Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

Dynamic FDG PET/CT for differentiating focal pelvic uptake in patients with gynecological cancer.

This study aimed to evaluate the ability of serial whole-body dynamic PET/CT to differentiate physiological from abnormal F-FDG uptake in the abdomen and pelvis of gynecological cancer patients. We conducted a retrospective study of 61 F-FDG PET/CT examinations for suspected gynecological malignancies or metastases between March 2018 and January 2020. Our protocol included four-phase dynamic whole-body scans.

Inflammation-Triggering Engineered Macrophages (MacTriggers) Enhance Reactivity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Only in Tumor Tissues.

We have previously reported engineered macrophages (MacTriggers) that can accelerate the release of tumor necrosis factor-α in response to M2 polarization. MacTriggers are characterized by two original characteristics of macrophages: (1) migration to tumors; and (2) polarization to the M2 phenotype in tumors. Intravenously administered MacTriggers efficiently accumulated in the tumors and induced tumor-specific inflammation.