Persistent lymphocyte reduction and interleukin-6 levels are independently associated with death in patients with COVID-19.

To investigate the value of the peripheral blood lymphocyte count (LYM) combined with interleukin-6 (IL-6) in predicting disease severity and prognosis in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia. This was a prospective observational cohort study. A total of 109 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who were admitted to Nanjing First Hospital from December 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled.

The effects of splicing variant of PXR PAR-2 on CYP3A4 and MDR1 mRNA expressions.

Background: PAR-2(SV1), a splicing variant of PXR, has similar activity as PXR wild type. Currently, a 6bp-deletion variant ((-133)GAGAAG(-128)) in promoter region of PAR-2(SV1) was reported, which could diminish the hPAR-2 promote activity in HepG2 cells. The distribution and functions of 6bp-deletion in Chinese were investigated.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: malignant proliferation of T-regulatory cells.

Studies in an in vitro model of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) demonstrated that CTCL cell proliferation is stimulated by direct contact with autologous, immature dendritic cells (DCs), suggesting that CD4(+) CTCL cell division is driven by antigens presented by DC major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class 2. We now report that the T-cell receptor (TCR) of the CD4(+) CTCL cells is triggered after interaction with DCs loaded with apoptotic CTCL cells, as shown by reduced membrane expression of CD3 and the TCR, up-regulation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), and calcium mobilization. CTCL cells adopt a T-regulatory (Treg) phenotype expressing CD25/CTLA-4 and FoxP3 and secreting interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta).

The growth of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is stimulated by immature dendritic cells.

In the initial stage of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), proliferating CTCL cells are concentrated in the epidermis in close association with an immature dendritic cell (DC), the Langerhans cell. Because long-term in vitro culture of CTCL cells has proven difficult, the in vivo association with the major antigen-presenting cell (APC) of the epidermis has been postulated to play a role in directly stimulating the clonal T-cell proliferation. We report that CTCL cells can be reproducibly grown in culture for 3 months when cocultured with immature DCs.