A randomized trial comparing live and telemedicine deliveries of an imagery-based behavioral intervention for breast cancer survivors: reducing symptoms and barriers to care.

Objective: This multi-site randomized trial evaluates the quality of life (QOL) benefits of an imagery-based group intervention titled 'Envision the Rhythms of Life'(ERL).

Methods: Breast cancer survivors >6 weeks post-treatment were randomized to attend five weekly 4-h group sessions at a community center with therapist present (live delivery (LD), n = 48), therapist streamed via telemedicine (telemedicine delivery (TD), n = 23), or to a waitlist control (WL) group (n = 47). Weekly individual phone calls to encourage at-home practice began at session one and continued until the 3-month follow-up.

The intramembrane protease Sppl2a is required for B cell and DC development and survival via cleavage of the invariant chain.

B cell development requires tight regulation to allow for the generation of a diverse repertoire while preventing the development of autoreactive cells. We report, using N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced mutagenesis, the identification of a mutant mouse (chompB) with a block in early B cell development. The blockade occurs after the transitional 1 (T1) stage and leads to a decrease in mature B cell subsets and deficits in T cell-dependent antibody responses.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonists promote the expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells.

Although practiced clinically for more than 40 years, the use of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants remains limited by the ability to expand these cells ex vivo. An unbiased screen with primary human HSCs identified a purine derivative, StemRegenin 1 (SR1), that promotes the ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells. Culture of HSCs with SR1 led to a 50-fold increase in cells expressing CD34 and a 17-fold increase in cells that retain the ability to engraft immunodeficient mice.

Uncovering regulatory pathways that affect hematopoietic stem cell function using 'genetical genomics'.

We combined large-scale mRNA expression analysis and gene mapping to identify genes and loci that control hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function. We measured mRNA expression levels in purified HSCs isolated from a panel of densely genotyped recombinant inbred mouse strains. We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with variation in expression of thousands of transcripts.

Activation of mast cells by incorporation of cholesterol into rafts.

IgE plus antigen-stimulated mast cells degranulate, synthesize leukotrienes and secrete cytokines. According to the coalescence model this process is initiated in specific membrane compartments termed rafts. There, enhanced levels of glycosphingolipids and cholesterol stabilize the interaction of FcepsilonRI and Lyn, and thus facilitate the first steps of signal transduction.