Implication of Soluble HLA-G and HLA-G +3142G/C Polymorphism in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Therapy in Tanzania.

Background: During cancer growth, immunosuppressive microenvironment is created that enables tumour cells to evade an eliminative immune response and hence manage to grow into malignancy. HLA-G, existing as either membrane-bound (mHLA-G) or soluble (sHLA-G) molecule is thought to be immunosuppressive and produced more by tumor cells. The +3142G/C polymorphism in HLA-G gene affects its expression, and G allele is considered to be a protective mutant allele associated with less expression of HLA-G.

Thyroid Cancer and Iodine Deficiency Status: A 10-Year Review at a Single Cancer Center in Tanzania.

Objective: To highlight the magnitude and distribution of thyroid cancer at the largest cancer center in Tanzania and to correlate patient region of residence with regions of dietary iodine adequacy and deficiency in the country.

Study Design: A retrospective cross-sectional chart review to characterize patients with thyroid cancer and regions of residence.

Setting: Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), the largest cancer center in Tanzania.

Human uterine natural killer cells but not blood natural killer cells inhibit human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection by secretion of CXCL12.

Natural killer (NK) cells derived from the human female reproductive tract (FRT) are phenotypically and functionally distinct from those obtained from peripheral blood. Because the FRT is a primary site of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in women, we determined whether soluble factors secreted by uterine-derived NK (uNK) cells inhibit HIV-1 infection. Clonal populations of uNK cells were activated with interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-15, and conditioned media (CM) from these cultures evaluated for their ability to inhibit infection of cells by HIV-1(IIIB), HIV-1(NL4.

Vascular endothelial growth factor C facilitates immune tolerance and endovascular activity of human uterine NK cells at the maternal-fetal interface.

Although replete with cytotoxic machinery, uterine NK (uNK) cells remain tolerant at the maternal-fetal interface. The mechanisms that facilitate the uNK cell tolerance are largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) C, a proangiogenic factor produced by uNK cells, is responsible for their noncytotoxic activity.

Human uterine NK cells interact with uterine macrophages via NKG2D upon stimulation with PAMPs.

Problem: The initiation of an immune response often involves the cooperation of various innate immune cells. In the human endometrium, uterine natural killer (uNK) cells and uterine macrophages are present in significant numbers and in close proximity, yet how they cooperatively respond to infectious challenge is poorly understood.

Method Of Study: Primary autologous uNK cells and macrophages were co-cultured to determine functional interactions after stimulation with pathogen-associated molecular patterns.

Unique characteristics of NK cells throughout the human female reproductive tract.

In this study, we have analyzed the presence and subsets of NK cells throughout the tissues of the FRT. We demonstrate that there are NK cells in the various FRT tissues and that their phenotype and regulation are largely dependent upon the FRT tissue where they reside. NK cells in the Fallopian tube, endometrium, cervix, and ectocervix expressed CD9 while blood NK cells did not.

TLRs mediate IFN-gamma production by human uterine NK cells in endometrium.

The human endometrium (EM) contains macrophages, NK cells, T cells, B cells, and neutrophils in contact with a variety of stromal and epithelial cells. The interplay between these different cell types and their roles in defense against pathogen invasion in this specialized tissue are important for controlling infection and reproduction. TLRs are a family of receptors able to recognize conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns.