Impact of intensity modulated radiation therapy on survival in anal cancer.

Background: This study was designed to investigate the impact of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) on overall survival (OS) in patients treated with chemoradiation (CRT) for anal cancer (AC).

Methods: We performed a case-control, propensity score (PS) matched analysis of the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) of patients diagnosed with non-metastatic AC from 2004 to 2013. Only patients receiving concurrent CRT were included.

Prognostic relevance of human papillomavirus infection in anal squamous cell carcinoma: analysis of the national cancer data base.

Background: To examine the prognostic relevance of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection for anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) patients treated with chemoradiation (CRT) in the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB).

Methods: The 2014 NCDB was queried for non-metastatic, histologically confirmed, ASCC patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2013. Patients were required to have HPV status documented in order to be eligible.

High GMS score hypospadias: Outcomes after one- and two-stage operations.

Introduction: Established criteria to assist surgeons in deciding between a one- or two-stage operation for severe hypospadias are lacking. While anatomical features may preclude some surgical options, the decision to approach severe hypospadias in a one- or two-stage fashion is generally based on individual surgeon preference. This decision has been described as a dilemma as outcomes range widely and there is lack of evidence supporting the superiority of one approach over the other.

T cell responses to the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 protein in mice of different haplotypes.

The response of murine T cells to the E7 molecule of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) was studied using eight different mouse strains of six distinct H-2 haplotypes. HPV-16 E7 protein was prepared as a fusion protein with glutathione-S-transferase, purified by affinity chromatography and used for immunization. Cells from the lymph nodes were cultured with whole fusion protein, glutathione-S-transferase or HPV-16 E7 protein synthetic peptides.

Erythrocyte-reactive T-cell lines and clones from normal mice recognize serum-derived antigens.

T-cell clones and cell lines which apparently respond to autologous (syngeneic) erythrocytes have been generated from the spleens of normal mice. The response showed considerable cross-reactivity with red blood cells (RBC) from other species, including chicken, and was 'heteroclitic' in that reactivity against some species of RBC, notably rat and monkey, was greater than to mouse. The clones were Thy-1+ L3T4+ Lyt-2- and recognized antigen in association with I-Ak or I-Ek.

Isolation of a human T cell line specific for a streptococcal cell surface antigen.

A streptococcal cell surface antigen of Mr 185,000 (SAI/II) expressed by Streptococcus mutans has previously been well characterised. A T cell line specific for native SAI/II has been isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of a naturally sensitised normal individual. This line has been maintained in culture for several months and was shown to be highly specific, not only for different preparations of native antigen but also for recombinant SAI/II protein.

The comparative frequency of human T cells responding to a native antigen and a synthetic peptide derived from Streptococcus mutans.

The frequency of human peripheral blood T cells responding to a 21-residue synthetic peptide (SP 21) derived from the sequence of a 3.8-kDa streptococcal antigen was estimated by limiting dilution analysis and compared with the frequency of cells responding to the native, cross-reactive 185-kDa streptococcal antigen. Frequency estimates were made by measuring both [3H]thymidine incorporation and IL 2 production in the same cell cultures.

Human T cell responses to beta-galactosidase.

The peripheral blood of most normal individuals has been shown to contain T cells that respond to beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal), presumably as a result of natural priming. Three T cell clones (clones 1,2,4) specific for beta-Gal were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after pretreatment with leucine methyl ester (LeuOMe); a fourth clone from the same individual was isolated from untreated cells. All four clones were CD4+ CD8- alpha beta TcR+ and clone 1 was additionally shown to be cytotoxic.

Induction of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis in B cell-depleted mice.

The effect of B cell depletion on the induction and severity of murine experimental autoimmune thyroiditis was investigated. Thirteen CBA mice were given repeated intraperitoneal doses of 700 micrograms purified rabbit anti-mouse Ig antibody from 24 hours to 8 weeks after birth. Controls were given normal rabbit IgG (14 mice) or were left uninjected (10 mice).

Tolerance to minor histocompatibility antigens.

A neonatal tolerance model employing fully allogeneic lymphoid cells as tolerogen was used in an investigation of tolerance to self and donor minor histocompatibility antigens (miHA). Tolerance was assessed by skin grafting and subsequently by the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Two strain combinations were investigated.

Human fetal lymphocytes require T cell growth factors for cytotoxic responses.

Lymphocytes isolated from the blood of 17 human fetuses, varying in gestational age between 16 and 26 weeks, were tested for their capacity to generate specific cytotoxic cells after mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) with allogeneic cells in the presence or absence of exogenous T cell growth factor (TCGF). Blood cells from seven fetuses, distributed throughout the age range, failed to generate cytotoxic cells even when TCGF was added in MLC, whereas six others gave positive responses but only when exogenous TCGF was present during the sensitisation phase. The maturation induced in the latter was not caused solely by a direct, non-specific effect of the TCGF, for control responder cells incubated with TCGF in the absence of allogeneic stimulator cells always responded less strongly or not at all.

Presentation of alloantigens by host cells.

Presentation of alloantigens by host cells has been examined in vivo by means of a murine cell transfer system. Primary (1 degree) hosts were activated by the i.p.

Red cell volume distribution curves and intracellular globin chain precipitation in the alpha-thalassaemic mouse, Hbath-J.

Red cell volume distribution curves were studied in alpha-thalassaemic mice (Hbath-J/+ mice) and normal mice (+/+ mice) of various ages. Individual Hbath-J/+ mice could not be reliably distinguished from their +/+ littermates on the basis of modal cell volume either at birth or during the first 3 weeks of life. However, between the ages of 4 and 30 weeks Hbath-J/+ mice displayed a degree of microcytosis that enabled them to be readily distinguished from their normal littermates using the criterion of modal red cell volume.

Acquired immunological tolerance of foreign cells is impaired by recombinant interleukin 2 or vitamin A acetate.

The susceptibility of newborn mice to the inception of tolerance after exposure to antigen is associated with their deficiency in the production of endogenous interleukin 2 (IL-2). As further evidence of the complicity of IL-2 in the inception and maintenance of tolerance, it is shown here that a solid and long-lasting state of tolerance induced by the intravenous injection into newborn CBA mice of lymphoid cells from (CBA X C57BL/10ScSn)F1 hybrids can be brought to an end by the administration of exogenous IL-2 or by supplementing an otherwise normal diet with vitamin A acetate, the effect of which is to increase the proportion of the moiety of the T-cell population that produces IL-2. These results indicate that certain nonspecific stimuli can influence whether immunological tolerance is maintained.

Abrogation of resistance to bone marrow transplantation by induction of specific tolerance in natural killer cells?

Hybrid resistance describes the capacity of first generation (F1) hybrids between certain mouse strains to inhibit the growth of tumour or haematopoietic cells of parental origin. The cells that appear to mediate this phenomenon differ from classical T and B lymphocytes in several respects. For example, they are unusually radioresistant, show no immunological memory, are present in thymectomized or congenitally athymic mice, are not functional until about 3 weeks after birth.

The effect of T lymphocyte depletion on neonatal tolerance induction, graft-vs.-host disease and cellular chimerism.

Treatment with a monoclonal anti-Thy-1 antibody and complement completely prevented C57BL spleen cells from causing graft-vs.-host disease following their inoculation into newborn CBA mice. The proportion of mice that became tolerant to C57BL antigens, as measured by skin grafting, was significantly less compared with mice given (CBA X C57BL)F1 hybrid cells.

Tolerance, immunocompetence, and secondary disease in fully allogeneic radiation chimeras.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the extent to which secondary disease and mortality in fully allogeneic chimeras (C57BL leads to CBA) is caused (if at all) by a delayed graft-versus-host reaction. Adult CBA males were thymectomized, irradiated, and reconstituted with T-lymphocyte-depleted C57BL or CBA bone marrow cells (BMC), followed three weeks after irradiation by implantation under the kidney capsule of thymic lobes from C57BL or CBA fetal or adult donors. These mice were observed for the development of secondary disease for periods in excess of 250 days, and they were examined at 5 weeks or 4 months for T lymphocyte reactivity and tolerance to alloantigens, using the cell-mediated lympholysis assay (CML).

Suppression of natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity in man by maternal and neonatal serum.

the natural cytotoxicity of cells prepared from the blood of human neonates and women at the time of parturition was investigated, using a 4 hr 51Cr release assay and two established cell lines as targets. Although cord cells proved to be cytotoxic, the overall level was distinctly lower than that of normal adult cells. Whereas adult cells from males gave higher levels of cytotoxicity compared with cells from females, this was not the case for cord cells.