Interrelations of vegetation growth and water scarcity in Iran revealed by satellite time series.

Iran has experienced a drastic increase in water scarcity in the last decades. The main driver has been the substantial unsustainable water consumption of the agricultural sector. This study quantifies the spatiotemporal dynamics of Iran's hydrometeorological water availability, land cover, and vegetation growth and evaluates their interrelations with a special focus on agricultural vegetation developments.

Safety and tolerability of a single infusion of autologous ex vivo expanded regulatory T cells in adults with ulcerative colitis (ER-TREG 01): protocol of a phase 1, open-label, fast-track dose-escalation clinical trial.

Introduction: Accumulating evidence suggests that the adoptive transfer of ex vivo expanded regulatory T cells (Treg) may overcome colitogenic immune responses in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. The objective of the ER-TREG 01 trial is to assess safety and tolerability of a single infusion of autologous ex vivo expanded Treg in adults with ulcerative colitis.

Methods And Analysis: The study is designed as a single-arm, fast-track dose-escalation trial.

Cryopreservation impairs 3-D migration and cytotoxicity of natural killer cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells are important effector cells in the immune response to cancer. Clinical trials on adoptively transferred NK cells in patients with solid tumors, however, have thus far been unsuccessful. As NK cells need to pass stringent safety evaluation tests before clinical use, the cells are cryopreserved to bridge the necessary evaluation time.

Good Manufacturing Practice-Compliant Production and Lot-Release of Expanded Regulatory T Cells As Basis for Treatment of Patients with Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders.

In recent years, the exploration of regulatory T cell (Treg)-based cellular therapy has become an attractive strategy to ameliorate inflammation and autoimmunity in various clinical settings. The main obstacle to the clinical application of Treg in human is their low number circulating in peripheral blood. Therefore, expansion is inevitable.

Characterization and Expansion of Autologous GMP-ready Regulatory T Cells for TREG-based Cell Therapy in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: A local imbalance between regulatory (Treg) and effector T cells is believed to play a major role in gut-specific inflammation, including ulcerative colitis (UC). Restoration of this balance through an adoptive Treg transfer is an attractive new treatment approach in patients who are refractory to current standard therapies. It was our goal to develop a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-conform protocol for expansion of UC Treg cells as a rational backbone for future studies on Treg therapy in UC.