Impact of no publicly accessible prenatal education programming on patients and their care providers: a descriptive qualitative study in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Objective: Patients in Nova Scotia do not have access to public prenatal education programming. This study aimed to explore whether care providers find patients are uninformed or misinformed, and the impact of that on patients and their care providers with a focus on clinical outcomes, time, resources and informed decision-making.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 care providers around Halifax and Cape Breton.

Janus or Hydra: The Many Faces of T Helper Cells in the Human Tumour Microenvironment.

CD4+ T helper (T) cells are key regulators in the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME), mediating the adaptive immunological response towards cancer, mainly through the activation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. After antigen recognition and proper co-stimulation, naïve T cells are activated, undergo clonal expansion, and release cytokines that will define the differentiation of a specific effector T cell subtype. These different subtypes have different functions, which can mediate both anti- and pro-tumour immunological responses.

Map kinase and PKC signaling pathways modulate NGF-mediated apoE transcription.

The present study assessed the mechanisms by which nerve growth factor (NGF) increased the level of apolipoprotein E (apoE) in PC12 cells. NGF (50ng/mL) significantly increased apoE protein levels following 72h of treatment. Similarly NGF increased luciferase activity in cells transfected with a luciferase reporter construct containing a 500bp fragment of the apoE promoter, indicating NGF-induced apoE expression is regulated, at least in part, at the level of transcription.

Interactions between microglia and T cells in multiple sclerosis pathobiology.

Brain-resident microglia and T lymphocytes recruited into the central nervous system both play important roles in the neuropathology of multiple sclerosis. The microglia and recruited T cells are in close proximity in lesions of multiple sclerosis and in animal models, suggesting their potential for interactions. In support, microglia and T cells express a number of molecules that permit their engagement.