Publications by authors named "Brinke A"

Introduction: Upon infection, T cell-driven B cell responses in GC reactions induce memory B cells and antibody-secreting cells that secrete protective antibodies. How formation of specifically long-lived plasma cells is regulated via the interplay between specific B and CD4+ T cells is not well understood. Generally, antibody levels decline over time after clearance of the primary infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Understanding antigen-specific T-cell responses is crucial for advancing immunotherapies and vaccine development. This study proposes a novel approach combining two complementary assays: the 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay (tracking proliferation over 0-48 h) and the VPD450 dye dilution assay (tracking proliferation over 4-6 days). Integrating these techniques provides additional insights into T-cell proliferation kinetics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The development of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells is an ongoing process resulting in the formation of various Tfh subsets. Despite advancements, the precise impact of T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation on this process remains incompletely understood. This study explores how TCR-CD3 signaling strength influences naive CD4 T cell differentiation into Tfh-like cells and the concurrent expression of interleukin-21 (IL-21), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The development of the CompOsite iNdexes For Response in asthMa (CONFiRM) aimed to create patient-centered tools that measure responses to biologics for severe asthma in both adults and children, integrating clinical data and quality of life (QoL) indicators.
  • - Experts and patients collaborated to identify significant outcome changes and devised CONFiRM scores, which demonstrated high levels of agreement on key factors, with patients emphasizing the importance of quality of life more than healthcare professionals did.
  • - The CONFiRM scores effectively measure treatment response, with strong validity metrics indicating their reliability, and they facilitate a comprehensive assessment of biologics’ effectiveness; further studies are required for prospective validation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Methotrexate (MTX) is a common medicine for rheumatoid arthritis, but it may affect how well people’s immune systems respond to vaccines and infections.
  • In a study, researchers looked at how MTX treatment affected immune responses in patients who received a COVID-19 vaccine compared to healthy people and others not on MTX.
  • They found that while many immune cells were similar between patients and controls, those on MTX had fewer activated CD4 T cells, leading to slower antibody responses after vaccination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fatigue is a major concern for patients with severe asthma.

Objective: This observational study aims to assess fatigue severity and associated factors, to explore the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on fatigue, and to investigate which factors predict persistent severe fatigue.

Methods: Patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma referred for alpine altitude climate treatment (AACT) between 2007 and 2018 were systematically assessed before and after rehabilitation regarding clinical, inflammatory, functional, and psychological characteristics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: There are concerns for safety regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for patients with autoimmune neuromuscular disease. We compared daily functioning using disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) before and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations.

Methods: In this substudy of a prospective observational cohort study (Target-to-B!), patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how patients on immunosuppressants (ISPs) respond to SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to healthy controls, particularly looking at antibody levels post-infection.
  • Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) on different ISP therapies showed variable antibody responses, with those on anti-CD20 and sphingosine-1 phosphate therapies having lower antibody levels.
  • Despite lower antibody titers, the breakthrough infections in these patients were mostly mild, indicating that ISPs may not severely impede the overall immune response to SARS-CoV-2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

T cells are instrumental in protecting the host against invading pathogens and the development of cancer. To do so, they produce effector molecules such as granzymes, interleukins, interferons, and perforin. For the development and immunomonitoring of therapeutic applications such as cell-based therapies and vaccines, assessing T cell effector function is paramount.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • mRNA vaccines effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 in healthy individuals, but their effectiveness in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with ocrelizumab (OCR) is unclear.
  • A study found that 63% of OCR-treated MS patients did not produce detectable antibodies after vaccination, and they showed lower antibody responses compared to healthy subjects.
  • The research suggests that scheduling vaccinations carefully for OCR-treated patients can improve their immune responses, highlighting potential markers (CD38 and HLA-DR) for assessing vaccine efficacy in these patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Rheumatoid factors (RFs) are autoantibodies that target the Fc region of IgG, and are found in patients with rheumatic diseases as well as in the healthy population. Many studies suggest that an immune trigger may (transiently) elicit RF responses. However, discrepancies between different studies make it difficult to determine if and to which degree RF reactivity can be triggered by vaccination or infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The noninflammatory immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) is linked to tolerance and is unique to humans. Although poorly understood, prolonged antigenic stimulation and IL-4-signaling along the T helper 2-axis may be instrumental in IgG4 class switching. Recently, repeated SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination has been linked to IgG4 skewing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 T cells play a crucial role in protecting against viral variants and reducing disease severity, especially in patients lacking cross-reactive antibodies.
  • mRNA vaccines elicit strong immune responses, but the effectiveness among patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorders (IMIDs), particularly those on TNF inhibitors (TNFi), is less understood.
  • Analysis revealed that both TNFi-treated and untreated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients generate strong spike-specific CD8 T cell responses after mRNA vaccination, comparable to healthy individuals, indicating that vaccination is beneficial regardless of treatment status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Type 2 (T2) inflammation is a key mechanism in the pathophysiology of asthma. Diet may have immunomodulatory effects, and a role for diet in T2 inflammation has been suggested in the literature. Indeed, diet and food allergies play a role in children with atopic asthma, but less is known about diet in relation to adult asthma, which is often non-atopic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Vaccination is essential for controlling COVID-19, but hesitancy is a challenge, especially among patients with severe asthma; this study explores their vaccination experiences.
  • A questionnaire was distributed to patients with severe asthma across 12 European countries, revealing that 88% of participants had been or planned to be vaccinated, while 9.5% hesitated and 3% refused; beliefs about vaccines influenced these decisions.
  • Most patients reported mild or no side effects and noted minimal impact on asthma symptoms post-vaccination, with nearly all vaccinated individuals recommending the vaccine to others in their situation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Humoral responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination are greatly impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on fingolimod. Effects of repeated vaccination and infections on long-term responses are unclear.

Methods: Prospective study in 60 MS patients on fingolimod measuring humoral responses after up to four vaccinations and 8 months after fourth vaccination.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Millions of patients use TNF inhibitors for inflammatory diseases, but the effectiveness varies due to differences in how drugs are cleared from the body, which may be influenced by TNF-TNFi complexes.
  • Researchers focused on understanding how different types of TNF inhibitors, particularly their structural characteristics, affect the clearance and levels of TNF in patients with conditions like arthritis and ulcerative colitis.
  • Findings indicate that TNF levels are significantly higher with certolizumab compared to other inhibitors, and the ability of macrophages to internalize these complexes is linked to the antibody structure, impacting TNF's clearance rate but not its production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Biologics are highly effective in severe asthma and used at fixed dosing intervals. However, in clinical practice, dosing intervals are sometimes shortened if patients perceive a decreased biologic effect before the next administration. The occurrence and clinical relevance of this perceived waning of biological effect is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Diet is increasingly recognized as a modifiable factor in lung health, predominantly due to the immunomodulatory effects of nutrients. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) is a score developed to express the inflammatory potential of a diet.

Objective: We aimed to assess the association of the DII and food groups, with clinical, functional, and inflammatory asthma outcomes in adults with asthma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Most people who are newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have advanced disease. For these people, survival is determined by various patient- and tumor-related factors, of which the performance status (PS) is the most important prognostic factor. People with PS 0 or 1 are usually treated with systemic therapies, whereas people with PS 3 or 4 most often receive supportive care.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Many patients with severe asthma are overweight or obese, often attributed to unintentional weight gain as a side effect of oral corticosteroids (OCSs). Anti-IL-5/5Ra biologics significantly reduce OCS use, but their long-term effects on weight are unknown.

Objectives: To examine (1) weight change up to 2 years after anti-IL-5/5Ra initiation in subgroups on the basis of maintenance OCS use at start of treatment and (2) whether cumulative OCS exposure before or changes in OCS exposure during treatment are related to weight change.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Bronchiectasis is a common issue in severe eosinophilic asthma patients, impacting disease severity, but its effect on IL-5 biologic treatment is unclear.
  • A study of 97 adults showed that anti-IL-5/5Ra therapy significantly reduced asthma exacerbations and the need for oral corticosteroids (OCS).
  • After one year of treatment, exacerbation rates dropped from 74.5% to 22.1%, and the number of patients on maintenance OCS decreased from 47% to 30%, highlighting the therapy's effectiveness even in those with bronchiectasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF