Tumour ischaemia by interferon-γ resembles physiological blood vessel regression.

The relative contribution of the effector molecules produced by T cells to tumour rejection is unclear, but interferon-γ (IFNγ) is critical in most of the analysed models. Although IFNγ can impede tumour growth by acting directly on cancer cells, it must also act on the tumour stroma for effective rejection of large, established tumours. However, which stroma cells respond to IFNγ and by which mechanism IFNγ contributes to tumour rejection through stromal targeting have remained unknown.

Composition of intestinal microbiota in immune-deficient mice kept in three different housing conditions.

Background: Abundance of commensals constituting the intestinal microbiota (IM) affects the immune system and predisposes to a variety of diseases, including intestinal infections, cancer, inflammatory and metabolic disorders. Housing conditions determine the IM and can hence influence the immune system. We analyzed how both variables affect the IM of four immune-compromized mouse lines kept under different housing conditions.

Differences in serum cytokine levels between wild type mice and mice with a targeted mutation suggests necessity of using control littermates.

To enhance protection from pathogens, housing conditions have been improved constantly. We wanted to test whether various environmental conditions and caging systems affect serum cytokine levels of immunodeficient mice differently than they affect immunocompetent control animals. We compared serum cytokine levels of immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice kept in three different environments: a specific pathogen free (SPF) breeding barrier with open cages.

B-cells and IL-4 promote methylcholanthrene-induced carcinogenesis but there is no evidence for a role of T/NKT-cells and their effector molecules (Fas-ligand, TNF-α, perforin).

Mice deficient either in subtypes of immune cells, cytokines or lytic pathways have been subjected to chemical carcinogenesis by methylcholanthrene to evaluate whether these components of the immune system affect tumor development. Inbred mice of the same genotype but from different sources differed in tumor development in magnitude comparable to that previously attributed to differences in immunocompetence. This suggested that genetic drift between separate inbred colonies of mice and/or environmental factors (e.

Tumor rejection by local interferon gamma induction in established tumors is associated with blood vessel destruction and necrosis.

It has been shown that injecting a suspension of IFN-γ-secreting tumor cells results in their rejection. This effect has been attributed to IFN-γ preventing tumor stroma formation but not to a direct effect on the cancer cells. However, it is not known, which influence IFN-γ has on tumors with an established stroma.