Results of collagen plug occlusion of anal fistula: a multicentre study of 126 patients.

Aim: The Biodesign(®) anal fistula plug was introduced as a means of obliterating the fistula tract and promoting healing through biocompatibility. The results demonstrated unexplained variations from good to bad. This report analysed the results of a retrospective multicentre study.

Alteration of pharmacokinetics of cyclophosphamide and suppression of the cytochrome p450 genes by ciprofloxacin.

Recently, it has been reported that prophylactic administration of ciprofloxacin during cyclophosphamide (CY) conditioning was a high-risk factor for relapse in patients undergoing allogeneic BMT. In the present study, we investigated the possible mechanisms of this interaction in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The kinetics of CY and its active 4-OH-CY metabolite were determined, after 3 days pretreatment with ciprofloxacin (200 mg/kg) and compared to control rats without treatment.

Cytolytic T cell reactivity to Epstein-Barr virus is lost during in vitro T cell expansion.

In the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, ex vivo culturing of donor T lymphocytes is a necessary step for processes such as gene modification. Often the aim is to enable control of undesired alloreactivity after in vivo administration of the cultured cells. However, it is not fully understood how T cell reactivity against donor and third-party targets is affected by the ex vivo cell culturing process.

A new method for in vitro expansion of cytotoxic human CD3-CD56+ natural killer cells.

Adoptive transfer of immunocompetent cells may induce anti-tumor effects in vivo. However, a significant obstacle to the development of successful cellular immunotherapy has been the availability of appropriate cytotoxic cells. Among the immunologic effector cells that are considered mediators of anti-tumor effects, those with the highest per-cell cytotoxic capacity express a natural killer (NK) cell phenotype, i.