Combination of immunosuppressive drugs leaves specific “fingerprint” on gene expressionin vitro

Multicomponent High-throughput Drug Screening via Inkjet Printing to Verify the Effect of Immunosuppressive Drugs on Immune T Lymphocytes

High-throughput drug screening based on a multi-component array can be used to identify a variety of interaction between cells and drugs for suitable purposes. The signaling of immune cells is affected by specific proteins, diverse drug combinations, and certain immunosuppressive drugs. The effect of a drug on an organism is usually complex and involves interactions at multiple levels. Herein, we developed a multilayer fabricating system through the high-throughput assembly of nanofilms with inkjet printing to investigate the effects of immunosuppressive drugs. Immunosuppressive drugs or agents occasionally cause side effects depending on drug combinations or a patient’s condition. By incorporating various drug combinations for understanding interaction between drugs and immune cells, we were able to develop an immunological drug screening kit with immunosuppressive drugs. Moreover, the ability to control the combination of drugs, as well as their potential for high-throughput preparation should be of great benefit to the biomedical and bioanalytical field.

Novel gene markers of immunosuppressive chemicals in mouse lymph node assay

The murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) is an immunologically based test of the sensitizing potential of immunotoxicants, but also evaluates immunosuppressive potential with good sensitivity and specificity. We conducted the LLNA with calcineurin inhibitors (tacrolimus and cyclosporin A), antimetabolites (methotrexate and azathioprine), steroids (dexamethasone and prednisolone), and an alkylator (cyclophosphamide). We performed a comprehensive analysis of results of gene expression in lymph nodes obtained in the LLNA using a highly sensitive DNA chip, 3D-Gene™, and the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Zfp459 expression increased in all animals treated with immunosuppressive chemicals. Ltf, Cbll1 and Lias expression changed specifically in response to the calcineurin inhibitors, Fmo2 and 9630033F20Rik in response to the antimetabolites, Krt8, Gjb1, Hmha1 and Sfrs7 in response to the steroids, and Gbp1 and Mup5 in response to the alkylator. Therefore, these genes were considered novel markers for immunosuppression and their expression could be used to evaluate the mechanism of action of immunosuppressive chemicals.