Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin suppresses inflammatory Th2 responses by inducing functional alteration of TSLP-activated dendritic cells.

Allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma develop as a consequence of dysregulated T(h)2 responses. Recently, it has been demonstrated that interaction between dendritic cells (DCs) and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), an IL-7-like cytokine, is essential for evoking T(h)2 responses in allergy. In this study, we investigated whether Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a strong T(h)1 response-inducing adjuvant, can alter the function of DCs activated by TSLP (TSLP-DCs).

Successful treatment with plasma exchange in adult-onset Still's disease with hyper-IL-18-naemia and hyperallergic state.

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rheumatoid disorder characterized by high fever, polyarthritis, leukocytosis, hyperferritinaemia, and mild liver involvement. We describe the case of a patient with AOSD with severe liver dysfunction. His serum levels of interleukin-10 and 18 showed a similar trend to his disease activity.

Hodgkin's reed-sternberg cell line (KM-H2) promotes a bidirectional differentiation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells and CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes from CD4+ naive T cells.

A recent report revealed that a large population of Hodgkin's lymphoma-infiltrating lymphocytes (HLILs) consisted of regulatory T cells. In this study, we cocultured CD4+ naive T cells with KM-H2, which was established as a Hodgkin's Reed-Sternberg cell line, to clarify their ability to induce CD25+ Forkhead box P3+ (Foxp3+) T cells. The characteristic analyses of T cells cocultured with KM-H2 revealed the presence of CD4+CD25+ T cells.

Bone marrow transplantation with a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen in a patient with Wegener granulomatosis and therapy-related leukemia.

We describe a patient with Wegener granulomatosis (WG) who underwent long-term cyclophosphamide treatment and thereafter developed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). After the AML was induced into remission, the patient received an allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) from his sibling after undergoing a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen. His clinical course shortly after allo-SCT was uneventful.

Immunomodulatory effects of cyclosporin A on human peripheral blood dendritic cell subsets.

Cyclosporin A (CsA) is a potent immuno-suppressant and is approved for the treatment of various disease conditions. The molecular biological mechanism of CsA has been investigated intensively in T cells and has been shown to involve the intracellular calcineurin pathway. Recently, it was reported that CsA has capacities to affect not only T cells but also antigen-presenting cells such as B cells and dendritic cells (DCs).

Dendritic cells are decreased in blood and accumulated in granuloma in tuberculosis.

Immunity against tuberculosis consists of innate and adaptive immune responses. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of dendritic cells (DC), which are known to elicit a variety of immune responses, in patients with tuberculosis. CD11c(+) peripheral blood DC were decreased in patients with tuberculosis.

Interferon-alpha and interleukin-12 are induced differentially by Toll-like receptor 7 ligands in human blood dendritic cell subsets.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in the immune responses against infections by sensing microbial invasion through toll-like receptors (TLRs). In humans, two distinct DC subsets, CD11c(-) plasmacytoid DCs (PDCs) and CD11c(+) myeloid DCs (MDCs), have been identified and can respond to different TLR ligands, depending on the differential expression of cognate TLRs. In this study, we have examined the effect of TLR-7 ligands on human DC subsets.