Search results for "Hera"

γδ cell-based immunotherapy for cancer.

2019

Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy relies on the development of an efficient and long-lasting anti-tumor response, generally mediated by cytotoxic T cells. gamma delta T cells possess distinctive features that justify their use in cancer immunotherapy. Areas covered: Here we will review our current knowledge on the functions of human gamma delta T cells that may be relevant in tumor immunity and the most recent advances in our understanding of how these functions are regulated in the tumor microenvironment. We will also discuss the major achievements and limitations of gamma delta T cell-based immunotherapy of cancer. Expert opinion: Several small-scale clinical trials have been conducted i…

Anakinra drug retention rate and predictive factors of long-term response in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and adult onset still disease

2019

Background and Objective: Only a few studies have reported long-term efficacy of interleukin (IL)-1 inhibition in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still disease (AOSD). Herein we report on the effectiveness of anakinra (ANA), expressed in terms of drug retention rate (DRR), and evaluate the predictive factors of drug survival in a cohort of patients with sJIA and AOSD. Patients and Methods: This is a multicenter study reviewing retrospectively the medical records from 61 patients with sJIA and 76 with AOSD, all treated with ANA in 25 Italian tertiary referral centers. Results: The cumulative retention rate of ANA at 12-, 24-, 48-, and 60-month of follow-up was 7…

Role of IL-17-producing lymphocytes in severity of multiple sclerosis upon natalizumab treatment.

2016

Objective: Natalizumab is known to prevent T-helper cells entering the central nervous system (CNS). We hypothesize that more pathogenic T-helper cells are present outside the CNS and a possible relationship to disease severity. Methods: Characterization and enrichment of human CD4+IL-17+ cells were performed ex vivo using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from natalizumab-treated relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients ( n = 33), untreated RRMS patients ( n = 13), and healthy controls ( n = 33). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed routinely for patients. Results: Lymphocytes were elevated in peripheral blood of natalizumab-treated patients compared to untr…

From bedside to bench: The missing brick for patients with fungal sepsis

2016

We read with great interest the article by Spec et al. [1] investigating the immunophenotype of T cells from patients with Candida spp. sepsis. This is the first observational study describing the altered immune response of patients with candidemia. The authors included non-neutropenic critically ill patients with candidemia and non-septic controls, and excluded patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, who had undergone solid or bone marrow transplantation or with other known causes of impaired immune response. The authors hypothesized that their findings may help explain why patients with fungal sepsis show a high mortality despite appropriate antifungal therapy. In our opinio…

Phase I Study of the Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) Inhibitor Navoximod (GDC-0919) Administered with PD-L1 Inhibitor (Atezolizumab) in Advanced…

2019

Abstract Purpose: IDO1 induces immune suppression in T cells through l-tryptophan (Trp) depletion and kynurenine (Kyn) accumulation in the local tumor microenvironment, suppressing effector T cells and hyperactivating regulatory T cells (Treg). Navoximod is an investigational small-molecule inhibitor of IDO1. This phase I study evaluated safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of navoximod in combination with atezolizumab, a PD-L1 inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer. Patients and Methods: The study consisted of a 3+3 dose-escalation stage (n = 66) and a tumor-specific expansion stage (n = 92). Navoximod was given orally every 12 hours continuously for 21 consecu…

Immunosuppressive profiles in liquid biopsy at diagnosis predict response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer.

2020

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterised by high pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, refractory and poor NAC responders still face very poor outcome, emphasising the urgent need for tools that facilitate identification of these patients, so that surgery or alternatives to NAC are considered early in the treatment protocol. Materials and methods: We combined metabolomics, exosome circulating miRNAs and flow cytometry experimental approaches in TNBC patients at diagnosis with immunohistochemistry in needle biopsy tumours to generate NAC-response predictive models. We also co-cultured and studied crosstalk between isolated patient…

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition: a new target in anticancer drug discovery

2016

The conversion of cells with an epithelial phenotype into cells with a mesenchymal phenotype, referred to as epithelial-mesenchymal transition, is a critical process for embryonic development that also occurs in adult life, particularly during tumour progression. Tumour cells undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition acquire the capacity to disarm the body's antitumour defences, resist apoptosis and anticancer drugs, disseminate throughout the organism, and act as a reservoir that replenishes and expands the tumour cell population. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition is therefore becoming a target of prime interest for anticancer therapy. Here, we discuss the screening and classification o…

Re-examining the relationship between active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and acute graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic stem cell transplant r…

2015

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy using diode laser activated indocyanine green as an adjunct in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: A randomize…

2016

Abstract Introduction Clinical studies have shown the usefulness of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunctive in periodontal therapy. These studies did not utilize indocyanine green (ICG) as a recently introduced photosensitizer. The aim of this study was to perform a full-mouth double-blind randomized controlled clinical study to test the efficacy of adjunctive aPDT with ICG compared with scaling and root planing (SRP) alone in chronic periodontitis treatment. Materials and methods Fifty patients were selected for this study. All patients received SRP. Then, each patient was randomly assigned to either the test group (aPDT + SRP) or the control group (SRP). aPDT was perfor…

A single preoperative pain neuroscience education: Is it an effective strategy for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome?

2019

Patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery may continue to experience pain despite the intervention. This symptom may be modulated by psychosocial factors including depression, catastrophic thinking, and kinesiophobia. Pain neuroscience education (PNE) has been found to be effective when combined with therapeutic exercise in patients with chronic pain, but this strategy has not been evaluated in patients with persistent hand pain. The findings of this study indicate that a single preoperative PNE session in combination with therapeutic exercise does not provide added benefits in comparison to standard preoperative care plus therapeutic exercise. Future studies should evaluate if pati…