Cytokine gene expression in the skin and peripheral blood of atopic dermatitis patients and healthy individuals.

OBJECTIVES: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an increasingly common, chronic, relapsing, inflammatory skin disease characterized by impaired epidermal barrier function and cutaneous inflammation. The prevalence of AD has steadily increased during the past few decades. The aim of this study was to comparatively investigate cytokine gene expression in the skin and peripheral blood of atopic dermatitis patients and healthy individuals.

Hormonal function and proliferative activity of thymic cells in humans: immunocytochemical correlations.

Objectives: The immunocytochemical study of the localization of hormones in thymic cells has been performed to clarify possible correlations of their expression with proliferative activity of thymocytes.

Methods: We used commercial antibodies to serotonin, melatonin, somatostatin, glucagon, gastrin, beta-endorphin and histamine, and ABP or BSP kits for visualization of reaction. Computer image analysis was used to find correlations between hormone production and proliferative activity of thymocytes.

Interaction between T Lymphocytes and Epithelial Cells in Thymus.

The development (and in some part, the functioning) of T lymphocytes occurs providing their contact with epithelial cells. The interaction between T lymphocytes and epithelium is displayed especially clear in the thymus. Chemotactic signals, the source of which are thymic epithelial cells (TEC), play important role in thymus seeding with precursor cells.

What the Thymus is Needed for? Intrathymic Events and Their Uniqueness.

In this report we are reviewing principal data on development of T cell lineage in the thymus and some intrathymic factors. The review is concentrated on the main events of T cell intrathymic development and T cell receptor (TCR) formation, thymocyte clone selection and differentiation of T cell subpopulations. Precursor cells migrate into the thymus overcoming hemato-thymic barrier.

Tau-protein expression in human blood lymphocytes: a promising marker and suitable sample for life-time diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Taking into account the hypothesis that Alzheimer's disease (AD) might be a systemic disease that affects several tissues in the body, the aim of this study was to try to detect the expression of tau-protein in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) in patients with AD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from patients with AD (n=16, age 67-98) and from volunteers without psychoneurological pathology (n=10, age 65-78). PBL were isolated on Ficoll-Paque gradient centrifugation.