Reactive oxygen species level defines two functionally distinctive stages of inflammatory dendritic cell development from mouse bone marrow.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in various physiological activities. However, their role in dendritic cell (DC) activation and generation has not been investigated. Using the bone marrow-derived GM-CSF-induced ex vivo DC model, we characterize how induction of ROS correlates with inflammatory DC functionality and expansion.

Helical tomotherapy-based STAT RT: Dosimetric evaluation for clinical implementation of a rapid radiation palliation program.

Helical tomotherapy-based STAT radiation therapy (RT) uses an efficient software algorithm for rapid intensity-modulated treatment planning, enabling conformal radiation treatment plans to be generated on megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) scans for CT simulation, treatment planning, and treatment delivery in one session. We compared helical tomotherapy-based STAT RT dosimetry with standard linac-based 3D conformal plans and standard helical tomotherapy-based intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) dosimetry for palliative treatments of whole brain, a central obstructive lung mass, multilevel spine disease, and a hip metastasis. Specifically, we compared the conformality, homogeneity, and dose with regional organs at risk (OARs) for each plan as an initial step in the clinical implementation of a STAT RT rapid radiation palliation program.

Tumor cell survival dependence on helical tomotherapy, continuous arc and segmented dose delivery.

The temporal pattern of radiation delivery has been shown to influence the tumor cell survival fractions for the same radiation dose. To study the effect more specifically for state of the art rotational radiation delivery modalities, 2 Gy of radiation dose was delivered to H460 lung carcinoma, PC3 prostate cancer cells and MCF-7 breast tumor cells by helical tomotherapy (HT), seven-field LINAC (7F), and continuous dose delivery (CDD) over 2 min that simulates volumetric rotational arc therapy. Cell survival was measured by the clonogenic assay.

Tracking brain motion during the cardiac cycle using spiral cine-DENSE MRI.

Cardiac-synchronized brain motion is well documented, but the accurate measurement of such motion on the pixel-by-pixel basis has been hampered by the lack of proper imaging technique. In this article, the authors present the implementation of an autotracking spiral cine displacement-encoded stimulation echo (DENSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for the measurement of pulsatile brain motion during the cardiac cycle. Displacement-encoded dynamic MR images of three healthy volunteers were acquired throughout the cardiac cycle using the spiral cine-DENSE pulse sequence gated to the R wave of an electrocardiogram.

[Splenic sarcoidosis: a case report and review of literature].

Objective: To describe the clinical features and imaging characteristics of nodular splenic sarcoidosis.

Methods: We describe a patient with splenic sarcoidosis and review the related medical literature, the etiology, symptomatology, pathology, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, management and prognosis of splenic sarcoidosis.

Results: The etiology of this rare disease remains unknown.

Dynamic MRI of grid-tagged hyperpolarized helium-3 for the assessment of lung motion during breathing.

Purpose: To develop a dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tagging technique using hyperpolarized helium-3 (HP He-3) to track lung motion.

Methods And Materials: An accelerated non-Cartesian k-space trajectory was used to gain acquisition speed, at the cost of introducing image artifacts, providing a viable strategy for obtaining whole-lung coverage with adequate temporal resolution. Multiple-slice two-dimensional dynamic images of the lung were obtained in three healthy subjects after inhaling He-3 gas polarized to 35%-40%.

Chest wall volume receiving >30 Gy predicts risk of severe pain and/or rib fracture after lung stereotactic body radiotherapy.

Purpose: To identify the dose-volume parameters that predict the risk of chest wall (CW) pain and/or rib fracture after lung stereotactic body radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: From a combined, larger multi-institution experience, 60 consecutive patients treated with three to five fractions of stereotactic body radiotherapy for primary or metastatic peripheral lung lesions were reviewed. CW pain was assessed using the Common Toxicity Criteria for pain.

The implication of non-cyclic intrafractional longitudinal motion in SBRT by TomoTherapy.

To determine the dosimetric impact of non-cyclic longitudinal intrafractional motion, TomoTherapy plans with different field sizes were interrupted during a phantom delivery, and a displacement between -5 mm and 5 mm was induced prior to the delivery of the completion procedure. The planar dose was measured by film and a cylindrical phantom, and under-dosed or over-dosed volume was observed for either positive or negative displacement. For a 2.

Mechanical and water soaking properties of medium density fiberboard with wood fiber and soybean protein adhesive.

Soybean protein is a renewable and abundant material that offers an alternative to formaldehyde-based resins. In this study, soybean protein was modified with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an adhesive for wood fiber medium density fiberboard (MDF) preparation. Second-order response surface regression models were used to study the effects and interactions of initial moisture content (IMC) of coated wood fiber, press time (PT) and temperature on mechanical and water soaking properties of MDF.

A rabbit irradiation platform for outcome assessment of lung stereotactic radiosurgery.

Purpose: To evaluate a helical tomotherapy-based rodent radiosurgery platform that reproduces human image-guided radiosurgery treatment to study radiobiologic effects of stereotactic radiosurgery on lung tissues using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods And Materials: Hypofractionated radisourgery (20 Gy x 3) was delivered to the right lung of three New Zealand rabbits using Helical TomoTherapy with MVCT image guidance. Contrast-enhanced MR perfusion, hyperpolarized helium-3 MR ventilation, and CT were obtained before radiation and monthly for 4 months after radiation.

Tetraspanins CD37 and CD151 differentially regulate Ag presentation and T-cell co-stimulation by DC.

A major question in immunology is how DC can display limited amounts of individual peptide-MHC complexes and still induce cross-linking of T-cell receptors to initiate cellular responses. One suggested mechanism is that MHC exists at the cell surface in high avidity multimers, and tetraspanin proteins, known to laterally associate with both MHC classes I and II, promote MHC multimerisation. To validate this theory, we tested the ability of DC deficient in either one of two typical tetraspanin molecules: CD37 or CD151 to present peptide to Ag-specific T cells.

The effect of respiratory motion variability and tumor size on the accuracy of average intensity projection from four-dimensional computed tomography: an investigation based on dynamic MRI.

Composite images such as average intensity projection (AIP) and maximum intensity projection (MIP) derived from four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) images are commonly used in radiation therapy for treating lung and abdominal tumors. It has been reported that the quality of 4D-CT images is influenced by the patient respiratory variability, which can be assessed by the standard deviation of the peak and valley of the respiratory trajectory. Subsequently, the resultant MIP underestimates the actual tumor motion extent.

Molecular basis of improved immunogenicity in DNA vaccination mediated by a mannan based carrier.

Receptor mediated gene delivery is an attractive non-viral method for targeting genetic material to specific cell types. We have previously utilized oxidized (OMPLL) and reduced mannan poly-L-lysine (RMPLL) to target DNA vaccines to antigen presenting cells and demonstrated that it could induce far stronger immune responses in mice compared to naked DNA immunization. In this study, we describe the immune enhancing attributes of mannan-PLL mediated DNA vaccination at the molecular level.

Semiconductor nanoparticles as energy mediators for photosensitizer-enhanced radiotherapy.

Purpose: It has been proposed that quantum dots (QDs) can be used to excite conjugated photosensitizers and produce cytotoxic singlet oxygen. To study the potential of using such a conjugate synergistically with radiotherapy to enhance cell killing, we investigated the energy transfer from megavoltage (MV) X-rays to a photosensitizer using QDs as the mediator and quantitated the enhancement in cell killing.

Methods And Materials: The photon emission efficiency of QDs on excitation by 6-MV X-rays was measured using dose rates of 100-600 cGy/min.

Reproducibility of interfraction lung motion probability distribution function using dynamic MRI: statistical analysis.

Purpose: To investigate the statistical reproducibility of craniocaudal probability distribution function (PDF) of interfraction lung motion using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods And Materials: A total of 17 subjects, 9 healthy volunteers and 8 lung tumor patients, underwent two to three continuous 300-s magnetic resonance imaging scans in the sagittal plane, repeated 2 weeks apart. Three pulmonary vessels from different lung regions (upper, middle, and lower) in the healthy subjects and lung tumor patients were selected for tracking, and the displacement PDF reproducibility was evaluated as a function of scan time and frame rate.

Protein/peptide and DNA vaccine delivery by targeting C-type lectin receptors.

C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) are a class of pathogen-recognition receptors that are actively investigated in the field of vaccine delivery. Many of their properties have functions linked to the immune system. These receptors are expressed abundantly on antigen-presenting cells and are considered to be the sentinels of immune surveillance owing to their endocytic nature and the ability to recognize a diverse range of pathogens through recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns.

The adjuvanticity of a mannosylated antigen reveals TLR4 functionality essential for subset specialization and functional maturation of mouse dendritic cells.

The evidence that dendritic cell (DC) subsets produce differential cytokines in response to specific TLR stimulation is robust. However, the role of TLR stimulation in Ag presentation and phenotypic maturation among DC subsets is not clear. Through the adjuvanticity of a novel mannosylated Ag, mannosylated dendrimer OVA (MDO), as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern Ag, we characterized the functionality of GM-CSF/IL-4-cultured bone marrow DC and Flt3 ligand (Flt3-L) DC subsets by Ag presentation and maturation assays.

Oxidized and reduced mannan mediated MUC1 DNA immunization induce effective anti-tumor responses.

DNA immunization is an attractive form of vaccination, which has shown promising results only in small animal models. There is a need to develop efficient gene delivery systems. We previously demonstrated that oxidized (OM) and reduced mannan (RM) complexed to ovalbumin DNA via poly-l-lysine (PLL), were able to generate potent immune responses in mice.

Evaluation of coplanar partial left breast irradiation using tomotherapy-based topotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the use of topotherapy for accelerated partial breast irradiation through field-design optimization and dosimetric comparison to linear accelerator-based three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

Methods And Materials: Hypothetical 3-cm lumpectomy sites were contoured in each quadrant of a left breast by using dosimetric guidelines from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-39/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0413 protocol. Coplanar intensity-modulated topotherapy treatment plans were optimized by using two-, three-, four-, five-, and seven-field arrangements for delivery by the tomotherapy unit with fixed gantry angles.

Is daily CT image guidance necessary for nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal radiotherapy: an investigation based on helical tomotherapy.

In order to analyze the magnitude of set up errors corrected by Helical TomoTherapy Mega-Voltage CT on a daily or weekly basis and their impact on the delivered dose to the tumor and organs at risk (OAR), the setup errors of 6 nasal cavity and 4 nasopharyngeal cancer patients who were treated with Helical Tomotherapy for 25-33 fractions were retrospectively analyzed. Each patient had MVCT guided repositioning for all fractions of treatment. The new dose volume histogram (DVH) and equivalent uniform dose (EUD) for planning target volume (PTV) and OARs were calculated for hypothetical situations where no imaging guidance (IG) or once weekly image guidance (WIG) took place.

Delivery of antigen using a novel mannosylated dendrimer potentiates immunogenicity in vitro and in vivo.

Antigen mannosylation has been shown to be an effective approach to potentiate antigen immunogenicity, due to the enhanced antigen uptake and presentation by APC. To overcome disadvantages associated with conventional methods used to mannosylate antigens, we have developed a novel mannose-based antigen delivery system that utilizes a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer. It is demonstrated that mannosylated dendrimer ovalbumin (MDO) is a potent immune inducer.

Estimation of error in maximal intensity projection-based internal target volume of lung tumors: a simulation and comparison study using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To evaluate the error in four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) maximal intensity projection (MIP)-based lung tumor internal target volume determination using a simulation method based on dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI).

Methods And Materials: Eight healthy volunteers and six lung tumor patients underwent a 5-min MRI scan in the sagittal plane to acquire dynamic images of lung motion. A MATLAB program was written to generate re-sorted dMRI using 4D-CT acquisition methods (RedCAM) by segmenting and rebinning the MRI scans.

Evaluation of thoracic spinal cord motion using dynamic MRI.

The aim of study was to assess the thoracic spinal cord motion during normal breathing using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). We found that the mean motion range at different thoracic levels is typically within 0.5mm.

Dendritic cell vaccination.

There has been a surge of interest in the use of dendritic cell (DC) vaccination as cellular immunotherapy for numerous cancers. Despite some encouraging results, this therapeutic modality is far from being considered as a therapy for cancer. This review will first discuss preclinical DC vaccination in murine models of cancer, with an emphasis on comparative studies investigating different methods of antigen priming.

MR grid-tagging using hyperpolarized helium-3 for regional quantitative assessment of pulmonary biomechanics and ventilation.

A new technique is demonstrated in six healthy human subjects that combines grid-tagging and hyperpolarized helium-3 MRI to assess regional lung biomechanical function and quantitative ventilation. 2D grid-tagging, achieved by applying sinc-modulated RF-pulse trains along the frequency- and phase-encoding directions, was followed by a multislice fast low-angle shot (FLASH)-based acquisition at inspiration and expiration. The displacement vectors, first and second principal strains, and quantitative ventilation were computed, and mean values were calculated for the upper, middle, and lower lung regions.