Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in sub-Saharan Africa and western Europe: a retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with a higher proportion of asymptomatic infections and lower mortality in sub-Saharan Africa than high-income countries. However, there is currently a lack of data on cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in people living in Africa compared with people in high-income regions of the world. We aimed to assess geographical variation in peripheral and mucosal immune responses.

Disruption of memory B-cell trafficking by belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: Autoreactive memory B cells (MBCs) contribute to chronic and progressive courses in autoimmune diseases like SLE. The efficacy of belimumab (BEL), the first approved biologic treatment for SLE and LN, is generally attributed to depletion of activated naïve B cells and inhibition of B-cell activation. BEL's effect on MBCs is currently unexplained.

A transcriptomic based deconvolution framework for assessing differentiation stages and drug responses of AML.

The diagnostic spectrum for AML patients is increasingly based on genetic abnormalities due to their prognostic and predictive value. However, information on the AML blast phenotype regarding their maturational arrest has started to regain importance due to its predictive power for drug responses. Here, we deconvolute 1350 bulk RNA-seq samples from five independent AML cohorts on a single-cell healthy BM reference and demonstrate that the morphological differentiation stages (FAB) could be faithfully reconstituted using estimated cell compositions (ECCs).

Autoantibody subclass predominance is not driven by aberrant class switching or impaired B cell development.

A subset of autoimmune diseases is characterized by predominant pathogenic IgG4 autoantibodies (IgG4-AID). Why IgG4 predominates in these disorders is unknown. We hypothesized that dysregulated B cell maturation or aberrant class switching causes overrepresentation of IgG4 B cells and plasma cells.

Immune Determinants of Viral Clearance in Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients: Reduced Circulating Naïve CD4+ T Cell Counts Correspond with Delayed Viral Clearance.

Virus-specific cellular and humoral responses are major determinants for protection from critical illness after SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the magnitude of the contribution of each of the components to viral clearance remains unclear. Here, we studied the timing of viral clearance in relation to 122 immune parameters in 102 hospitalised patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 in a longitudinal design.

Evaluation of circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer using flow cytometry.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the impact of intraoperative tumor manipulation on CTCs in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Methods: We performed a prospective study on 40 patients with CRC stages I to IV who received curative surgery using the no-touch technique. Flow cytometry was used to identify CTCs in peripheral blood samples (4 mL/sample) collected at two surgical moments: skin incision (T1) and after surgical resection (T2).

The MHC-II antigen presentation machinery and B7 checkpoint ligands display distinctive patterns correlated with acute myeloid leukaemias blast cells HLA-DR expression.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is a neoplasia characterised by rapid proliferation and an increased rate of relapses. The AML blasts display features of antigen-presenting cells (APC), and thus can directly modulate the anti-tumour T cell responses. The bone marrow of a group consisting of 30 newly diagnosed patients and four healthy donors (HD) was investigated for the expression of HLA-DR, several molecules involved in MHC-II antigen-presentation and MHC-II groove editing, like HLA-DM, CD74 and CLIP, as well as a set of immune checkpoint ligands, like ICOS-L, B7.

B7-Positive and B7-Negative Acute Myeloid Leukemias Display Distinct T Cell Maturation Profiles, Immune Checkpoint Receptor Expression, and European Leukemia Net Risk Profiles.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is generally considered a poorly immunogenic malignancy, displaying a "non-inflamed" leukemia microenvironment (LME), leading to T cell tolerance. However, the immune landscape of AML is much more heterogeneous. Since B7 expression is regarded as a consequence of an interferon-mediated "inflammatory" phenotype, we have investigated by flow cytometry the B7 checkpoint ligands B7.

CONCENTRATIONS OF VITREAL CYTOKINES IN RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT.

Unlabelled: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is one of the most frequent causes of failure of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) surgery.

Aim: To measure the vitreous levels of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) in eyes with RRD and in a control group.

Material And Methods: A prospective study of 40 patients operated for RRD (study group) and 20 patients with epiretinal membrane or macular holes (selected as control group since they needed vitrectomy but had attached retinas).

Report of a successful ongoing pregnancy as a result of IMSI with assisted oocyte activation.

We report a successful ongoing pregnancy obtained in a case of total globozoospermia after intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection (IMSI) with oocyte activation. The first semen analysis on investigation showed partial globozoospermia. However, under high magnification assessment at oocyte retrieval only round headed sperm were observed.

It's Never over until It's over: How Can Age and Ovarian Reserve Be Mathematically Bound through the Measurement of Serum AMH-A Study of 5069 Romanian Women.

Wide regional differences in the age-related Anti Mullerian hormone (AMH) regression patterns or age at onset of natural menopause have been reported, possibly reflecting genetic, socioeconomic, environmental, racial or ethnic peculiarities. Moreover, adaptation of AMH levels from different assays using regression functions may lack accuracy and externally defined references for AMH levels may not fully comply with a specific geographical area. The current study aimed to establish an accurate mathematical relationship between AMH serum values and age in a large group of women from Romania, as any consistent difference from previously reported regression models may aid in building specific profiles for the AMH decline with age in this geographical region.

Optimization of culture conditions for bone marrow stromal cells in RPMI-1640 medium.

Unlabelled: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are important for both research and clinical purpose. A number of culture methods for these cells are available on the market, many of them consisting of specialized growing media in combination with growth factors. Our goal was to optimize a less expensive culture method for bone marrow mesenchymal cells.

[Prognostic significance of leukemia-associated phenotype in correlation with other biologic markers in acute myeloid leukemia patients].

Unlabelled: Leukemic cells have unique aberrant phenotypes, which permit identification of this cells at diagnose and in evolution of the disease. Signaling molecules with other cells and bone marrow stroma are part of the leukemic cells phenotype. Genetic and molecular abnormalities have the main prognostic significance and confer the leukemic cell status.

[Evaluation of oral injuries in experimental induced diabetes mellitus by analysis of some gingival fluid markers].

Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the activity of the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and IL1-beta in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) on animal model with experimentally induced diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease.

Material And Method: During our study we used 15 Wistar rats, divided into three groups: I--control, II--with experimental model of periodontal disease, III--with experimental model of periodontal disease and diabetes. The sampling of GCF was realized using Whatman no.

Flow cytometry-based quantification of cytokine levels in AML patients plasma and cell culture supernatants.

Aim: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) have been found to support leukemic cell survival; however, the mechanisms responsible are far from being elucidated yet. The main aim of the current study is to identify particular cytokine/chemokine patterns of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, and, on a longer term, to correlate them with the patient outcome and response to therapy. Therefore, the influence of BMSCs on in vitro modulation of cytokine secretion (IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, IL-10, IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-2) by AML cells as well as the AML cells supportive capacity of BMSCs-derived soluble factors was investigated.

Characterization of in vitro growth of multiple myeloma cells.

Objective: To develop an in vitro culture system for rapid assessment of multiple myeloma (MM) cell growth.

Methods: MM cells lines (MMCLs) L363, U266, and RPMI-8226, and bone marrow (BM)-derived plasma cells (PCs) from MM patients were evaluated for their in vitro growth using various stroma (BMSC, M210-B4, and osteoclasts [OCs]) and cytokine support combinations (combination A: interleukin [IL]-6, vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1 vs combination B: A plus hepatocyte growth factor, IL-13 vs combination C: IL-6, insulin-like growth factor -1, stromal-derived growth factor-1, Galectin-1, IL-1alpha).

Results: We found a significant effect of stroma, notably affecting growth of L363 cells.

[High values of soluble cytokeratin 18 in breast carcinomas may have different meanings].

We have investigated the cellular and serum CK18 in 26 non-treated primary ductal invasive breast carcinomas. The soluble CK18 (TPS) was detected by chemiluminescent assay, and the cellular CK18 and PCNA expression by immunocytochemistry. Flow-cytometry was used to estimate the amount of DNA in malignant cells.

T cell reactivity to Listeria monocytogenes amongst us.

In the last two decades, listeriosis, caused by the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, became one of the most concerning food-born infections. Although it had been known before as an infectious disease of limited importance, listeriosis was brought into attention of scientists due to the frequent outbreaks recently reported. Despite the major progress made towards understanding the mechanisms of virulence of L.

[The study of two immunological markers in patients with type-1 diabetes and in their first degree relatives].

Unlabelled: The prediction of diabetes mellitus is mostly based on the existence of plasma markers. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine islet cell antibodies (ICA) and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA) in 28 diabetic children (12 of them having an evolutive disease of 1 year and 16 at the beginning of the diabetes) and to 47 of their first-degree relatives. There have been determined the levels of these two autoantibodies using the ELISA technique.

Listeria monocytogenes--host interaction.

Both innate and adaptive immunity against Listeria monocytogenes are essential in circumventing or fighting the disease, although there is no clear delineation of the precise role of either in listeriosis. A consistent amount of in vivo experiments have generated a complex picture over the impact of listerial infection on the hosts, and they are shortly reviewed in this paper.