Abdominal vascular trauma, primarily due to penetrating mechanisms, is uncommon. However, when it does occur, it can be quite lethal, with mortality ranging from 20% to 60%. Increased early mortality has been associated with shock, acidosis, hypothermia, coagulopathy, free intraperitoneal bleeding and advanced American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Organ Injury Scale grade.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPosttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a devastating post-transplantation complication often associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Although the type and length of immunosuppression are risk factors, a patient's inherent immune capacity also likely contributes to this disorder. This report uses severe-combined immunodeficient mice given injections of human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu PBL-SCID [Severe Combined Immunodeficient] mice) to test the hypothesis that cytokine genotype associates with the development of EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease (LPD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: On the basis of preclinical studies, we hypothesized that interleukin (IL)12 would potentiate the antitumor actions of an antihuman epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) monoclonal antibody (trastuzumab). We conducted a Phase I trial to determine the safety and optimal biological dose of IL-12 when given in combination with trastuzumab.
Patients And Methods: Patients with metastatic HER2-positive malignancies received trastuzumab on day 1 of each weekly cycle.
Activation of macrophages by microbes results in the rapid production of monokines (e.g., interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-15, and IL-18), which induce production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by natural killer (NK) cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe anti-tumor activity of recombinant mAb's directed against tumor cell growth receptors has generally been considered to result from direct antiproliferative effects, the induction of apoptosis, or possibly Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity mediated against tumor targets. However, it remains unclear to what degree these mechanisms actually aid in the clearance of Ab-coated tumor cells in vivo. We show here that NK cells secrete a distinct profile of potent immunostimulatory cytokines in response to dual stimulation with Ab-coated tumor cells and IL-12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF