Vaccination with protein-transduced dendritic cells elicits a sustained response to hepatitis C viral antigens.

Background & Aims: Professional antigen-presenting dendritic cells are capable of eliciting a vigorous antiviral response in naive T cells. The administration of antigen-loaded dendritic cells offers a potential approach to induce high-level immunity against hepatitis C virus.

Methods: The dendritic cell population in mice was expanded in vivo by hydrodynamic delivery of naked DNA that encoded the secreted form of human fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand.

p27kip1 deficiency confers susceptibility to gastric carcinogenesis in Helicobacter pylori-infected mice.

Background & Aims: Determining how Helicobacter pylori promotes gastric cancer and whether H pylori eradication decreases cancer risk would be helped by suitable murine models. Mice lacking the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1 are susceptible to carcinogen-induced tumors. Furthermore, p27 stimulates gastric epithelial apoptosis and inhibits proliferation, expression is decreased by H pylori, and low levels are associated with a poor prognosis in gastric cancer.