OX40 complexes with phosphoinositide 3-kinase and protein kinase B (PKB) to augment TCR-dependent PKB signaling.

T lymphocyte activation requires signal 1 from the TCR and signal 2 from costimulatory receptors. For long-lasting immunity, growth and survival signals imparted through the Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) pathway in activated or effector T cells are important, and these can be strongly influenced by signaling from OX40 (CD134), a member of the TNFR superfamily. In the absence of OX40, T cells do not expand efficiently to Ag, and memory formation is impaired.

Antigen-independent signalosome of CARMA1, PKCθ, and TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) determines NF-κB signaling in T cells.

NF-κB activation is essential for T-cell responses, and costimulatory molecules in the TNF receptor (TNFR) superfamily are viewed as a major source of this signal. Although the TNFR family recruits TNFR-associated factor (TRAF) molecules leading to IKKα/β/γ activation, it is not clear whether simple binding of TRAFs explains why they are such strong activators of NF-κB and so important for T-cell immunity. We now show that one TNFR family member, OX40 (CD134), after ligation by OX40L, assembles a unique complex that not only contains TRAF2, RIP, and IKKα/β/γ but also CARMA1, MALT1, BCL10, and PKC, molecules previously shown to regulate NF-κB activation through the T-cell receptor (TCR).

Cognitive pharmacy services at a pediatric nephrology and hypertension clinic.

Purpose: Pediatric patients require special attention from pediatric pharmacists. This is particularly true for pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) as the number of their medications and the complexity of their treatment increase with disease progression. However, there is paucity of information describing pediatric cognitive pharmacy services in this setting.

[Treatment recommendations for adrenal metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer].

To evaluate the optimum treatment strategy for metastatic adrenal tumors derived from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we retrospectively analyzed 17 consecutive cases (8 resection cases: 4 synchronous and 4 metachronous: 9 non-resection cases: 3 synchronous and 6 metachronous) who received surgical resection for NSCLC. The patients included 12 males and 5 females with a mean age of 63.9 years.

Limited pulmonary resection for peripheral small-sized adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Background: It was recently reported that a limited pulmonary resection (segmentectomy or wedge resection) was not inferior to a lobectomy in the management of peripheral small-sized adenocarcinoma (tumor ≦ 20 mm) of the lung.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients undergoing a lobectomy (n = 114) and a limited resection (n = 35) for peripheral small-sized adenocarcinoma of the lung during a 7-year period from April 2001 to March 2008. Our criteria for the limited resection of lung cancer were as follows: (1) adenocarcinoma of 10 mm or less in diameter and (2) adenocarcinoma of 11-20 mm in diameter, in which the ratio of the ground glass opacity is 50% or more, without pleural indentation on computed tomography.

Surgical resection for patients with mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.

Background: The clinical features of mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) have remained unclear due to the low incidence of this disease. This study investigated the clinicopathological features and the surgical outcome in patients with mucinous BAC.

Methods: We clinicopathologically evaluated 782 patients who underwent resection for nonsmall cell carcinoma between 1999 and 2008, of whom, 13 (1.

[Results of surgical resection for patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis].

Pulmonary cryptococcosis is a fungal infection caused by inhalation of Cryptococcus neoformans. Pulmonary cryptococcal infections tend to occur in immunocompromised individuals, although they can occasionally develop even in immunocompetent hosts. This report presents a retrospective clinical study of 8 patients who underwent a surgical resection for pulmonary cryptococcosis between 1999 and 2008.

A protein's conformational stability is an immunologically dominant factor: evidence that free-energy barriers for protein unfolding limit the immunogenicity of foreign proteins.

Foreign protein Ags are incorporated into APCs and then degraded by endosomal proteases. The peptides are then mounted on MHC II molecules on the surfaces of APCs. The T cell-triggering response and, therefore, the immune response, were suggested to be governed by the degree of conformational stability of the foreign protein Ags.

Clinicopathologic characteristics of mucinous carcinoma of the breast.

The mucinous carcinoma of breast cancer is a relatively rare malignant tumor. This study investigated the clinical and pathologic features of mucinous carcinoma. The medical records of 237 patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent surgery between 1995 and 2006 were reviewed.

Clinical impact of methicillin resistance on outcome of patients with Staphylococcus aureus infection: a stratified analysis according to underlying diseases and sites of infection in a large prospective cohort.

Objective: This study was conducted to identify the predictors of mortality and to evaluate the impact of methicillin resistance on outcome in patients with Staphylococcus aureus infection according to underlying conditions and type of infection.

Methods: An observational cohort study including 4949 patients with S. aureus infection was conducted.

Identification of a lung cancer antigen evading CTL attack due to loss of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I expression.

The human lung cancer cell line, C831L, lost HLA class I expression due to a mutation of the β2-microglobulin (β2m) gene, and it may have been the result of immunoediting by CTL cytotoxicity. By restoration of HLA class I expression, we could identify the antigen that may be associated with HLA downregulation. Such an antigen might be a promising target of immunotherapy because it potentially may induce a sufficient immune response to eradicate cancer cells.

Computer-assisted navigation in bone tumor surgery: seamless workflow model and evolution of technique.

Background: Computer-assisted navigation was recently introduced to aid the resection of musculoskeletal tumors. However, it has not always been possible to directly navigate the osteotomy with real-time manipulation of available surgical tools. Registration techniques vary, although most existing systems use some form of surface matching.

Economic evaluation of universal infant vaccination with 7vPCV in Hong Kong.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and economic benefits of routine infant vaccination with seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) in Hong Kong.

Methods: A decision-analytic model was populated with local age-specific incidence data to simulate the expected health outcomes resulting from 7vPCV vaccination of a birth cohort of 57,100 children compared with an unvaccinated cohort over a 10-year horizon. Primary analyses were conducted from a payer perspective, using local inpatient and outpatient costs associated with the treatment of pneumococcal disease.

Correlation between HLA alleles and EGFR mutation in Japanese patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Introduction: The identification of activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is one of the most intriguing recent discoveries in the field of lung cancer research, and they are more commonly found in adenocarcinoma occurring in females, never/light smokers, and East Asian patients. Why such certain patients are susceptible to the development of EGFR-mutant tumors is currently unknown.

Methods: This study evaluated the medical records of 437 patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung who underwent a surgical resection.

Results of surgical resection for patients with large cell carcinoma of the lung.

Purpose: The clinical features of large cell carcinoma (LCC) of the lung have remained unclear due to the low incidence of the disease. This study investigated the clinicopathological features and the surgical outcome in patients with LCC.

Subjects: This study clinicopathologically evaluated 975 patients who had undergone a resection for non-small cell carcinoma between 1994 and 2007.

Significance of the myxovirus resistance A (MxA) gene -123C>a single-nucleotide polymorphism in suppressed interferon beta induction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection.

Myxovirus resistance A (MxA) is an antiviral protein induced by interferon alpha and beta (IFN-alpha, IFN-beta) that can inhibit viral replication. The minor alleles of the -88G>T and -123C>A MxA promoter single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with increased promoter activity and altered response to IFN-alpha and IFN-beta treatment. Here, we demonstrate that the -123A minor allele provided stronger binding affinity to nuclear proteins extracted from IFN-beta-untreated cells than did the wild-type allele, whereas the -88T allele showed preferential binding after IFN-beta stimulation.

Time trends of surgical outcome in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: A surgical resection is a potentially curative treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study investigated the time trends of the surgical outcome in patients with NSCLC.

Methods: This study clinicopathologically evaluated 1487 patients who had undergone a resection for NSCLC between 1979 and 2008 during the five periods of 1979-1988, 1989-1993, 1994-1998, 1999-2003, and 2004-2008.

Association between lymphangiogenesis-/micrometastasis- and adhesion-related molecules in resected stage I NSCLC.

Background: The purpose of this study was to clarify the role and clinical significance of lymphangiogenesis/micrometastases and adhesion molecules in resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to analyze the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), VEGF, E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and gamma-catenin in paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 117 well-characterized stage I NSCLC patients and to compare the protein expression, clinical variables and survival outcome. As a micrometastatic parameter in lymph nodes (LNs), cytokeratin (CK) staining was performed.

CD209 (DC-SIGN) -336A>G promoter polymorphism and severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong Chinese.

CD209 (DC-SIGN) is an important C-type lectin which acts a receptor of many pathogens. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -336A>G in the CD209 promoter has been demonstrated to regulate promoter activity and to be associated with several important infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Dengue fever. CD209 facilitates severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-coronavirus spike protein-bearing pseudotype driven infection of permissive cells in vitro.

Risk of growth in unruptured intracranial aneurysms: a retrospective analysis.

This study sought to define the growth of unruptured intracranial aneurysms, in particular the frequency of growth and the characteristic factors predictive of growth. Two hundred and eight patients with 285 unruptured aneurysms were followed. Electronic records and angiographic films were obtained for measurements of aneurysm size.

Gefitinib and a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt to manage carcinomatous meningitis from non-small-cell lung cancer: report of two cases.

The prognosis of patients with carcinomatous meningitis from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor, and the available treatment options for the lung cancer do not relieve the severe symptoms of this sequela. We report the successful treatment of two cases of carcinomatous meningitis caused by NSCLC, using gefitinib and a ventriculo-peritoneal (V-P) shunt. The first patient was a 43-year-old woman with pT1N0M0 adenocarcinoma.

Clinical significance of cancer/testis antigens expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Cancer/testis antigens (CT antigens) are thought to be suitable targets for antigen-specific immunotherapy, because of the cancer-specific expression except for the testis among various normal tissues and no-expression of HLA class I in the testis. In the present study, the expressions of CT antigens (MAGE-A3, MAGE-A4, NY-ESO-1 and KK-LC-1) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were analyzed by RT-PCR. The subjects were 239 patients with NSCLC who underwent surgery from 2001 to 2005 in our department.

Health-related quality of life of Southern Chinese with chronic hepatitis B infection.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Southern Chinese with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection.

Aim: To evaluate the HRQOL of Chinese patients at different stages of CHB infection and to find out factors associated with HRQOL.

Methods: 520 Chinese adult CHB patients of whom 156 were uncomplicated, 102 had impaired liver function, 139 had cirrhosis and 123 had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were interviewed with a structured questionnaire, the SF-36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2), and the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ).

Evaluation of the accuracy of different methods used to estimate weights in the pediatric population.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the predictive accuracy of 3 methods (Broselow tape, Leffler formula, and Theron formula) for pediatric weight estimation to identify factors that can influence weight estimation, and to derive alternative models for such estimation if indicated.

Methods: This was a prospective, nonblinded observational study. Every patient in the cohort was < or =10 years of age.