IFN-gamma-mediated upmodulation of MHC class I expression activates tumor-specific immune response in a mouse model of prostate cancer.

De novo expression of B7-1 impaired tumorigenicity of TRAMP-C2 mouse prostate adenocarcinoma (TRAMP-C2/B7), but it did not elicit a protective response against TRAMP-C2 parental tumor, unless after in vitro treatment with IFN-gamma. TRAMP-C2 cells secrete TGF-beta and show low MHC-I expression. Treatment with IFN-gamma increased MHC-I expression by induction of some APM components and antagonizing the immunosuppressant activity of TGF-beta.

Constitutive activation of p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs in epithelial cells of myasthenic thymus leads to IL-6 and RANTES overexpression: effects on survival and migration of peripheral T and B cells.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease of neuromuscular junctions where thymus plays a pathogenetic role. Thymectomy benefits patients, and thymic hyperplasia, a lymphoid infiltration of perivascular spaces becoming site of autoantibody production, is recurrently observed. Cytokines and chemokines, produced by thymic epithelium and supporting survival and migration of T and B cells, are likely to be of great relevance in pathogenesis of thymic hyperplasia.

Effects of dietary wheat germ deprivation on the immune system in Wistar rats: a pilot study.

Bioactive molecules that can gain access to body tissues through the gastrointestinal tract may interact with immune regulatory circuits and effector functions. Among these are plant lectins, such as wheat germ (WG) agglutinin, which constitute common components of the human diet and target the immune system on a daily basis. Dietary bioactive molecules might be considered as immunomodulatory signals.