High expression of the immature laminin receptor protein correlates with mutated IGVH status and predicts a favorable prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The immature laminin receptor (iLR) is a tumor-associated antigen. We analyzed the expression of iLR on malignant B cells of 134 unselected patient samples with CLL and hypothesized that iLR expression would have prognostic significance due to a differential expression pattern. High ILR expression (cut-off value 30%) was correlated with mutated IGVH status (p<0.

Determinants of quality of life in children with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

The objective of this study is to assess the association between tic severity, attention deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and quality of life (QOL) in children with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). GTS is a multidimensional disorder with disturbances in motor function and behavior. However, little is known about what variables are associated with QOL in these patients.

Humoral immune responses against the immature laminin receptor protein show prognostic significance in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a highly variable clinical course. The role of an autologous tumor-specific immune control contributing to the variable length of survival in CLL is poorly understood. We investigated whether humoral immunity specific for the CLL-associated Ag oncofetal Ag/immature laminin receptor (OFA/iLR) has a prognostic value in CLL.

Localization of SSeCKS in unmyelinated primary sensory neurons.

Background: SSeCKS (Src SupprEssed C Kinase Substrate) is a proposed protein kinase C substrate/A kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) that has recently been characterized in the rat peripheral nervous system. It has been shown that approximately 40% of small primary sensory neurons contain SSeCKS-immunoreactivity in a population largely separate from substance P (95.2%), calcitonin gene related peptide (95.

Needlestick distal nerve injury in rats models symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome.

Background: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)-I consists of chronic limb pain and dysautonomia triggered by traumas that sometime seem too trivial to be causative. Several pathological studies have identified minor distal nerve injuries (DNIs) in CRPS-I patients, but retrospective studies cannot establish causality. Therefore, we, prospectively investigated whether DNIs are sufficient to cause CRPS-like abnormalities in animals.

Survivin-derived peptide epitopes and their role for induction of antitumor immunity in hematological malignancies.

The immune system's ability to detect and destroy tumor cells offers an attractive approach to broaden the spectrum of cancer therapies. Survivin, a member of the apoptosis inhibitor protein family, is a tumor antigen, overexpressed in human cancers giving rise to peptides eliciting spontaneous CD8+ and CD4+ responses. Due to its dual function, blockade of apoptosis and regulation of cell division, survivin is directly associated with tumor survival and therefore regarded as an ideal target structure for immunotherapeutic approaches.

Identification of HLA-A*0201-presented T cell epitopes derived from the oncofetal antigen-immature laminin receptor protein in patients with hematological malignancies.

The oncofetal Ag immature laminin receptor (OFA-iLR) is a potential target molecule for immunotherapeutic studies in several tumor entities, including hematological malignancies. In the present study, we characterize two HLA-A*0201-presented epitopes eliciting strong OFA-iLR peptide-specific human cytotoxic T cell (CTLs) responses in vitro. Both allogeneic HLA-A*0201-matched and autologous CTLs recognized and killed endogenously OFA-iLR-expressing tumor cell lines and primary malignant cells from patients with hemopoietic malignancies in an MHC-restricted fashion but spared nonmalignant hemopoietic cells.

Cutaneous innervation: form and function.

It is useful for dermatologists to know about the innervation of the skin because dysfunction of cutaneous neurons can cause symptoms--such as itching, pain, and paresthesias--that are evaluated by dermatologists. We review the innervation of the skin and update readers about recent neuroscientific discoveries.

Induction of antitumour immunity using survivin peptide-pulsed dendritic cells in a murine lymphoma model.

Survivin is overexpressed in several types of haematological malignancies making it an attractive target for therapeutic cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses. Here, we identify two peptide epitopes derived from the murine survivin protein and demonstrate that Balb/c mice treated with syngeneic dendritic cells pulsed with the survivin epitopes were able to reject an otherwise lethal tumour inoculation of the A20 lymphoma. For the first time, these data provide evidence for the use of survivin peptide epitopes in T cell-based immunotherapeutic concepts against a B-cell lymphoma in vivo.

Induction of cytotoxic T-cell responses against the oncofetal antigen-immature laminin receptor for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

The oncofetal antigen immature laminin receptor protein (OFA-iLRP) is a highly conserved protein that is preferentially expressed in fetal tissues and in many types of cancer, including hematopoietic malignancies, whereas OFA-iLRP is not detectable on healthy differentiated adult cells. To investigate whether OFA-iLRP-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are capable of killing OFA-iLRP-expressing hematologic targets, CTLs were generated from healthy HLA-A*0201-positive volunteers by incubating T cells with autologous dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with OFA-iLRP RNA. OFA-iLRP-specific CTLs lysed HLA-A2+ OFA-iLRP+ tumor cells, including several lymphoma and leukemia cell lines, as well as fresh leukemic targets from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL), indicating that OFA-iLRP-derived peptides are naturally processed and presented by hematologic tumors.

Generation of cytotoxic responses in mice and human individuals against hematological malignancies using survivin-RNA-transfected dendritic cells.

Survivin is a member of the inhibitors of apoptosis family and is overexpressed in many types of human cancers, making it an attractive target for T cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies. Recently, HLA-A2-binding peptides derived from the survivin protein were identified as capable of inducing specific T cell responses in cancer patients. Here we demonstrate that human survivin-specific CTLs generated from PBMC by stimulation with autologous dendritic cells transfected with survivin-RNA were cytotoxic for a range of hemopoietic malignant cell lines and primary tumor cells isolated from patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

SSeCKS immunolabeling in rat primary sensory neurons.

SSeCKS (src suppressed C kinase substrate) is a protein kinase C substrate that may play a role in tumor suppression. Recently described in fibroblasts, testes and mesangial cells, SSeCKS may have a function in the control of cell signaling and cytoskeletal arrangement. To investigate the distribution of SSeCKS throughout the nervous system, representative sections of brain, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia were processed using immunofluorescence.