We present a 55-year-old woman with a palpable mass in the right upper abdomen. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a highly vascularized and primary resectable tumor of the spleen. We performed an open splenectomy with locoregional lymphadenectomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the context of transplantation, complement activation is associated with poor prognosis and outcome. While complement activation in antibody-mediated rejection is well-known, less is known about complement activation in acute T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR). There is increasing evidence that complement contributes to the clearance of apoptotic debris and tissue repair.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Heart failure (HF) affects approximately 26 million people worldwide. With an aging global population, innovative approaches to HF evaluation and management are needed to cope with the worsening HF epidemic. The aim of the Real-Life Multimarker Monitoring in Patients with Heart Failure (REALIsM-HF) study (NCT03507439) is to evaluate a composite instrument comprising remote, real-time, activity-monitoring devices combined with daily electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) items in patients who have been hospitalized for HF and are undergoing standard HF assessment (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRheumatology (Oxford)
December 2019
Objective: In autoimmune arthritis, TCR signalling is attenuated by peripheral tolerance mechanisms. We have described previously a population of inhibitory receptor LIR-1 expressing autoreactive CD8+ T cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we investigated the role of CD8+ T cells in murine autoimmune arthritis by analysing their expression of the mouse orthologue of LIR-1, PIR-B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCanine CD4+CD8α+ double-positive (dp) T cells of peripheral blood are a unique effector memory T cell subpopulation characterized by an increased expression of activation markers in comparison with conventional CD4+ or CD8α+ single-positive (sp) T cells. In this study, we investigated CD4+CD8α+ dp T cells in secondary lymphatic organs (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFORF virus (ORFV) is the causative agent of contagious ecthyma, a pustular dermatitis of small ruminants and humans. Even though the development of lesions caused by ORFV was extensively studied in animals, only limited knowledge exists about the lesion development in human skin. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a three-dimensional (3D) organotypic culture (OTC) as a human skin model for ORFV infection considering lesion development, replication of the virus, viral gene transcription and modulation of differentiation of human keratinocytes by ORFV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter infection with , the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, immunosuppression, and apoptosis of mature lymphocytes contribute to the establishment of the parasite in the host and thereby to persistence and pathology in the chronic stage of infection. In a systemic mouse model of experimental Chagas disease, we have demonstrated a strong depletion of mature B cells in the spleen during the first 2 weeks of infection. Remarkably, the decrease in this cell population commenced already in the bone marrow from infected mice and was a concomitant of an increased apoptosis in pro- and pre-B cell populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile targeted nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapies have improved the outcome of defined disease subtypes, prognosis for most patients remains poor. We found the AAA+ ATPase Reptin to be highly expressed in the vast majority of 278 NSCLC tumour samples. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the role of Reptin in NSCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Perihilar cholangiocarcinomas are often considered incurable. Late diagnosis is common. Advanced disease therefore frequently causes questioning of curative surgical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chronic, destructive autoimmune arthritis in SKG mice, which closely resembles human rheumatoid arthritis, is the result of self-reactive T cells escaping thymic deletion. Since the inhibitory receptor LIR-1 is up-regulated on auto-reactive T cells in human rheumatoid arthritis, the role of its murine ortholog PIR-B was investigated. Peripheral CD4 T cells from SKG mice were found to frequently express PIR-B, and this population produces more frequently IL-17 upon in vitro stimulation compared to PIR-B cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn acute myeloid leukemia (AML), therapy resistance frequently occurs, leading to high mortality among patients. However, the mechanisms that render leukemic cells drug resistant remain largely undefined. Here, we identified loss of the histone methyltransferase EZH2 and subsequent reduction of histone H3K27 trimethylation as a novel pathway of acquired resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and cytotoxic drugs in AML.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllergic asthma can be frequently caused and exacerbated by sensitization to ubiquitous fungal allergens associated with pulmonary mucus production, airway hyperresponsiveness and bronchial constriction, resulting in a complex disease that is often difficult to treat. Fungal infections are frequently complicated by the development of a type 2 immune response that prevents successful elimination of the fungal pathogen. Furthermore, production of type 2 cytokines triggers allergic airway inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a highly chemoresistant tumor entity for which no reliable molecular targets exist to predict or influence the success of chemotherapy. Recently, we identified a panel of microRNAs associated with induced gemcitabine chemoresistance in human PDAC cell lines. This clinical study evaluates these microRNAs and associated molecular markers as prognostic markers of outcome in 98 PDAC patients Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC) stage II undergoing curative surgery with adjuvant gemcitabine chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntiretroviral therapy (ART) has yielded major advances in fighting the HIV pandemic by restoring protective immunity. However, a significant proportion of HIV patients co-infected with the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans paradoxically develops a life-threatening immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) during antiretroviral therapy. Despite several clinical studies, the underlying pathomecha-nisms are poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: A low mutation rate seems to be a general feature of pediatric cancers, in particular in oncofusion gene-driven tumors. Genetically, Ewing sarcoma is defined by balanced chromosomal EWS/ETS translocations, which give rise to oncogenic chimeric proteins (EWS-ETS). Other contributing somatic mutations involved in disease development have only been observed at low frequency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChromatin-modifying enzymes are frequently altered in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In the current study, we identified MYST2, a core histone acetyltransferase, to be suppressed in blast cells from AML patients compared with nonmalignant hematopoietic progenitor cells. Functionally, loss of MYST2 accelerated leukemic growth and colony formation, while forced expression of MYST2 induced H4K5 acetylation (H4K5Ac) and suppressed hematopoietic progenitor cell growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe antibody-based delivery of IL2 to extracellular targets expressed in the easily accessible tumor-associated vasculature has shown potent antileukemic activity in xenograft and immunocompetent murine models of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), especially in combination with cytarabine. Here, we report our experience with 4 patients with relapsed AML after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), who were treated with the immunocytokine F16-IL2, in combination with low-dose cytarabine. One patient with disseminated extramedullary AML lesions achieved a complete metabolic response identified by PET/CT, which lasted 3 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunctional differences between healthy progenitor and cancer initiating cells may provide unique opportunities for targeted therapy approaches. Hematopoietic stem cells are tightly controlled by a network of CDK inhibitors that govern proliferation and prevent stem cell exhaustion. Loss of Inca1 led to an increased number of short-term hematopoietic stem cells in older mice, but Inca1 seems largely dispensable for normal hematopoiesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans causes lung inflammation and fatal meningitis in immunocompromised patients. Regulatory T (Treg) cells play an important role in controlling immunity and homeostasis. However, their functional role during fungal infection is largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThough expression of the homeobox transcription factor Nanog is generally restricted to pluripotent cells and early germ cells, many contradictory reports about Nanog's involvement in tumorigenesis exist. To address this, a modified Tet-On system was utilized to generate Nanog-inducible mice. Following prolonged Nanog expression, phenotypic alterations were found to be restricted to the intestinal tract, leaving other major organs unaffected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the main cause of death among patients with cirrhotic liver disease, but little is known about mechanisms of cirrhosis associated carcinogenesis. We investigated the diagnostic impact of microRNA-200 (miR-200) family members as important epigenetic regulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to differentiate between patients with HCC and liver cirrhosis.
Methods: Expression of the miR-200 family was investigated by qRT-PCR in specimens of HCC patients with and without cirrhosis.
Using a whole-exome sequencing strategy, we identified recessive CCNO (encoding cyclin O) mutations in 16 individuals suffering from chronic destructive lung disease due to insufficient airway clearance. Respiratory epithelial cells showed a marked reduction in the number of multiple motile cilia (MMC) covering the cell surface. The few residual cilia that correctly expressed axonemal motor proteins were motile and did not exhibit obvious beating defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExternal signals that are mediated by specific receptors determine stem cell fate. The thrombin receptor PAR1 plays an important role in haemostasis, thrombosis and vascular biology, but also in tumor biology and angiogenesis. Its expression and function in hematopoietic stem cells is largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes lung inflammation and meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised people. Previously we showed that mice succumb to intranasal infection by induction of pulmonary interleukin (IL)-4Rα-dependent type 2 immune responses, whereas IL-12-dependent type 1 responses confer resistance. In the experiments presented here, IL-4Rα⁻/⁻ mice unexpectedly show decreased fungal control early upon infection with C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF