Victimization and sexual risk behavior in young, HIV positive women: exploration of mediators.

In this study we explore associations between child and adult victimization and sexual risk behavior in 118 young, HIV positive women. Prior research has demonstrated associations between victimization and engagement in sexual risk behavior. Victimization sequelae can include disrupted assertiveness and communication, as well as increased association with risky partners, both of which are also linked with engagement in sexual risk behavior.

Adherence to scheduled appointments among HIV-infected female youth in five U.S. cities.

Objective: Identify factors associated with appointment-keeping among HIV-infected adolescents and young adults.

Methods: HIV-infected adolescent and young adult females in five U.S.

A qualitative study of quality of life after stroke: the importance of social relationships.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in the USA; however, we have an incomplete understanding of how stroke affects long-term quality of life.

Methods: We report here findings from focus groups with 9 long-term stroke survivors and 6 caregivers addressing patients' post-stroke quality of life.

Results: Key themes identified by patients were: social support, coping mechanisms, communication, physical functioning and independence.

Using focus groups to inform the Neuro-QOL measurement tool: exploring patient-centered, health-related quality of life concepts across neurological conditions.

Measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQL) is of particular importance in neurology clinical trials, where differences in clinical measurements or laboratory data may not translate into significant benefit to the patients. A fundamental consideration in the development and use of an HRQL instrument is whether the instrument's conceptual framework accurately reflects the HRQL experience of the population of interest. This study details the findings from formative research that focused on the identification of content area for an HRQL measurement system in neurology.

Differences in dendritic cell activation and distribution after intravenous, intraperitoneal, and subcutaneous injection of lymphoma cells in mice.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells (APCs) for initiating immune responses. However, in recent years, several groups have shown the defective function of DCs in tumor-bearing mice and in cancer patients. Our aim was to study the effects of lymphoma on DC differentiation and maturation and to assess the input of the tumor microenvironment and intravasation of tumor cells on DC precursors.

CD11b+/Gr-1+ myeloid suppressor cells cause T cell dysfunction after traumatic stress.

T cell dysfunction that occurs after surgery or trauma is associated with a poor clinical outcome. We describe that myeloid suppressor cells expressing CD11b(+)/Gr-1(+) markers invade the spleen after traumatic stress and suppress T cell function through the production of arginase 1. We created a consistent model of traumatic stress in C57BL/6 mice to perform this work.

Restoration by IL-15 of MHC class I antigen-processing machinery in human dendritic cells inhibited by tumor-derived gangliosides.

We have recently reported that MHC class I Ag-processing machinery (APM) component expression in dendritic cells (DC) might be down-regulated by tumor cells. However, the tumor-derived factors responsible for inhibition of the APM component expression in DC generated in the tumor microenvironment as well as potential protective mechanism have not yet been investigated. In this article, we demonstrate that expression of several MHC class I APM components, including MB1 (beta5), LMP2, LMP7, LMP10, and ERp57, is significantly down-regulated in human DC generated in the presence of primary oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines or coincubated with purified gangliosides.

Loss of new chemokine CXCL14 in tumor tissue is associated with low infiltration by dendritic cells (DC), while restoration of human CXCL14 expression in tumor cells causes attraction of DC both in vitro and in vivo.

Breast and kidney-expressed chemokine (BRAK) CXCL14 is a new CXC chemokine with unknown function and receptor selectivity. The majority of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and some cervical squamous cell carcinoma do not express CXCL14 mRNA, as opposed to constitutive expression by normal oral squamous epithelium. In this study, we demonstrate that the loss of CXCL14 in HNSCC cells and at HNSCC primary tumor sites was correlated with low or no attraction of dendritic cell (DC) in vitro, and decreased infiltration of HNSCC mass by DC at the tumor site in vivo.

Murine prostate cancer inhibits both in vivo and in vitro generation of dendritic cells from bone marrow precursors.

Background: There is increasing evidence to suggest that dendritic cells (DC) are functionally impaired in tumor bearing hosts. However there is little or no data on the effects of murine prostate cancer (CaP) on DC generation from bone marrow precursors.

Methods: Flow cytometry, mixed leukocyte reactions (MLR), and immunohistochemical analyses were used to characterize DC in CaP.

Lung cancer-derived bombesin-like peptides down-regulate the generation and function of human dendritic cells.

Development of tumors is regulated by tumor-derived neuroendocrine factors, including bombesin-like peptides (BLP). We have evaluated neuroendocrine regulation of dendritic cell (DC) maturation and function by both tumor-derived and purified bombesin (BOM), neuromedin B (NMB), gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), and a BOM antagonist D-Phe-bombesin (DPB). BOM, NMB and GRP dose-dependently inhibited maturation of DC assessed as down-regulation of CD40, CD80 and CD86 expression on DC.

Increased function and survival of IL-15-transduced human dendritic cells are mediated by up-regulation of IL-15Ralpha and Bcl-2.

It has been recently demonstrated that dendritic cells (DC) coincubated with interleukin (IL)-15 express high levels of the Bcl-2 family of proteins and display an increased resistance to tumor-induced apoptotic death. Here, the phenotype, functions, and survival of human DC transduced with adenoviral vector encoding the human IL-15 gene were studied. The transduction of DC with the IL-15 gene resulted in a significant elevation of expression of CD83, CD86, and CD40 molecules, which was blocked by anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibodies.