Contraceptives or Hormone Replacement Therapy and Associations with Autoimmune Conditions: Exploring Effects of Estrogen Analog Supplementation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of estrogen and progesterone analog supplementation on the development of autoimmune conditions.

Methods: This retrospective observational study used data from the TriNetX network, which comprised over 100 million patients from 89 health care organizations. We compared patients exposed to estrogen and progesterone analogs to those exposed to progesterone-only therapy, using 1:1 propensity score matching based on age, ethnicity, and additional criteria.

IL1RAP Blockade With a Monoclonal Antibody Reduces Cardiac Inflammation and Preserves Heart Function in Viral and Autoimmune Myocarditis.

Background: Currently, there are no therapies targeting specific pathogenic pathways in myocarditis. IL (interleukin)-1 blockade has shown promise in preclinical studies and case reports. We hypothesized that blockade of IL1RAP (IL-1 receptor accessory protein), a shared subunit of the IL-1, IL-33, and IL-36 receptors, could be more efficient than IL-1 blockade alone.

Integrative single-cell analysis of cardiac and pulmonary sarcoidosis using publicly available cardiac and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid sequencing datasets.

Introduction: Cardiac presentation of autoimmune sarcoidosis, known as cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), is a poorly understood disease with high mortality and low diagnosis rate. While CS is an immunological syndrome, little is known about how cardiac parenchymal and stromal cells mediate its pathogenesis. Moreover, while most current sarcoidosis research is based on research in pulmonary sarcoidosis (PS), it remains unclear how much both presentations of sarcoidosis overlap.

Cross-decoration of dendritic cells by non-inherited maternal antigen-containing extracellular vesicles: Potential mechanism for PD-L1-based tolerance in cord blood and organ transplantation.

Exposure to non-inherited maternal antigens (NIMA) during the fetal period induces lifelong split tolerance to grafts expressing these allo-antigens. In adult mice, the production of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from maternal microchimeric cells causes cross-decoration (XD) of offspring dendritic cells (DC) with NIMA and upregulation of PD-L1, contributing to NIMA tolerance. To see how this may apply to humans, we tested NIMA acquisition by fetal DCS in human cord blood.

Donor HLA-DR Drives the Development of De Novo Autoimmunity Following Lung and Heart Transplantation.

Unlabelled: Individuals harbor preexisting HLA-DR/DQ-restricted responses to collagen type V (ColV) mediated by Th17 cells under Treg control, both specific to peptides that bind to inherited HLA class II antigens. Yet after transplant, the donor-DR type somehow influences graft outcome. We hypothesized that, long after a lung or heart allograft, the particular HLA-DR type of the mismatched transplant donor transforms the specificity of the "anti-self" response.

Identification of PD1-mediated regulation of antitumor antigen response in patients with NSCLC using the trans vivo DTH assay.

Objectives: Emerging evidence has shown a role for tumor antigen-specific regulation in cancer. Identifying individuals with pre-existing regulatory responses may be key to understand those who are more likely to respond to Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) or PD-1 Ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint blockade. We hypothesized that a functional assay could identify the role of PD-1/PD-L1 interactions on tumor-specific immune cells in the peripheral blood in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Treg-Cell-Derived IL-35-Coated Extracellular Vesicles Promote Infectious Tolerance.

Interleukin-35 (IL-35) is an immunosuppressive cytokine composed of Epstein-Barr-virus-induced protein 3 (Ebi3) and IL-12α chain (p35) subunits, yet the forms that IL-35 assume and its role in peripheral tolerance remain elusive. We induce CBA-specific, IL-35-producing T regulatory (Treg) cells in Treg C57BL/6 reporter mice and identify IL-35 producers by expression of Ebi3 gene reporter plus Ebi3 and p35 proteins. Curiously, both subunits of IL-35 are displayed on the surface of tolerogen-specific Foxp3 and Foxp3 (iTr35) T cells.

Role of exosomes in tumour and transplant immune regulation.

Exosomes are a potent means for intercellular communication. However, exosomes have received intensive research focus in immunobiology only relatively recently. Because they transport proteins, lipids and genetic material between cells, they are especially suited to amplify their parental cell's message and overcome the physical constraints of cell-to-cell contact, that is exosome release gives cells the ability to alter distant, non-contiguous cells.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms V4 and T1 of the ADAM33 gene in Venezuelan patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

ADAM33 is a metalloproteinase important in the extracellular matrix for tissue remodeling, and, consequently, in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Several polymorphisms of the ADAM33 gene have been associated with enzyme activity. One of the most studied polymorphisms is V4, cytosine for guanine in the 3 'UTR region, and T1, adenine for guanine in the exon 19 of the gen.

An Updated Review of ISCOMSTM and ISCOMATRIXTM Vaccines.

The need for the improvement of vaccine potency as well as reducing toxicity in healthy recipients has motivated studies of the formulation of vaccines regarding control of how, when, and where antigens and adjuvants encounter immune cells and other cells/tissues following vaccine administration. Immunostimulatory complexes (ISCOMs) and ISCOMATRIXTM adjuvants are versatile and flexible systems with various phospholipids and saponin components. They are being used in novel vaccines for either infectious diseases or cancer.

New approaches to chikungunya virus vaccine development.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne human pathogen that affects millions of individuals each year by causing non-specific flu-like symptoms, with a characteristic rash accompanied by joint pain that may last for a long time after the resolution of the infection. Despite intense research efforts, no approved vaccine or antiviral therapy is yet available. This review is based on articles retrieved by PubMed and clinical trials since 1980 to present.

Surfactant protein D in chornic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In the recent years, a large number of potential biomarkers for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have been described. One of the important biomarkers is Surfactant Protein D (SPD) since serum SPD levels have been associated with lung function or health status in patients with severe COPD. Several interesting evidences of the protein and gene polymorphisms have been described.

[Acute abdomen as initial manifestation of meningococcemia].

Abdominal pain as an initial symptom of meningococcemia is an infrequent entity, rarely described in literature. We present a case of a 4 year-old, male, previously healthy child with a 24 hour history of fever and abdominal pain. He is admitted in a surgical unit with a diagnosis of acute abdomen for surgical resolution.