Kazuhiro Motoki

Mechanisms of the Antimetastatic Effect in the Liver and of the Hepatocyte Injury Induced by α-Galactosylceramide in Mice

The role of mouse liver NK1.1 Ag+ T (NKT) cells in the antitumor effect of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) has been unclear. We now show that, whereas α-GalCer increased the serum IFN-γ concentration and alanine aminotransferase activity in NK cell-depleted C57BL/6 (B6) mice and B6-beige/beige mice similarly to its effects in control B6 mice, its enhancement of the antitumor cytotoxicity of liver mononuclear cells (MNCs) was abrogated. Depletion of both NK and NKT cells in B6 mice reduced all these effects of α-GalCer. Injection of Abs to IFN-γ also inhibited the α-GalCer-induced increase in antitumor cytotoxicity of MNCs. α-GalCer induced the expression of Fas ligand on NKT cells in the liver of B6 mice. Whereas α-GalCer did not increase serum alanine aminotransferase activity in B6-lpr/lpr mice and B6-gld/gld mice, it increased the antitumor cytotoxicity of liver MNCs. The α-GalCer-induced increase in survival rate apparent in B6 mice injected intrasplenically with B16 tumor cells was abrogated in beige/beige mice, NK cell-depleted B6 mice, and B6 mice treated with Abs to IFN-γ. Depletion of CD8+ T cells did not affect the α-GalCer-induced antitumor cytotoxicity of liver MNCs but reduced the effect of α-GalCer on the survival of B6 mice. Thus, IFN-γ produced by α-GalCer-activated NKT cells increases both the innate antitumor cytotoxicity of NK cells and the adaptive antitumor response of CD8+ T cells, with consequent inhibition of tumor metastasis to the liver. Moreover, NKT cells mediate α-GalCer-induced hepatocyte injury through Fas-Fas ligand signaling.

Enhancing effects of α-, β-monoglycosylceramides on natural killer cell activity

Abstract We examined in vitro and in vivo natural killer (NK) cell activity enhancing effects of α-, β-galactosylceramide (GalCer) and α-, β-glucosylceramide (GluCer) which have the same ceramide moiety, and of other α-, β-GalCer having a different ceramide portion, and found that α-types show stronger enhancing effects than β-types and the α-GalCer possesses the most potent activity among GalCers and GluCers having the same ceramide moiety. When the comparison of tumor growth inhibitory effects of α-, β-GalCer on mice subcutaneously inoculated with B16 cells was performed, the α-GalCer showed stronger suppressive activity than its β-type, paralleling their enhancing effects on NK cell activity. These results suggest that the manner of combination between sugar and ceramide plays an important role in antitumor activity as well as enhancing effect on NK cell activity of GalCers.

Antitumor activity of alpha-galactosylceramide, KRN7000, in mice with the melanoma B16 hepatic metastasis and immunohistological study of tumor infiltrating cells.

Liver metastasis of primary tumors is clinically a major problem. We examined the antitumor activity of KRN7000, an alpha-galactosylceramide, in mice with liver metastasis of the B16 melanoma. KRN7000 significantly inhibited tumor growth in the liver, and its potency was similar to that of interleukin-12. The KRN7000 administration resulted in a high percentage of cured mice, which acquired tumor-specific immunity. To study what kinds of antitumor effector cells participated in killing tumor cells, we then performed immunohistological analysis of tumor-infiltrating cells, and found that KRN7000 induced marked invasion of NK1.1+ cells, CD8+ cells, and F4/80+ cells (macrophages) into B16 tumor nodules. In addition, it appeared that KRN7000-treated, liver-associated macrophages possessed strong lytic activity against tumor cells. These results suggest that NK cells, NK1.1+ T (NKT) cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and macrophages play an important role in killing tumor cells in the liver, and that KRN7000 may be useful for the treatment of cancer liver metastasis.

Age-Associated Augmentation of the Synthetic Ligand- Mediated Function of Mouse NK1.1 Ag+ T Cells: Their Cytokine Production and Hepatotoxicity In Vivo and In Vitro

We recently reported that the direct antitumor effectors in the liver induced by α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) are NK cells that are activated by the IFN-γ produced from NK1.1 Ag+ T cells (NKT cells) specifically stimulated with α-GalCer, whereas NKT cells cause hepatocyte injury through the Fas-Fas ligand pathway. In the present study, we investigated how mouse age affects the α-GalCer-induced effect using young (6-wk-old), middle-aged (30-wk-old), and old (75-wk-old) mice. The serum IFN-γ and IL-4 concentrations as well as alanine aminotransferase levels after the α-GalCer injection increased in an age-dependent manner. An α-GalCer injection also induced an age-dependent increase in the Fas ligand expression on liver NKT cells. Under the stimulus of α-GalCer in vitro, the liver mononuclear cells from old and middle-aged mice showed vigorous proliferation, remarkable antitumor cytotoxicity, and enhanced production of both IFN-γ and IL-4 in comparison to those of young mice, all of which were mediated mainly by NK1.1+ cells. Furthermore, liver mononuclear cells from old mice stimulated with α-GalCer showed a more potent Fas-Fas ligand-mediated cytotoxicity against primary cultured hepatocytes than did those from young mice. Most α-GalCer-injected old mice, but no young mice, died, while anti-IFN-γ Ab pretreatment completely inhibited mouse mortality. However, α-GalCer-induced hepatic injury did not improve at all by anti-IFN-γ Ab treatment, and the Fas-ligand expression of liver NKT cells did not change. Taken together, the synthetic ligand-mediated function of NKT cells is age-dependently up-regulated, and the produced IFN-γ is responsible for α-GalCer-induced antitumor immunity and the mouse mortality, while hepatic injury was unexpectedly found to be independent of IFN-γ.

Antitumor activities of α-, β-monogalactosylceramides and four diastereomers of an α-galactosylceramide

We examined antitumor activities of α-, β-monoglycosylceramides (MonoCers) and four diastereomers of an α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), and found that the α-GalCer among MonoCers and the 2S, 3R type among diastereomers show the strongest antitumor effects.

Determination of human urinary hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate as their unsaturated disaccharides by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the determination of hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulphate (CS) and dermatan sulphate (DS) was developed. HA, CS and DS were converted to the corresponding unsaturated disaccharides by digestion with chondroitinase ABC and/or chondroitinase AC-II and determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection using 2-cyanoacetamide as a post-column derivatization reagent. The calibration graphs for the unsaturated disaccharides were linear over the range 2 ng - 2 micrograms for each unsaturated disaccharide. This method was applied to the analysis of normal human urine.

Efficient Antibody Production upon Suppression of O Mannosylation in the Yeast Ogataea minuta

ABSTRACT When antibodies were expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Ogataea minuta, we found that abnormal O mannosylation occurred in the secreted antibody. Yeast-specific O mannosylation is initiated by the addition of mannose at serine (Ser) or threonine (Thr) residues in the endoplasmic reticulum via protein O mannosyltransferase (Pmt) activity. To suppress the addition of O-linked sugar chains on antibodies, we examined the possibility of inhibiting Pmt activity by the addition of a Pmt inhibitor during cultivation. The Pmt inhibitor was found to partially suppress the O mannosylation on the antibodies. Surprisingly, the suppression of O mannosylation was associated with an increased amount of assembled antibody (H2L2) and enhanced the antigen-binding activity of the secreted antibody. In this study, we demonstrated the expression of human antibody in O. minuta and elucidated the relationship between O mannosylation and antibody production in yeast.

Essential Role of Bystander Cytotoxic CD122+CD8+ T Cells for the Antitumor Immunity Induced in the Liver of Mice by α-Galactosylceramide

We recently reported that NK cells and CD8+ T cells contribute to the antimetastatic effect in the liver induced by α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer). In the present study, we further investigated how CD8+ T cells contribute to the antimetastatic effect induced by α-GalCer. The injection of anti-CD8 Ab into mice 3 days before α-GalCer injection (2 days before intrasplenic injection of B16 tumors) did not inhibit IFN-γ production nor did it reduce the NK activity of liver mononuclear cells after α-GalCer stimulation. However, it did cause a reduction in the proliferation of liver mononuclear cells and mouse survival time. Furthermore, although the depletion of NK and NKT cells (by anti-NK1.1 Ab) 2 days after α-GalCer injection no longer decreased the survival rate of B16 tumor-injected mice, the depletion of CD8+ T cells did. CD122+CD8+ T cells in the liver increased after α-GalCer injection, and antitumor cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells in the liver gradually increased until day 6. These CD8+ T cells exhibited an antitumor cytotoxicity toward not only B16 cells, but also EL-4 cells, and their cytotoxicity significantly decreased by the depletion of CD122+CD8+ T cells. The critical, but bystander role of CD122+CD8+ T cells was further confirmed by adoptive transfer experiments into CD8+ T cell-depleted mice. Furthermore, it took 14 days after the first intrasplenic B16/α-GalCer injection for the mice to generate CD8+ T cells that can reject s.c. rechallenged B16 cells. These findings suggest that α-GalCer activates bystander antitumor CD122+CD8+ T cells following NK cells and further induces an adaptive antitumor immunity due to tumor-specific memory CD8+ CTLs.

Immunostimulatory activities of monoglycosylated α-d-pyranosylceramides

Abstract We compared the immunostimulatory effects of chemically synthesized α-galactosylceramides (α-GalCers), α-glucosylceramides (α-GluCers), 6″-monoglycosylated α-GalCer and 6″- or 4″-monoglycosylated α-GluCer and made the following observations: (1) the length of the fatty acid side chain in the ceramide portions greatly affects the immunostimulatory effects of α-GalCers and α-GluCers; (2) the configuration of the 4″-hydroxyl group of the inner pyranose moiety plays an important role in the immunostimulatory effects of monoglycosylated α- d -pyranosylceramides; (3) the free 4″-hydroxyl group of the inner pyranose of monoglycosylated α- d -pyranosylceramides plays a more important role in their immunostimulatory effects than the free 6″-hydroxyl group.

Immunostimulatory activities of mono- or diglycosylated α-galactosylceramides

Abstract We examined the effects of 2″- or 3″-monoglycosylated α-galactosylceramides (α-GalCers) and 2″,3″-diglycosylated α-GalCers on allogeneic MLR and the proliferation of murine spleen cells. It was found that their ceramide portions greatly affect their immunostimulatory activities, and that the 3″-hydroxyl group plays a more important role in the immunostimulatory effects of α-GalCer derivatives than the 2″-hydroxyl group.