Assessment of clinical outcomes of cervical epidural neuroplasty using a Racz-catheter and predictive factors of efficacy in patients with cervical spinal pain.

Background: Epidural neuroplasty using the Racz catheter has a therapeutic effect in patients with cervical disc herniation and central stenosis who do not respond to fluoroscopically guided epidural injections.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of cervical epidural neuroplasty in patients with posterior neck and upper extremity pain and to demonstrate correlations between predictive factors and unsuccessful results of cervical epidural neuroplasty.

Study Design: Observational study.

Comparison of Serum Adipocytokine Levels according to Metabolic Health and Obesity Status.

Background: Metabolic health is an emerging concept that is highly correlated with various metabolic complications, and adipocytokines have been causally linked to a wide range of metabolic diseases. Thus, this study compared serum adipocytokine levels according to metabolic health and obesity status.

Methods: Four hundred and fifty-six nondiabetic subjects (mean age, 40.

Increased risk of diabetes development in subjects with the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype: a 4-year longitudinal study.

Background: The hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype is a simple and inexpensive screening parameter to identify people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We evaluated whether the HTGW phenotype predicts diabetes in urban Korean adults.

Methods: A total of 2,900 nondiabetic subjects (mean age 44.

Age Is the Strongest Effector for the Relationship between Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate and Coronary Artery Calcification in Apparently Healthy Korean Adults.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is considered one of the most common risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a potential mechanism that explains the association between renal function and cardiovascular mortality. We aimed to evaluate the association between renal function and CAC in apparently healthy Korean subjects.

Intranasal adenovirus-vectored vaccine for induction of long-lasting humoral immunity-mediated broad protection against influenza in mice.

Unlabelled: Influenza vaccines aimed at inducing antibody (Ab) responses against viral surface hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) provide sterile immunity to infection with the same subtypes. Vaccines targeting viral conserved determinants shared by the influenza A viruses (IAV) offer heterosubtypic immunity (HSI), a broad protection against different subtypes. We proposed that vaccines targeting both HA and the conserved ectodomain of matrix protein 2 (M2e) would provide protection against infection with the same subtype and also HSI against other subtypes.

Combined rTMS to the auditory cortex and prefrontal cortex for tinnitus control in patients with depression: a pilot study.

Conclusion: The study showed that combined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the auditory cortex and prefrontal cortex has more benefit than rTMS on the auditory cortex alone for tinnitus control in patients with depression. Further studies for the most optimal combination of stimulation on both areas are needed.

Objective: Recent studies suggest that the neuronal network changes of chronic tinnitus are beyond the auditory pathway.

Interleukin 7 receptor gene polymorphisms and haplotypes are associated with susceptibility to IgA nephropathy in Korean children.

An abnormal T-cell response is involved in the pathogenesis of various renal diseases. Survival of naïve T cells is dependent on interleukin 7 (IL7) and its receptor (IL7R). Thus, we investigated the association between IL7R single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and childhood IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

Sublingual immunization with a live attenuated influenza a virus lacking the nonstructural protein 1 induces broad protective immunity in mice.

The nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of influenza A virus (IAV) enables the virus to disarm the host cell type 1 IFN defense system. Mutation or deletion of the NS1 gene leads to attenuation of the virus and enhances host antiviral response making such live-attenuated influenza viruses attractive vaccine candidates. Sublingual (SL) immunization with live influenza virus has been found to be safe and effective for inducing protective immune responses in mucosal and systemic compartments.

Sublingual immunization with M2-based vaccine induces broad protective immunity against influenza.

Background: The ectodomain of matrix protein 2 (M2e) of influenza A virus is a rationale target antigen candidate for the development of a universal vaccine against influenza as M2e undergoes little sequence variation amongst human influenza A strains. Vaccine-induced M2e-specific antibodies (Abs) have been shown to display significant cross-protective activity in animal models. M2e-based vaccine constructs have been shown to be more protective when administered by the intranasal (i.

Combinatorial therapy for liver metastatic colon cancer: dendritic cell vaccine and low-dose agonistic anti-4-1BB antibody co-stimulatory signal.

Background: The combination of dendritic cell (DC) vaccine and 4-1BB ligation may be a suitable choice of immunotherapy for incurable cancer. However, at anti-tumor effector doses over 100 μg, 4-1BB Ab ligation is toxic to CD4(+) T cells, thus limiting its therapeutic use.

Materials And Methods: A liver metastatic colon cancer model was established by hepatic injection of CT26 cells into Balb/c mice.

CD40-targeted recombinant adenovirus significantly enhances the efficacy of antitumor vaccines based on dendritic cells and B cells.

Despite the advantages of using adenoviral vectors for specific antigenic gene delivery in the development of antigen-presenting cell (APC)-based vaccines, the lack of the coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor (CAR) on APCs limits the use of adenoviral vectors for in vitro gene delivery. In this study, we used a recombinant adapter protein, CFm40L, which consists of the ectodomain of CAR genetically fused to the ectodomain of CD40 ligand (CD40L) via a trimerization motif, to target Her-2/neu- or human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E6/E7-encoding adenoviruses to CD40 on dendritic cells (DCs) and B cells. Targeting CD40 enabled the enhancement of tumor antigen delivery and simultaneous activation of APCs via the CD40-CD40L interaction.

Prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of avian antibodies against influenza virus H5N1 and H1N1 in mice.

Background: Pandemic influenza poses a serious threat to global health and the world economy. While vaccines are currently under development, passive immunization could offer an alternative strategy to prevent and treat influenza virus infection. Attempts to develop monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been made.

Mycophenolate mofetil promotes down-regulation of expanded B cells and production of TNF-alpha in an experimental murine model of colitis.

In this study, we used a murine intestinal inflammation model that mimics immunologic characteristics of human Crohn's disease (CD) to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) on intestinal injury and tissue inflammation. When these colitic mice were pretreated with MMF, we observed a significant decrease in mortality rates and body weight loss as well as an improvement in both wasting and histopathologic signs of colonic inflammation, relative to untreated colitic mice. To determine the mechanisms of action of MMF, we compared various immunological characteristics of the untreated and MMF-pretreated colitic mice.

15-deoxyspergualin prevents mucosal injury by inhibiting production of TNF-alpha and down-regulating expression of MD-1 in a murine model of TNBS-induced colitis.

The immunosuppressive drug 15-deoxyspergualin (DSG) is currently being used in clinical trials to prolong graft survival and reverse graft rejection. Here we evaluated whether DSG has a potential for ameliorating diseases characterized by mucosal inflammation. Using a murine model of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis, we were able to demonstrate that DSG reduced the severity of colitis.

Intratumoral delivery of IL-18 naked DNA induces T-cell activation and Th1 response in a mouse hepatic cancer model.

Background: The novel cytokine, interleukin (IL)-18, is a strong interferon-gamma inducer and costimulatory factor in Th1 cell activation. IL-18 triggers IFN-gamma production and enhances cytolytic activity in both T and NK cells. However, the exact mechanism of antitumor action of IL-18 remains to be clarified.

Two-signal blockade with anti-CD45RB and anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies inhibits graft rejection via CD4-dependent mechanisms in allogeneic skin transplantation.

Blockade of signal 1 or 2 for T-cell activation by the use of anti-CD45RB and anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) (two-signal blockade) has been proven effective in preventing or delaying graft rejection. However, the mechanisms of its immunomodulatory effects are clearly unknown and the present studies were performed to determine how the two-signal blockade modulate allogeneic immune responses, especially T-cell mediated cellular immunity, in a murine skin allograft model. We now report on the profound inhibition of alloreactive T cells by two-signal blockade via CD4-dependent mechanisms.

Tolerance induction through simultaneous double bone marrow transplantation with two-signal blockade.

Cotransplantation of donor bone marrow cells (BMCs) in allograft recipients is currently the most promising concept for clinical tolerance induction; however, it still has many difficulties in its successful performance due to the toxicity of the required host conditioning, the risk of engraftment failure, and the problem of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), as well as the limited accessibility of donor bone marrow cells. Therefore, we performed the studies to determine whether BMCs from multi-donors are simultaneously engrafted and lead to induction of chimerism-based tolerance through the tolerogenic protocol of whom effectiveness we have shown in a previous study. Using a murine model, it was demonstrated that grafted BMCs from BALB/c (H-2(d)) and CBA mice (H-2(k)) establish mixed type and multi-lineage double chimerism and induce immunological donor-specific tolerance to fully MHC-mismatched skin allografts in host C57BL/6 mice (H-2(b)) receiving conditioning with Busulfan and treatment with the two-signal blockade comprised of anti-CD45RB and anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies.

Tolerance induction through megadose bone marrow transplantation with two-signal blockade.

Background: Induction of mixed chimerism is currently the most promising concept for clinical tolerance induction; however, the toxicity of the required host conditioning for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) should be overcome. Therefore, we explored tolerogenic effectiveness of megadose BMT with anti-CD45RB and anti-CD154 mAb (two-signal blockade) in murine recipients without conditioning.

Materials And Methods: Recipient B6 mice of BALB/c skin allograft received conditioning and an optimal dose (2x10(7) cells) of BMT.

Administration of agonistic anti-4-1BB monoclonal antibody leads to the amelioration of inflammatory bowel disease.

4-1BB (CDw 137), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily, is a costimulatory receptor primarily expressed on activated T cells. It has been shown that the administration of agonistic anti-4-1BB monoclonal antibody (mAb) enhances tumor immunity and allogenic immune responses. Paradoxically, we found that the administration of anti-4-1BB mAb reduced the incidence and severity of inflammatory bowel disease.