No association of the CD45 77C>G transversion with inflammatory bowel disease in German patients.

A 77C>G transversion in exon A of the CD45 gene was investigated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and controls. The distribution of the 77G allele was not significantly different between patients and controls. We found no evidence for the contribution of the 77C>G transversion in susceptibility to IBD.

Elevated plasma TGF-beta1 in renal diseases: cause or consequence?

We previously reported elevated levels of TGF-beta1 in patients with renal carcinoma. Certain aspects led us to ask whether they might be caused by chronic damage to the kidney(s). Here we report on an extended set of patients with various renal diseases, lung cancer, humoral immunodeficiency and controls.

Renal cell carcinomas produce IL-6, IL-10, IL-11, and TGF-beta 1 in primary cultures and modulate T lymphocyte blast transformation.

We investigated the immunomodulatory capacity of primary cultures of renal cell carcinomas (RCC) by assessing production of cytokines and modulation of mitogen-induced T lymphocyte blast transformation. The results clearly show that immunomodulatory capacity is a common feature of RCC and that in vitro these tumors can produce interleukin-10 (IL-10) up to 20 ng/ml, IL-6 up to 35 micrograms/ml (> 250 kU/ml in the B9 system), IL-11 up to 15 micrograms/ml, and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) up to 22 ng/ml. Furthermore, these tumors have the capacity to modulate T cell blast transformation over two orders of magnitude in each direction.

Transforming growth factor beta 1 is significantly elevated in plasma of patients suffering from renal cell carcinoma.

The levels of active and latent transforming growth factor beta 1 (aTGF-beta 1, ITGF-beta 1, respectively) in plasma samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). Samples were collected from patients suffering from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) before they underwent tumour resection. In all cases tested, the levels of latent TGF-beta 1 were much higher (n = 23, 41.

Lessons from the network and next steps: the Wisconsin Head and Neck Cancer Network.

In summary, the Wisconsin Head and Neck Cancer Control Network was formulated with the primary charge of improving the management of patients with head and neck cancer throughout the State. Detailed data on over 1500 patients representing 80 percent of all head and neck cancer patients in the State of Wisconsin was gathered, reviewed for quality, and analyzed. The data base consisted of information on the symptoms, signs, physical findings, treatment, complications, morbidity, and outcome.