Headspace Volatile Organic Compound Profiling of Pleural Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Cell Lines as Translational Bridge for Breath Research.

Introduction: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a lethal cancer for which early-stage diagnosis remains a major challenge. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath proved to be potential biomarkers for MPM diagnosis, but translational studies are needed to elucidate which VOCs originate from the tumor itself and thus are specifically related to MPM cell metabolism.

Methods: An model was set-up to characterize the headspace VOC profiles of six MPM and two lung cancer cell lines using thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Invasive Aspergillosis Mimicking Metastatic Lung Cancer.

In a patient with a medical history of cancer, the most probable diagnosis of an FDG-avid pulmonary mass combined with intracranial abnormalities on brain imaging is metastasized cancer. However, sometimes a differential diagnosis with an infectious cause such as aspergillosis can be very challenging as both cancer and infection are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Pulmonary aspergillosis can present as an infectious pseudotumour with clinical and imaging characteristics mimicking lung cancer.

Biomarkers for early diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma: Do we need another moonshot?

Early diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a challenge for clinicians. The disease is usually detected in an advanced stage which precludes curative treatment. We assume that only new and non-invasive biomarkers allowing earlier detection will result in better patient management and outcome.

Polyelectrolyte-Enrobed Cancer Cells in View of Personalized Immune-Therapy.

Targeting the immune system with a personalized vaccine containing cues derived from the patient's malignancy might be a promising approach in the fight against cancer. It includes neo-antigens as well as nonmutated tumor antigens, preferentially leading to an immune response that is directed to a broader range of epitopes compared to strategies involving a single antigen. Here, this paper reports on an elegant method to encapsulate whole cancer cells into polyelectrolyte particles.

The transcriptome of lung tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells reveals a tumor-supporting phenotype and a microRNA signature with negative impact on clinical outcome.

Targeting immunomodulatory pathways has ushered a new era in lung cancer therapy. Further progress requires deeper insights into the biology of immune cells in the lung cancer micro-environment. Dendritic cells (DCs) represent a heterogeneous and highly plastic immune cell system with a central role in controlling immune responses.

Familial Mediterranean fever mutations lift the obligatory requirement for microtubules in Pyrin inflammasome activation.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common monogenic autoinflammatory disease worldwide. It is caused by mutations in the inflammasome adaptor Pyrin, but how FMF mutations alter signaling in FMF patients is unknown. Herein, we establish Clostridium difficile and its enterotoxin A (TcdA) as Pyrin-activating agents and show that wild-type and FMF Pyrin are differentially controlled by microtubules.

The immunophenotypic fingerprint of patients with primary antibody deficiencies is partially present in their asymptomatic first-degree relatives.

The etiology of primary antibody deficiencies is largely unknown. Beside rare monogenic forms, the majority of cases seem to have a more complex genetic basis. Whereas common variable immunodeficiency has been investigated in depth, there are only a few reports on milder primary antibody deficiencies such as idiopathic primary hypogammaglobulinemia and IgG subclass deficiency.

Genes associated with common variable immunodeficiency: one diagnosis to rule them all?

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a primary antibody deficiency characterised by hypogammaglobulinaemia, impaired production of specific antibodies after immunisation and increased susceptibility to infections. CVID shows a considerable phenotypical and genetic heterogeneity. In contrast to many other primary immunodeficiencies, monogenic forms count for only 2-10% of patients with CVID.

Rehabilitation in patients with radically treated respiratory cancer: A randomised controlled trial comparing two training modalities.

Introduction: The evidence on the effectiveness of rehabilitation in lung cancer patients is limited. Whole body vibration (WBV) has been proposed as an alternative to conventional resistance training (CRT).

Methods: We investigated the effect of radical treatment (RT) and of two rehabilitation programmes in lung cancer patients.

Lung tumours reprogram pulmonary dendritic cell immunogenicity at the microRNA level.

Lung cancer arises in a context of tumour-induced immune suppression. Dendritic cells (DCs) are central players in the induction of anti-tumoural immunity, providing critical signals that drive the induction of cytotoxic T-cell responses. Meanwhile, microRNAs are associated with tumour development as well as immune regulation.

CCR7 modulates pulmonary and lymph node inflammatory responses in cigarette smoke-exposed mice.

Peribronchial lymphoid follicles have recently been identified as one of the hallmark features of (severe) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, little is known about the relative contribution of peribronchial lymphoid follicles vs mediastinal lymph nodes in inflammatory responses in COPD patients and animal models. In a murine model of COPD, we studied inflammatory responses in airways, lungs, and mediastinal lymph nodes of wild-type (WT) vs CCR7 knockout (CCR7(-/-)) mice upon subacute or chronic exposure to cigarette smoke (CS).

Concomitant inhalation of cigarette smoke and aerosolized protein activates airway dendritic cells and induces allergic airway inflammation in a TLR-independent way.

Cigarette smoking is associated with the development of allergic asthma. In mice, exposure to cigarette smoke sensitizes the airways toward coinhaled OVA, leading to OVA-specific allergic inflammation. Pulmonary dendritic cells (DCs) are professional APCs involved in immunosurveillance and implicated in the induction of allergic responses in lung.

Murine TLR4 is implicated in cigarette smoke-induced pulmonary inflammation.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. We investigated whether Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is implicated in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced pulmonary inflammation in a murine model of COPD.

Methods: C3H/HeOuJ (Tlr4(WT)) and C3H/HeJ (Tlr4(defective)) mice were exposed to air or CS for 5 weeks (subacute) and 26 weeks (chronic), and pulmonary inflammation was evaluated.

Matrix metalloproteinases in asthma and COPD.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are both highly prevalent, chronic inflammatory lung diseases that lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are extracellular matrix degrading enzymes that play a critical role in normal development and physiological tissue remodeling and repair. In addition, they play an important role in the regulation of the kinetics and function of inflammatory cells.

Identification and characterization of human pulmonary dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells (DC) are specialized antigen-presenting cells, linking innate and adaptive immune responses, and thus play an important role in immunologically mediated diseases, including pulmonary diseases such as asthma and respiratory viral infections. Although much is known about the characteristics of lung DC in animal models, very few data concerning human lung DC are available. The goal of our study was to identify and characterize dendritic cells in human lung by preparing single-cell suspensions from surgical resection specimens and subsequent labeling with the recently developed blood dendritic cell antigen (BDCA) markers.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9-mediated dendritic cell recruitment into the airways is a critical step in a mouse model of asthma.

Dendritic cells (DCs) appear to be strategically implicated in allergic diseases, including asthma. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 mediates transmigration of inflammatory leukocytes across basement membranes. This study investigated the role of MMP-9 in airway DC trafficking during allergen-induced airway inflammation.