Search results for " Immunology"

Mast cells as initiators of immunity and host defense

2001

Until recently, mast cells have been viewed primarily as harmful because of their key role as effector cells of allergic and potentially lethal anaphylactic reactions. Their contribution to human health appeared instead to be limited to the elimination of parasites. There is, however, growing evidence for additional beneficial functions of mast cells, particularly regarding the initiation of acquired immune reactions. Thus, mast cells can phagocytize diverse particles, take up antigens, and express a number of receptors, particularly MHC class I and II antigens, ICAM-1 and -3, CD43, CD80, CD86 and CD40L which allow them to interact with T and B lymphocytes. They can also secrete numerous cy…

Sodium chloride is an ionic checkpoint for human TH2 cells and shapes the atopic skin microenvironment.

2019

The incidence of allergic diseases has increased over the past 50 years, likely due to environmental factors. However, the nature of these factors and the mode of action by which they induce the type 2 immune deviation characteristic of atopic diseases remain unclear. It has previously been reported that dietary sodium chloride promotes the polarization of T helper 17 (T(H)17) cells with implications for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Here, we demonstrate that sodium chloride also potently promotes T(H)2 cell responses on multiple regulatory levels. Sodium chloride enhanced interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 production while suppressing interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production i…

2019

Structural DNA nanotechnology provides a viable route for building from the bottom-up using DNA as construction material. The most common DNA nanofabrication technique is called DNA origami, and it allows high-throughput synthesis of accurate and highly versatile structures with nanometer-level precision. Here, it is shown how the spatial information of DNA origami can be transferred to metallic nanostructures by combining the bottom-up DNA origami with the conventionally used top-down lithography approaches. This allows fabrication of billions of tiny nanostructures in one step onto selected substrates. The method is demonstrated using bowtie DNA origami to create metallic bowtie-shaped an…

Organotypic Epigenetic Signature Predicts Bone and Marrow Niche Forming Capacity of Stromal Progenitors in a Novel Mouse Model in Vivo.

2012

Abstract Abstract 2987 Mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSPCs) from numerous tissues are currently tested in clinical trials despite a limited understanding of their in vivo behavior. In this study we used MSPCs from adult and fetal tissues to select the appropriate source for clinical application. We asked whether MSPCs derived from human bone marrow (BM), white adipose tissue (WAT) and umbilical cord (UC), compared to skin fibroblasts, bear an equivalent bone and marrow niche formation potential with of in vivo. Furthermore we evaluated attraction and engraftment of murine as well as human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) into newly formed MSPC-derived niches. To elucidate po…

Biological Description of 109 Cases of Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) from the French Network of BPDCN

2015

Abstract Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm is a clonal disease derived from precursors of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). It is a rare neoplasm involving the skin which may or may not be associated from the outset with a leukemic component. The disease invariably progresses to aggressive leukemic dissemination, leading to a differential diagnosis with acute leukemia. In 2004, we set up a French network to recruit biological data at diagnosis. Diagnosis was according to recommendations (Swerdlow et al, 2008), with, in addition, a mandatory panel of pDC markers (Garnache-Ottou et al, 2009) detected by flow cytometry or by immunohistochemistry on infiltrated blood, bone marrow o…

cFLIPoverexpression in T cells in thymoma‐associated myasthenia gravis

2015

OBJECTIVE: The capacity of thymomas to generate mature CD4+ effector T cells from immature precursors inside the tumor and export them to the blood is associated with thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (TAMG). Why TAMG(+) thymomas generate and export more mature CD4+ T cells than MG(-) thymomas is unknown. METHODS: Unfixed thymoma tissue, thymocytes derived thereof, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), T-cell subsets and B cells were analysed using qRT-PCR and western blotting. Survival of PBMCs was measured by MTT assay. FAS-mediated apoptosis in PBMCs was quantified by flow cytometry. NF-κB in PBMCs was inhibited by the NF-κB-Inhibitor, EF24 prior to FAS-Ligand (FASLG) treatment …

Are Polyfunctional Cells Protective in M. tuberculosis Infection?

2012

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to claim almost 2 million lives each year, and causes active TB disease in over 9 million new cases yearly. Control of TB is further impeded by the strong increase in TB morbidity and mortality due to HIV co-infection, and the rise of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains (WHO. Global tuberculosis control: surveillance, planning, financing: WHO 10 report 2008). Clinical disease does not develop in the vast majority (90-98%) of all Mtb infected individuals, providing compelling evidence that the human system is capable of controlling the pathogen. However, these clinically asymptomatic subjects do …

Alternative NF-κB signaling regulates mTEC differentiation from podoplanin-expressing precursors in the cortico-medullary junction

2015

The thymic epithelium forms specialized niches to enable thymocyte differentiation. While the common epithelial progenitor of medullary and cortical thymic epithelial cells (mTECs and cTECs) is well defined, early stages of mTEC lineage specification have remained elusive. Here, we utilized in vivo targeting of mTECs to resolve their differentiation pathways and to determine whether mTEC progenitors participate in thymocyte education. We found that mTECs descend from a lineage committed, podoplanin (PDPN)-expressing progenitor located at the cortico-medullary junction. PDPN(+) junctional TECs (jTECs) represent a distinct TEC population that builds the thymic medulla, but only partially supp…

2006

Prior studies demonstrate that adenosine, acting at one or more of its receptors, mediates the anti-inflammatory effects of methotrexate in animal models of both acute and chronic inflammation. Both adenosine A2A and A3 receptors contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of methotrexate treatment in the air pouch model of inflammation, and the regulation of inflammation by these two receptors differs at the cellular level. Because different factors may regulate inflammation at different sites we examined the effect of low-dose weekly methotrexate treatment (0.75 mg/kg/week) in a model of acute peritoneal inflammation in adenosine A2A receptor knockout mice and A3 receptor knockout mice an…

Impact of Donor Type on Outcome after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients: Analysis of the German-Austrian Acute …

2014

Abstract Background:Despite recent advances in identifying novel molecular targets in AML patients, intensive chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) still remains a cornerstone of AML therapy. However, outcome of HSCT depends on the availability of a donor and the donor type. Prior studies comparing HSCT from HLA-matched related donors (MRD) with matched unrelated donors (MUD), demonstrated conflicting results with regards to outcome. These conflicting results might be attributed to the genetic heterogeneity of AML. Aims:To analyze outcome with respect to donor type of 952 AML patients who received HSCT in first complete remission (CR) and were tr…