes (KCs) within the skin, the LCs express E-cadherin, by which LC are tethered within the skin and search external foreign antigenic molecules through their unique receptor, langerin. LCs also express DEC-205 molecules and the DEC-205-positive cells have the capacity to present processed antigenic fragment from external antigens through class I MHC molecules to suitable T cells. Here, we found α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), a known stimulant for natural killer T (NKT) cells, efficiently activate the DEC-205-positive DCs/LCs and induce cellular immunity organized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that eliminate virus-infected cells and cancer cells.
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| Free Research Field |
医歯薬学
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