Search results for "Chains"
showing 10 items of 257 documents
Fungal Dysbiosis and Intestinal Inflammation in Children With Beta-Cell Autoimmunity
2020
Although gut bacterial dysbiosis is recognized as a regulator of beta-cell autoimmunity, no data is available on fungal dysbiosis in the children at the risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D). We hypothesized that the co-occurrence of fungal and bacterial dysbiosis contributes to the intestinal inflammation and autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta-cells in T1D. Fecal and blood samples were collected from 26 children tested positive for at least one diabetes-associated autoantibody (IAA, GADA, IA-2A or ICA) and matched autoantibody-negative children with HLA-conferred susceptibility to T1D (matched for HLA-DQB1 haplotype, age, gender and early childhood nutrition). Bacterial 16S and funga…
HLA and KIR Frequencies in Sicilian Centenarians
2010
Several studies suggest that human longevity appears to be linked inextricably with optimal functioning of the immune system, suggesting that specific genetic determinants may reside in loci that regulate the immune response, as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes. It has been suggested that longevity is associated with positive selection of alleles (i.e., HLA-DR11) or haplotypes (i.e., HLA-B8,DR3) that confer resistance to infectious disease(s). On the other hand, the cytolytic activity of natural killer (NK) cells is controlled by activating and inhibitory cell-surface receptors, including KIR. The genetic diversity of the KIR loci with r…
Associations between atopic diseases and the polymorphic systems ABO, Kidd, Inv and red cell acid phosphatase.
1979
In 239 German patients with atopic conditions (atopic dermatitis, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and acute urticaria) the phenotype and gene distribution of 15 genetic blood polymorphisms (ABO, MNSs, rhesus, P, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, Hp, Gc, Gm, Inv, aP, PGM1, EsD, and 6-PGD) were analyzed and compared with those in 151 selected controls (individuals clinically free of allergic conditions and without allergy in the family history). The incidence of blood group antigens A and B was somewhat higher in patients than in controls. These observations are in accordance with the results of previous studies in other populations. In addition, our observations favor the hypothesis that th…
Serum metabolome analysis by 1H-NMR reveals differences between chronic lymphocytic leukaemia molecular subgroups.
2010
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous disease exhibiting variable clinical course and survival rates. Mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable regions (IGHVs) of CLL cells offers useful prognostic information for high-risk patients, but time and economical costs originally prevented it from being routinely used in a clinical setting. Instead, alternative markers of IGHV status, such as zeta-associated protein (ZAP70) or messenger RNA levels are often used. We report a (1)H-NMR-based metabolomics approach to examine serum metabolic profiles of early stage, untreated CLL patients (Binet stage A) classified on the basis of IGHV mutational status or ZAP70. M…
Mutations in the mu heavy-chain gene in patients with agammaglobulinemia.
1996
Most patients with congenital hypogammaglobulinemia and absent B cells are males with X-linked agammaglobulinemia, which is caused by mutations in the gene for Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk); however, there are females with a similar disorder who do not have mutations in this gene. We studied two families with autosomal recessive defects in B-cell development and patients with presumed X-linked agammaglobulinemia who did not have mutations in Btk.A series of candidate genes that encode proteins involved in B-cell signal-transduction pathways were analyzed by linkage studies and mutation screening.Four different mutations were identified in the mu heavy-chain gene on chromosome 14. In one fa…
Reactive plasmacytoses are expansions of plasmablasts retaining the capacity to differentiate into plasma cells.
1999
Abstract Circulating plasma cells in 10 cases of reactive plasmacytosis had a shared phenotype with early plasma cell (CD19+CD38+ CD138+ CD40+CD45+ CD11a+ CD49e−CD56−). In most cases, a minor subpopulation of CD28+ plasma cells was also detected. Reactive plasma cells were highly proliferative, suggesting the presence of circulating progenitors (plasmablasts). After CD138+ plasma cell removal, highly proliferative CD138− plasmablasts differentiated into CD138+ plasma cells within a few days. This differentiation, which was associated with increased CD38 and decreased HLA-DR expression, was further confirmed by a large increase in intracellular Ig content (associated with Ig secretion) and w…
The cumulative amount of serum-free light chain is a strong prognosticator in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
2011
AbstractIdentification of patients at risk of early disease progression is the mainstay of tailored management in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Although application of established biomarkers is limited by intrinsic detection/readout complexities, abnormality of κ and λ serum-free light chain ratio [sFLC (κ/λ)] was proposed as a straightforward prognosticator in CLL. By analyzing 449 therapy-naive patients, we show that an abnormal sFLC(κ/λ), along with CD38, ZAP-70, IGHV mutations, cytogenetics and stage, independently predicts treatment-free survival (TFS) but becomes prognostically irrelevant if the cumulative amount of clonal and nonclonal FLCs [sFLC(κ + λ)], a variable associated …
Optimization of anemia treatment in hemodialysis patients via reinforcement learning
2013
Objective: Anemia is a frequent comorbidity in hemodialysis patients that can be successfully treated by administering erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). ESAs dosing is currently based on clinical protocols that often do not account for the high inter- and intra-individual variability in the patient's response. As a result, the hemoglobin level of some patients oscillates around the target range, which is associated with multiple risks and side-effects. This work proposes a methodology based on reinforcement learning (RL) to optimize ESA therapy. Methods: RL is a data-driven approach for solving sequential decision-making problems that are formulated as Markov decision processes (MDP…
Effect of aging and hypertension on β-myosin heavy chain in heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats
2001
During aging rat myocardium undergoes structural changes characterized by a shift in the synthesis of myosin heavy chain (MHC) from V1 isoform, composed of two alpha-MHC, to V3 isoform, composed of two beta-MHC. In rat, besides ageing, cardiac hypertrophy as adaptive response to a superimposed pressure load (such as hypertension) is characterized by predominance of V3 myosin isoform. The aim of our study was to evaluate the expression of beta-MHC in right (RV) and left (LV) ventricles of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), a well defined animal model of hypertension, in relation to aging. We used very young (8-week old) and young (15-week old) SHRs and age-matched normotensive Harlan Sp…
Expression of thyroid hormone receptor isoforms in the hypertrophic heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats
2001
Thyroid hormones (THs) enhance MHC alpha gene- and repress MHC beta gene-transcription in the heart, by interacting with specific nuclear receptors (TRs), that bind to regulatory sequences localized upstream of basal promoter of myosin heavy chain (MHC) genes. The overall effects of THs include an increase in V1- and a decrease in V3-myosin isozyme concentration in the heart. Myosin V1 contains two MHC alpha chains and has a higher ATPase activity than V3 isoform, which contains two beta chains. Previous studies on papillary muscles of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) showed that heart hypertrophy is accompanied by a shift from alpha to beta MHC accumulation. The present study was aim…