Myeloid azurophil granules provide a rich source of intracellular leukemia antigens. Cathepsin G (CG) is a serine protease that has higher expression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts in comparison to normal myeloid progenitors. Based on the unique biology of HLA-A*0201 (HLA-A2), in which presentation of leader sequence (LS)-derived peptides is favored, we focused on the LS-CG-derived peptide CG1 (FLLPTGAEA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients harboring CRLF2-rearranged B-lineage acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) face a 5-year survival rate as low as 20%. While significant gains have been made to position targeted therapies for B-ALL treatment, continued efforts are needed to develop therapeutic options with improved duration of response. Here, first we have demonstrated that patients with CRLF2-rearranged Ph-like ALL harbor elevated thymic stromal lymphopoietin receptor (TSLPR) expression, which is comparable with CD19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMacrophages play an important role in immune responses including allograft rejection and they are one of the potential targets of anti-rejection therapies in organ transplantation. Macrophage alloreactivity relies on their phenotype/polarity, motility, phagocytosis and matrix degradation, which in turn depend on proper functioning of actin cytoskeleton and its regulators, the small GTPase RhoA and its downstream effector the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK). Several laboratories showed that administration of ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 to the graft recipient inhibits chronic rejection or rodent cardiac allografts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Control Release
December 2013
Drug delivery is essential to achieve effective therapy. Herein we report on the only implantable nanochannel membrane with geometrically defined channels as small as 2.5 nm that achieves constant drug delivery in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current immunosuppressive regimens fail to avert chronic rejection (CR) of transplanted organs; however, selective targeting of actin-cytoskeletal regulators decreases T-cell motility and abrogates CR in rat model system. Administration of mutated class I major histocompatibility complex molecules or selective targeting of the RhoA pathway, which controls T-cell cytoskeletal activity, using Y27632 (a selective Rock1 inhibitor) resulted in reduced T-cell infiltration and abrogation of CR as judged from the neointimal index (13.9±19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Unlike in peripheral vessels, the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-mediated component to P2Y(2) receptor-mediated dilations is significantly attenuated in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) of female rats compared to male rats. One aspect to the EDHF phenomenon is activation of the intermediate calcium-sensitive potassium (IK(Ca)) channels located on the endothelium. In an attempt to pinpoint the site along the EDHF pathway that is compromised in females, we tested the hypothesis that direct activation of IK(Ca) channels with DCEBIO would elicit attenuated hyperpolarization in the endothelium and smooth muscle of females compared to males.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDilations to endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) are significantly attenuated in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) isolated from female compared to male rats. Since gap junctions appear to be involved in the EDHF pathway and cAMP has been shown to enhance gap junction permeability, we tested the hypothesis that elevation of cAMP would enhance EDHF-mediated dilations in female rat MCA. Vascular diameter was measured in perfused MCA segments using videomicroscopy in the presence and absence of IBMX, an inhibitor of cAMP phosphodiesterase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol
August 2006
Little is known about the presence and function of two-pore domain K(+) (K(2P)) channels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Five members of the K(2P) channel family are known to be directly activated by arachidonic acid (AA). The purpose of this study was to determine 1) whether AA-sensitive K(2P) channels are expressed in cerebral VSMCs and 2) whether AA dilates the rat middle cerebral artery (MCA) by increasing K+ currents in VSMCs via an atypical K+ channel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is now strong evidence that an endothelial mechanism, other than nitric oxide or prostacyclin, exists for dilating arteries and arterioles. This third pathway has been named endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) and should not be confused with endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which is nitric oxide. Currently, there are several ideas for the mechanism of EDHF, which may vary among vessels of different organs and species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol
September 2005
We tested the hypotheses that EDHF in rat middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) involves 1) metabolism of arachidonic acid through the epoxygenase pathway, 2) metabolism of arachidonic acid through the lipoxygenase pathway, or 3) reactive oxygen species. EDHF-mediated dilations were elicited in isolated and pressurized rat MCAs by activation of endothelial P2Y(2) receptors with either UTP or ATP. All studies were conducted after the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase with N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (10 microM) and indomethacin (10 microM), respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVery little is known regarding the mechanism of action for the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) response in cerebral vessels. The authors tested two hypotheses: (1) activation of the cytoplasmic form of phospholipase A (cPLA ) is involved with EDHF-mediated dilations in rat middle cerebral arteries; and (2) activation of the cPLA involves an increase in endothelial Ca through activation of phospholipase C. Middle cerebral arteries were isolated from the rat, pressurized to 85 mm Hg, and luminally perfused.
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