The role of Syk in peripheral T cells.

The aim of this study was to understand how Syk affects peripheral T cell function. T cells from Syk chimeric mice and DR1 Syk CD4 conditional mice gave strong CD3-induced Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokine responses. However, an altered peptide ligand (APL) of human CII (256-276) with two substitutions (F263N, E266D), also called A12, elicited only Th2 cytokine responses from Syk T cells but not SykCD4 T cells.

Relating plaque morphology to respiratory syncytial virus subgroup, viral load, and disease severity in children.

Background: Viral culture plaque morphology in human cell lines are markers for growth capability and cytopathic effect, and have been used to assess viral fitness and select preattenuation candidates for live viral vaccines. We classified respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) plaque morphology and analyzed the relationship between plaque morphology as compared to subgroup, viral load and clinical severity of infection in infants and children.

Methods: We obtained respiratory secretions from 149 RSV-infected children.