Enhanced antibody responses in CD19-Cre mice.

CD19-Cre is an important and widely used Cre-lox model for B cell-specific genetic manipulation in murine systems. Mice carrying one allele of CD19-Cre are, at the same time, rendered heterozygote for CD19, a crucial coreceptor of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR). As a result, CD19-Cre mice exhibit diminished expression levels of CD19, with potential, yet insufficiently examined, consequences in B cell activation.

Assessing Femoral Anteversion in Patients With Bilateral Recurrent Patellar Dislocations.

Background: After first-time lateral patellar dislocation, 44% to 70% of patients sustain redislocations. Increased femoral anteversion (FA) is considered to result in increased lateralizing forces on the patella, which might predispose one to patellar instability. When recurrent patellar dislocations (RPDs) are bilateral, it is unclear if the FA is even more increased.

Oxidative Stress and Inflammation-Related mRNAs Are Elevated in Serum of a Finnish Wet AMD Cohort.

Purpose: Localized diseases can be affected by and affect the systemic environment via blood circulation. In this study, we explored the differences in circulating serum mRNAs between patients with wet AMD (wAMD) and controls.

Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 60 Finnish patients with wAMD and 64 controls.

The assembly of neutrophil inflammasomes during COVID-19 is mediated by type I interferons.

The severity of COVID-19 is linked to excessive inflammation. Neutrophils represent a critical arm of the innate immune response and are major mediators of inflammation, but their role in COVID-19 pathophysiology remains poorly understood. We conducted transcriptomic profiling of neutrophils obtained from patients with mild and severe COVID-19, as well as from SARS-CoV-2 infected mice, in comparison to non-infected healthy controls.

LRG1 and SDR16C5 protein expressions differ according to HPV status in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

The increasing incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is primarily due to human papillomavirus, and understanding the tumor biology caused by the virus is crucial. Our goal was to investigate the proteins present in the serum of patients with OPSCC, which were not previously studied in OPSCC tissue. We examined the difference in expression of these proteins between HPV-positive and -negative tumors and their correlation with clinicopathological parameters and patient survival.

IGSF3 tissue expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx: a novel tool for prognosis assessment in HPV-related and HPV-unrelated disease.

Biomarkers are not broadly used in the management of head and neck cancers (HNCs). Biomarkers have been beneficial in the management of other cancers, however, not in HNCs. Therefore, we observed the immunopositivity of a novel biomarker called immunoglobulin superfamily member 3 (IGSF3) in tumor tissues in HPV-related and HPV-unrelated OPSCC.

Team players and helpers - describing professional identity among finnish physicians in a cross-sectional study.

Background: Every physician has a unique professional identity. However, little is known about the diversity of identities among physicians. This study aimed to quantitatively assess the professional identity of physicians in Finland using descriptions of professional identity.

Endolysosomal vesicles at the center of B cell activation.

The endolysosomal system specializes in degrading cellular components and is crucial to maintaining homeostasis and adapting rapidly to metabolic and environmental cues. Cells of the immune system exploit this network to process antigens or promote cell death by secreting lysosome-related vesicles. In B lymphocytes, lysosomes are harnessed to facilitate the extraction of antigens and to promote their processing into peptides for presentation to T cells, critical steps to mount protective high-affinity antibody responses.

Altered microheterogeneity at several N-glycosylation sites in OPSCC in constant protein expression conditions.

Protein glycosylation responds sensitively to disease states. It is implicated in every hallmark of cancer and has recently started to be considered as a hallmark itself. Changes in N-glycosylation microheterogeneity are more dramatic than those of protein expression due to the non-template nature of protein glycosylation.

The Small GTPase Rab7 Regulates Antigen Processing in B Cells in a Possible Interplay with Autophagy Machinery.

In B cells, antigen processing and peptide-antigen (pAg) presentation is essential to ignite high-affinity antibody responses with the help of cognate T cells. B cells efficiently internalize and direct specific antigens for processing and loading onto MHCII. This critical step, which enables pAg presentation, occurs in MHCII compartments (MIICs) which possess the enzymatic machinery for pAg loading on MHCII.

Dynamic Micropatterning Reveals Substrate-Dependent Differences in the Geometric Control of Cell Polarization and Migration.

Cells are highly dynamic and adopt variable shapes and sizes. These variations are biologically important but challenging to investigate in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. Micropatterning, confining cells on microfabricated substrates with defined geometries and molecular compositions, is a powerful tool for controlling cell shape and interactions.

Quartet RNA reference materials improve the quality of transcriptomic data through ratio-based profiling.

Certified RNA reference materials are indispensable for assessing the reliability of RNA sequencing to detect intrinsically small biological differences in clinical settings, such as molecular subtyping of diseases. As part of the Quartet Project for quality control and data integration of multi-omics profiling, we established four RNA reference materials derived from immortalized B-lymphoblastoid cell lines from four members of a monozygotic twin family. Additionally, we constructed ratio-based transcriptome-wide reference datasets between two samples, providing cross-platform and cross-laboratory 'ground truth'.

CD73 regulates zoledronate-induced lymphocyte infiltration in triple-negative breast cancer tumors and lung metastases.

Introduction: Bisphosphonates (BPs) are bone-protecting osteoclast inhibitors, typically used in the treatment of osteoporosis and skeletal complications of malignancies. When given in the adjuvant setting, these drugs may also prevent relapses and prolong overall survival in early breast cancer (EBC), specifically among postmenopausal patients. Because of these findings, adjuvant nitrogen-containing BPs (N-BPs), such as zoledronate (ZOL), are now the standard of care for high-risk EBC patients, but there are no benefit-associated biomarkers, and the efficacy remains low.

B cell receptor-induced protein dynamics and the emerging role of SUMOylation revealed by proximity proteomics.

Successful B cell activation, which is critical for high-affinity antibody production, is controlled by the B cell antigen receptor (BCR). However, we still lack a comprehensive protein-level view of the very dynamic multi-branched cellular events triggered by antigen binding. Here, we employed APEX2 proximity biotinylation to study antigen-induced changes, 5-15 min after receptor activation, at the vicinity of the plasma membrane lipid rafts, wherein BCR enriches upon activation.

Liprin-α1 Expression in Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Associates with Improved Survival in Patients with HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Liprin-α1 is a scaffold protein involved in cell adhesion, motility, and invasion in malignancies. Liprin-α1 inhibits the expression of metastatic suppressor CD82 in cancers such as oral carcinoma, and the expression of these proteins has been known to correlate negatively. The role of these proteins has not been previously studied in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck cancers.

Neurocan expression associates with better survival and viral positivity in Merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma that is frequently divided into Merkel cell polyomavirus negative and positive tumors due their distinct genomic and transcriptomic profiles, and disease outcomes. Although some prognostic factors in MCC are known, tumorigenic pathways, which that explain outcome differences in MCC are not fully understood. We investigated transcriptomes of 110 tissue samples of a formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded MCC series by RNA sequencing to identify genes showing a bimodal expression pattern and predicting outcome in cancer and that potentially could play a role in tumorigenesis.

Isolation of the B Cell Immune Synapse for Proteomic Analysis.

Recent technical developments have fueled increasing utilization of proteomics to gain new insights into various aspects of cellular behavior. In this chapter, we describe a method to specifically isolate immune synapses from mouse primary B cells. The method utilizes antibody-coated magnetic beads to induce the formation of the immune synapses and describes a protocol for the extraction of the cell-bead adhesions for mass spectrometry analysis.

Exploring Transcriptomic Landscapes in Red Blood Cells, in Their Extracellular Vesicles and on a Single-Cell Level.

Being enucleated, RBCs lack typical transcriptomes, but are known to contain small amounts of diverse long transcripts and microRNAs. However, the exact role and importance of these RNAs are lacking. Shedding of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from the plasma membrane constitutes an integral mechanism of RBC homeostasis, by which RBCs remove unnecessary cytoplasmic content and cell membrane.

Production of Bioactive Peptides from Baltic Herring (): Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitory, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Properties.

This study aimed to produce bioactive protein hydrolysates from undervalued fish, namely Baltic herring, and its filleting by-products. Protein hydrolysates were produced with Alcalase and Flavourzyme to achieve effective hydrolysis. The hydrolysates were evaluated for chemical composition, molecular weight distribution, antioxidant capacity, dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitory activity, effects on cell proliferation and surface hydrophobicity.

The SNARE protein Vti1b is recruited to the sites of BCR activation but is redundant for antigen internalisation, processing and presentation.

In order to fulfil the special requirements of antigen-specific activation and communication with other immune cells, B lymphocytes require finely regulated endosomal vesicle trafficking. How the endosomal machinery is regulated in B cells remains largely unexplored. In our previous proximity proteomic screen, we identified the SNARE protein Vti1b as one of the strongest candidates getting accumulated to the sites of early BCR activation.

Risk factors for development of personal protective equipment induced headache: e-survey of medical staff in Baltic states.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented increase in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among medical personnel. The goal of this study was to determine the risk factors and frequency of PPE-induced headache during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: From January 25 to March 1, 2021, an anonymous online survey was undertaken in the Baltic states.

Effects of Weak Acids on the Microbiological, Nutritional and Sensory Quality of Baltic Herring ().

Baltic herring () pickled in vinegar is a common product in the Nordic countries. Other weak acids are used to cook and preserve fish in other food cultures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of weak acids to produce safe and nutritious pickled fish products with varying sensory properties.

The Role of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Beta (hCGβ) in HPV-Positive and HPV-Negative Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: This study was carried out to observe the upregulation of the free β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGβ) and its prognostic significance in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Materials and methods: A total of 90 patients with OPSCC treated with curative intent at the Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), Helsinki, Finland, during 2012−2016 were included. Serum samples were collected prospectively, and their hCGβ concentrations (S-hCGβ) were determined by an immunofluorometric assay.

Analysis of human brain tissue derived from DBS surgery.

Background: Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of human brain tissue is hindered by the availability of fresh samples from living patients. Postmortem samples usually represent the advanced disease stage of the patient. Furthermore, the postmortem interval can affect the transcriptomic and proteomic profiles.