Publications by authors named "F M Vallania"

The oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can drive tumorigenesis with disrupted host immunity, causing malignancies including post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs). PTLD can also arise in the absence of EBV, but the biological differences underlying EBV(+) and EBV(-) B cell PTLD and the associated host-EBV-tumor interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we reveal the core differences between EBV(+) and EBV(-) PTLD, characterized by increased expression of genes related to immune processes or DNA interactions, respectively, and the augmented ability of EBV(+) PTLD B cells to modulate the tumor microenvironment through elaboration of monocyte-attracting cytokines/chemokines.

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Monocytes are crucial regulators of inflammation, and are characterized by three distinct subsets in humans, of which classical and non-classical are the most abundant. Different subsets carry out different functions and have been previously associated with multiple inflammatory conditions. Dissecting the contribution of different monocyte subsets to disease is currently limited by samples and cohorts, often resulting in underpowered studies and poor reproducibility.

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Chronic inflammation is thought to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in aging, but whether similar mechanisms underlie dysfunction in infection-associated chronic inflammation is unclear. Here, we profiled the immune proteome, and cellular composition and signaling states in a cohort of aging individuals versus a set of HIV patients on long-term antiretroviral therapy therapy or hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients before and after sofosbuvir treatment. We found shared alterations in aging-associated and infection-associated chronic inflammation including T cell memory inflation, up-regulation of intracellular signaling pathways of inflammation, and diminished sensitivity to cytokines in lymphocytes and myeloid cells.

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in congenital cardiac shunts can be reversed by hemodynamic unloading (HU) through shunt closure. However, this reversibility potential is lost beyond a certain point in time. The reason why PAH becomes irreversible is unknown.

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Background: There is an urgent need for biomarkers to better stratify patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by risk for lung transplantation allocation who have the same clinical presentation. We aimed to investigate whether a specific immune cell type from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis could identify those at higher risk of poor outcomes. We then sought to validate our findings using cytometry and electronic health records.

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