Homeostatic T helper 17 cell responses triggered by complex microbiota are maintained in ex vivo intestinal tissue slices.

Segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) are members of the commensal intestinal microbiome. They are known to contribute to the postnatal maturation of the gut immune system, but also to augment inflammatory conditions in chronic diseases such as Crohn's disease. Living primary tissue slices are ultrathin multicellular sections of the intestine and provide a unique opportunity to analyze tissue-specific immune responses ex vivo.

Detection of Immune Checkpoint Receptors - A Current Challenge in Clinical Flow Cytometry.

Immunological therapy principles are increasingly determining modern medicine. They are used to treat diseases of the immune system, for tumors, but also for infections, neurological diseases, and many others. Most of these therapies base on antibodies, but small molecules, soluble receptors or cells and modified cells are also used.

Dexa-BEAM versus MIFAP as salvage regimen for recurrent lymphoma: a prospective randomized multicenter phase II trial with a median follow-up of 14.4 years.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the MIFAP protocol, which had been shown to be effective in patients with relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) or aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), to an established regimen like Dexa-BEAM.

Methods: Seventy-three adult patients with HL (N = 25) or aggressive NHL (N = 48) suffering from relapse or refractory disease were randomly allocated to receive two cycles of Dexa-BEAM (dexamethasone, carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan; N = 37) or MIFAP (mitoxantrone, fludarabine, cytarabine, cisplatin; N = 36) prior to a consolidating high-dose therapy and hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Primary endpoint was the overall response rate (ORR) [complete response (CR) and partial response (PR)] after two courses of salvage chemotherapy.

Advanced Flow Cytometry Assays for Immune Monitoring of CAR-T Cell Applications.

Adoptive immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells has achieved successful remissions in refractory B-cell leukemia and B-cell lymphomas. In order to estimate both success and severe side effects of CAR-T cell therapies, longitudinal monitoring of the patient's immune system including CAR-T cells is desirable to accompany clinical staging. To conduct research on the fate and immunological impact of infused CAR-T cells, we established standardized 13-colour/15-parameter flow cytometry assays that are suitable to characterize immune cell subpopulations in the peripheral blood during CAR-T cell treatment.

Cancer Stem Cells-Origins and Biomarkers: Perspectives for Targeted Personalized Therapies.

The use of biomarkers in diagnosis, therapy and prognosis has gained increasing interest over the last decades. In particular, the analysis of biomarkers in cancer patients within the pre- and post-therapeutic period is required to identify several types of cells, which carry a risk for a disease progression and subsequent post-therapeutic relapse. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells that can drive tumor initiation and can cause relapses.

Humanized mouse model: Hematopoietic stemcell transplantation and tracking using short tandem repeat technology.

Introduction: Models of mice carrying a human immune system, so-called humanized mice, are used increasingly as preclinical models to bridge the gap between model organisms and human beings. Challenges of the humanized mouse model include finding suitable sources for human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and reaching sufficient engraftment of these cells in immunocompromised mice.

Methods: In this study, we compared the use of CD34 HSC from cord blood (CB) vs HSC from adult mobilized peripheral blood.

A photosensitizer delivered by bispecific antibody redirected T lymphocytes enhances cytotoxicity against EpCAM-expressing carcinoma cells upon light irradiation.

Recently conducted clinical trials have provided impressive evidence that chemotherapy resistant metastatic melanoma and several hematological malignancies can be cured using adoptive T cell therapy or T cell-recruiting bispecific antibodies. However, a significant fraction of patients did not benefit from these treatments. Here we have evaluated the feasibility of a novel combination therapy which aims to further enhance the killing potential of bispecific antibody-redirected T lymphocytes by using these cells as targeted delivery system for photosensitizing agents.