Search results for "Spot"

Inflexible versus flexible: the influence of temperature and photoperiod on pre- and post-eyespot development time in Libellulidae (Odonata)

2016

Temperature and photoperiod are important environmental parameters for organisms. The present study tests the hypothesis that, during embryogenesis, temperature and photoperiod influence pre- and post-eyespot development time in dragonflies of the family Libellulidae differently. Eggs are used from eight species (five different genera, from Africa/Europe, and lentic/lotic habitat preferences). The eggs are reared under different constant or fluctuating temperature and light conditions. There are no general species-specific degree-days for pre- or the post-eyespot development in these species. In all study species, the variance within and between the treatments of the duration in days and th…

Typhoid Fever

2008

Typhoid fever continues to be a serious public health problem, with approximately 22. million cases and more than 200. 000 deaths globally. The disease is most often acquired by ingestion of food or water contaminated by the feces and less frequently by urine or vomitus of patients and carriers. Prolonged low-grade fever, headache, dry cough, alterations of bowel habits, coated tongue, and rose spots are the typical clinical features. Definitive diagnosis requires the isolation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Supportive serological tests are also used. First-choice antibiotic treatment includes fluoroquinolones or third-generation cephalosporins and reduces the mortality rate from 20%…

Analysis of nucleophosmin–anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM‐ALK)‐reactive CD8+ T cell responses in children with NPM‐ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma

2016

Summary Cellular immune responses against the oncoantigen anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) in patients with ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) have been detected using peptide-based approaches in individuals preselected for human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02:01. In this study, we aimed to evaluate nucleophosmin (NPM)-ALK-specific CD8+ T cell responses in ALCL patients ensuring endogenous peptide processing of ALK antigens and avoiding HLA preselection. We also examined the HLA class I restriction of ALK-specific CD8+ T cells. Autologous dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with in-vitro-transcribed RNA (IVT-RNA) encoding NPM–ALK were used as antigen-presenting cells for T cell …

2021

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Measuring CMV-specific cellular immunity may improve the risk stratification and management of patients. IFN-γ ELISpot assays, based on the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with CMV pp65 and IE-1 proteins or peptides, have been validated in clinical settings. However, it remains unclear to which extend the T-cell response to synthetic peptides reflect that mediated by full-length proteins processed by antigen-presenting cells. We compared the stimulating ability of pp65 and IE-1 proteins and corresponding overlapping peptides in 16 HSCT recip…

Blood fluke diseases in Pagellus spp. (Sparidae): Pathology and description of a new species of Skoulekia in the blackspot seabream P. bogaraveo (Brü…

2018

Abstract Pagellus bogaraveo (Brunnich) and P. erythrinus (L.) (Perciformes, Sparidae) are highly appreciated by Mediterranean consumers and good candidates for the Mediterranean aquaculture diversification. Parasitological and histological analyses of both sparid species, collected off Santa Pola (Spanish Mediterranean), have been performed in order to detect blood flukes (Trematoda, Aporocotylidae) and the pathologies related to their presence in these valuable hosts. Eggs of two different species of Skoulekia Alama-Bermejo, Montero, Raga and Holzer, 2011 have been found in both fishes: S. erythrini Palacios-Abella, Georgieva, Mele, Raga, Isbert, Kostadinova and Montero, 2017 in P. erythri…

A unique view of SARS-CoV-2 through the lens of ORF8 protein

2021

Immune evasion is one of the unique characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attributed to its ORF8 protein. This protein modulates the adaptive host immunity through down-regulation of MHC-1 (Major Histocompatibility Complex) molecules and innate immune responses by surpassing the host's interferon-mediated antiviral response. To understand the host's immune perspective concerning the ORF8 protein, a comprehensive study of the ORF8 protein and mutations possessed by it have been performed. Chemical and structural properties of ORF8 proteins from different hosts, such as human, bat, and pangolin, suggest that the ORF8 of SARS-CoV-2 is much closer to OR…

Myocarditis in Mediterranean spotted fever: a case report and a review of the literature

2016

Introduction: Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne acute febrile disease caused by Rickettsia conorii. Most cases follow a benign course, with a case fatality rate of 3–7 % among hospitalized patients. Complications are described mainly in adult patients and include hepatic, renal, neurological and cardiac impairment. Among cardiac complications, pericarditis, myocarditis and heart rhythm disorders are uncommon complications in MSF and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. Case Presentation: We describe a new case of acute myocarditis complicating MSF in an immunocompetent adult patient without risk factors for severe MSF. Conclusion: Myocarditis is an uncommon…

2016

Common birthmarks can be an indicator of underlying genetic disease but are often overlooked. Mongolian blue spots (dermal melanocytosis) are usually localized and transient, but they can be extensive, permanent, and associated with extracutaneous abnormalities. Co-occurrence with vascular birthmarks defines a subtype of phakomatosis pigmentovascularis, a group of syndromes associated with neurovascular, ophthalmological, overgrowth, and malignant complications. Here, we discover that extensive dermal melanocytosis and phakomatosis pigmentovascularis are associated with activating mutations in GNA11 and GNAQ, genes that encode Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. The mutations were det…

Discovery and Subtyping of Neo-Epitope Specific T-Cell Responses for Cancer Immunotherapy: Addressing the Mutanome

2016

Cancer accumulates 10s to 1000s of genomic mutations of which a fraction is immunogenic and may serve as an Achilles' heel of tumor cells. Mutation-specific T cells can recognize these antigens and destroy malignant cells. Strategies to immunotherapeutically address individual tumor mutations employing peptide or mRNA based vaccines are now actively investigated in mice and humans. An important step of determining the therapeutic potential of a mutanome vaccine is the detection of mutation reactive T-cell responses. In this chapter we provide protocols to identify and subtype mutation specific T cells in mice based on IFN-γ ELISpot and flow cytometry.

2021

BackgroundMultiple synergistic combination approaches with cancer drugs are developed to overcome primary resistance to immunotherapy; however, the mechanistic rationale to combine chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with immune checkpoint inhibitors remains elusive.MethodsThis study described the immunological landscape of tumor microenvironment (TME) exposed to CRT. Tumor samples from patients with rectal cancer (n=43) treated with neoadjuvant CRT or radiotherapy were analyzed by nanostring and immunohistochemistry. Studies in mice were performed using three syngeneic tumors (TC1, CT26 and MC38). Tumor-bearing mice were treated either with platinum-based CRT, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Anti-CTLA-4…