Search results for " Immunology"

Decreased Fibrogenesis After Treatment with Pirfenidone in a Newly Developed Mouse Model of Intestinal Fibrosis

2016

BACKGROUND Fibrosis as a common problem in patients with Crohn's disease is a result of an imbalance toward excessive tissue repair. At present, there is no specific treatment option. Pirfenidone is approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with both antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects. We subsequently investigated the impact of pirfenidone treatment on development of fibrosis in a new mouse model of intestinal fibrosis. METHODS Small bowel resections from donor mice were transplanted subcutaneously into the neck of recipients. Animals received either pirfenidone (100 mg/kg, three times daily, orally) or vehicle. RESULTS After administration of pirfenidone, a signif…

Hematopoietic peripheral circulating blood stem cells as an independent marker of good transfusion management in patients with β-thalassemia: results…

2016

Background Beyond hemoglobin (Hb) levels and performance status, further surrogate markers of appropriate transfusion management should improve the quality of thalassemia care. We investigated the levels of peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells as an independent marker of appropriate hematopoietic balance in patients with thalassemia. Study design and methods Peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells, colony-forming unitgranulocyte, erythrocyte, macrophage, magakaryocyte (CF-GEMM), colony-forming unitgranulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM), and erythroidburst-forming units (BFU-E) were assayed, according to standard procedures. Patients with thalassemia major (TM) and thalassemia intermedia (TI) we…

A Pilot Study on Markers of Genetic Predisposition in Tuberculous Pneumonia Patients In Latgale

2019

Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the top ten leading causes of death in the world. Compared to other Baltic and Eastern European countries, TB incidence (24.8 new cases per 100 000 people in 2017) in Latvia is relatively high. One of the regions with the highest TB incidence is Latgale (31.1 cases per 100 000 people). The aim of this pilot study was to identify markers of genetic predisposition to TB in Latgale. The study included 26 patients (16 males and 10 females) aged between 18 and 85 with bilateral TB pneumonia and without HIV infection. HLA typing was performed in HLA-DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 loci by a polymerase chain reaction with low resolution sequence-specific primers. …

Expression of endocan and vascular endothelial growth factor in recurrent minor aphthous ulcers

2019

Background Recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU) are common painful inflammatory lesions of the mucous lining of the mouth. Endocan, previously identified as endothelial cell specific molecule-1, is implicated as a vital player in the regulation of several inflammatory processes. A number of inflammatory cytokines and pro-angiogenic growth factors including VEGF upregulate endothelial cells synthesis and expression of endocan. Material and methods Clinical scores of pain and ulcer size as well as level of endocan and VEGF were determined in swaps from aphthous ulcer and contra lateral normal mucosa in 30 patients (nine males and twenty one females) with age ranging from 18 to 45 years and mean ag…

2020

BACKGROUND: Detailed descriptions of the patterns of disease progression of deceased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have not been well explored. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to explore disease progression patterns and risk factors associated with mortality of deceased patients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and imaging data (from 15 January to 26 March 2020) of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were collected retrospectively from two hospitals, Hubei province, China. Disease progression patterns of patients were analyzed based on laboratory data, radiological findings, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. Ris…

Phase Ib study of poly-epitope peptide vaccination to thymidylate synthase (TSPP) and GOLFIG chemo-immunotherapy for treatment of metastatic colorect…

2015

ABSTRACT: Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a tumor-associated enzyme critical for DNA replication and main 5′-fluorouracil (5′-FU) target. TSPP/VAC1 is a multi-arm trial phase-Ib trial program aimed to investigate the toxicity and biomodulatory activity of a poly-epitope-peptide vaccine to TS (TSPP) in cancer patients (pts). Here, we present the results of the TSPP/VAC1/arm C trial aimed to evaluate TSPP in combination with chemo-immunotherapy in pretreated metastatic colo-rectal cancer (mCRC) pts. Twenty-nine pts, 14 males and 15 females, received poly-chemotherapy with gemcitabine [GEM; 1,000 mg/sqm, day-1], oxaliplatin [OX; 80 mg/sqm, day-2], levofolinate [100 mg/sqm, days 1–2], bolus/infusi…

The Antiviral Properties of Cyclosporine. Focus on Coronavirus, Hepatitis C Virus, Influenza Virus, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infections

2020

This review updates current knowledge regarding the risk of viral infections, including COVID-19, in patients treated with cyclosporine. We also shortly refer to bacterial infections and parasitic infestations in patients treated with cyclosporin. Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive drug, which is widely used in medicine, including in the treatment of autoimmune skin diseases in dermatology, rheumatology, ophthalmology and nephrology, and in organ transplantation. A usual concern associated with immunosuppressive treatment is the potential risk of infections. Interestingly, several data indicate a relatively low risk of infections, especially viral infections, in patients receiving cyclosp…

Tissue microenvironment dictates the fate and tumor-suppressive function of type 3 ILCs

2017

Nussbaum et al. found that tumor suppression through innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) cannot be predicted solely based on the ILC phenotype and lineage but that their immune properties are shaped both by their ontogeny and by the tissue microenvironment they reside in.

Evolutionary conserved pathway of the innate immune response after a viral insult in Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin

2019

Despite the apparent simplicity of the body organization of echinoderms, their immune system is competent to perform a complex innate immune response, which is far from being well understood. The echinoderms represent the most advanced invertebrates that form a bridge with the primitive chordates. In fact, they possess numerous receptors and effectors that are used to obtain a fast immune response. After an infection, the humoral and cellular immune response determines a network in which the main protagonists are membrane and endosomal receptors. The recognition of nonself molecules by specific membrane receptors triggers the immune response, stimulating consecutive intracellular events. We…

ILCs and T Cells Competing for Space: More Than a Numbers Game.

2017

T cell homeostasis critically depends on interleukin-7 (IL-7). In this issue of Immunity, Martin et al. (2017) provide evidence that IL-7 availability is regulated through a "cytokine sink" involving innate lymphoid cells that compete for and consume IL-7 and thereby restrict T cell homeostasis in lymphoid organs.