Mesothelin-specific CD8(+) T cell responses provide evidence of in vivo cross-priming by antigen-presenting cells in vaccinated pancreatic cancer patients.

Tumor-specific CD8(+) T cells can potentially be activated by two distinct mechanisms of major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted antigen presentation as follows: direct presentation by tumor cells themselves or indirect presentation by professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs). However, controversy still exists as to whether indirect presentation (the cross-priming mechanism) can contribute to effective in vivo priming of tumor-specific CD8(+) T cells that are capable of eradicating cancer in patients. A clinical trial of vaccination with granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor-transduced pancreatic cancer lines was designed to test whether cross-presentation by locally recruited APCs can activate pancreatic tumor-specific CD8(+) T cells.

Relationships between surface-detected EMG signals and motor unit activation.

Introduction: Surface-detected electromyographic (S-EMG) signals are used in exercise science to assess the extent of muscle activation, muscle fatigue, and neural activity during muscle contraction. However, the relationship has not been studied between S-EMG signal amplitude and motor unit activation at different muscle force levels.

Methods: S-EMG signals were measured from 76 healthy subjects during target force levels of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the knee extensors over 20-30 s.