The effect of selected components of milk and ripening time on the development of the hardness and melting properties of cheese.

Background: The growing interest in ripening cheeses in Poland has increased milk production, which enhances the need to improve its quality. One method is to increase the fat and casein content of milk.       In effect, the proportions of these ingredients affect production efficiency and quality of cheese.

Reference values for T, B and NK human lymphocyte subpopulations in adults.

The data presented in this paper are reference ranges for frequencies of thirty-eight subpopulations of T, B and NK lymphocytes, established from a cohort of 253 healthy blood donors aged from 19 to 67. When relevant, the influence of age or sex was taken into account to calculate these reference values. This article is related to the research article entitled "Influence of age, sex and HCMV-serostatus on blood lymphocyte subpopulations in healthy adults" (Apoil et al.

Methodological aspects of minimal residual disease assessment by flow cytometry in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A French multicenter study.

Background: Minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment provides a powerful prognostic factor for therapeutic stratification in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) has the potential for a rapid and sensitive identification of high risk patients. Our group has previously published that MRD levels analyzed by clone specific Ig/TcR-QPCR and MFC were concordant at a sensitivity of 10(-4) .

Methodological aspects of minimal residual disease assessment by flow cytometry in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A French multicenter study.

Background: Minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment provides a powerful prognostic factor for therapeutic stratification in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) has the potential for a rapid and sensitive identification of high risk patients. Our group has previously published that MRD levels analyzed by clone specific Ig/TcR-QPCR and MFC were concordant at a sensitivity of 10 .

Flow cytometry and IG/TCR quantitative PCR for minimal residual disease quantitation in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a French multicenter prospective study on behalf of the FRALLE, EORTC and GRAALL.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) quantification is widely used for therapeutic stratification in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A robust, reproducible, sensitivity of at least 0.01% has been achieved for IG/TCR clonal rearrangements using allele-specific quantitative PCR (IG/TCR-QPCR) within the EuroMRD consortium.

Alveolar and blood T lymphocyte profiles in Pneumocystis jirovecii-positive patients: effects of HIV status.

Background: There are substantial differences in the risk evaluation, clinical presentation, and outcome of Pneumocystis pneumonia between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. To compare the host immune defenses against Pneumocystis jirovecii, the blood and alveolar lymphocyte profile was explored in these 2 populations.

Methods: The total, CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) T-lymphocyte counts were measured in the blood and alveoli of immunocompromised patients with a P.

Cellular and cytokine changes in the alveolar environment among immunocompromised patients during Pneumocystis jirovecii infection.

Limited data exist on the cytokine and cellular changes in the alveolar environment in immunocompromised patients during Pneumocystis jirovecii infection. A cellular and a cytokine analysis were performed on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from three groups of patients, i.e.

HIV-1 Tat protein induces IL-10 production by an alternative TNF-alpha-independent pathway in monocytes: role of PKC-delta and p38 MAP kinase.

HIV-1 Tat protein stimulates the production of both TNF-alpha and IL-10 in human monocytes. Taking into account the ability of TNF-alpha to induce IL-10 production, we evaluated the link between Tat, TNF-alpha and IL-10 and the implication of PKC and p38 MAP kinase pathways. Our data showed that (i) in the presence of neutralizing anti-TNF-alpha antibodies, IL-10 production is only partially inhibited; (ii) in a calcium-free medium, while TNF-alpha production is totally inhibited, Tat continues to induce IL-10; (iii) under these conditions, Tat-mediated IL-10 production is associated with PKC-delta activation; and (iv) downstream of PKC, p38 MAP kinase is crucial for TNF-alpha independent IL10 production.

Effects of intraoperative versus postoperative administration of rabbit antithymocyte antibodies on 1-year renal function in renal transplant patients.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to prospectively assess 1-year allograft outcomes and the evolution of lymphocyte subsets in a group of renal transplant patients who had received intraoperative rabbit antithymocyte antibodies (RATG).

Materials And Methods: We compared 1-year allograft transplant outcomes in renal transplant recipients who had received intraoperative RATG (group 1, n=53) with the outcomes observed in patients in a historical control group who had received postoperative RATG (group 2, n=49). RATG were given at the same dosage (1 mg/kg) during the first 3 days, and then the dosage was adapted according to CD2 count, until calcineurin inhibitors were started.

Long-term evolution of lymphocytes subsets after induction therapy based on continuous versus discontinuous administration of anti-thymocyte globulins in renal-transplant patients.

Unlabelled: The aim of our retrospective study was to assess the long-term evolution of lymphocyte subsets after two modes of administration of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) after renal transplantation.

Methods: Before 1993, patients (group I, n = 93) received fixed doses of RATG (1 mg/kg per day) for 8 consecutive days. Thereafter, RATG was either continued at the same dose for 15 days, in cases of delayed graft function, or was infused every other day at the same dose until the serum creatinine level became <150 micromol/L.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat protein induces an intracellular calcium increase in human monocytes that requires DHP receptors: involvement in TNF-alpha production.

HIV-1 Tat protein, acting at the cell membrane, stimulates the production by human monocytes of TNF-alpha, a cytokine implicated in both HIV-1 replication and pathogenesis. Here, we analyze, in primary human monocytes, the mechanisms involved in Tat-stimulated calcium mobilization and its relationship with TNF-alpha production. We show that the Tat protein induces a calcium signal by mobilizing calcium from extracellular stores.

Signaling pathways triggered by HIV-1 Tat in human monocytes to induce TNF-alpha.

In this study we investigated the signaling pathways triggered by Tat in human monocyte to induce TNF-alpha. In monocytes, the calcium, the PKA, and the PKC pathways are highly implicated in the expression of cytokine genes. Thus, these three major signaling pathways were investigated.

Carcinocythemia as the single extension of breast cancer: report of a case and review of the literature.

Carcinocythemia (carcinoma cell leukemia) has been previously described as a rare, late and dramatic event occurring in widespread tumoral disease. We report a case of carcinocythemia occurring in a patient with a particularly indolent breast cancer. When a large amount of circulating tumor cells (CTC) appeared in the blood smears, neither visceral macrometastases nor massive bone marrow infiltration could be detected.

Head-down tilt bed rest and immune responses.

Head-down tilt bed rest (HDT) is used as a model for studying the physiological changes occurring in weightlessness during spaceflight. In the present study, eight volunteers were subjected to a strict HDT of -6 degrees for 42 days. Blood samples were obtained 37 and 13 days before, at days 13, 34, and 41 during, and 12, 33, and 47 days after HDT.

Inflammatory/haematopoietic cytokine production by human bone marrow adipocytes.

Adipocytes are now considered as secretory and endocrine cells. White and brown adipocytes synthesize and secrete a variety of cytokines, among a number of peptide and non-peptide products. Some of these cytokines, particularly IL-6 and TNF-alpha, appear multifunctional since they may be involved in the control of adipose mass, inflammatory response and haematopoiesis.

[Management of intractable cancer pain: from intrathecal morphine to cell allograft].

The durable effectiveness of intrathecal morphine administration is well established for the management of intractable cancer pain, after failure of systemic opioids, secondary to the persistence of non-reversible undesirable side effects. Many patients are referred to late in the disease course. This conservative method to control pain of malignant origin must not be reserved for last resort treatment for terminal patients.

Relationship between the fatty acid composition of rat lymphocytes and immune functions.

The effects of dietary lipids on the fatty acid composition, activation and proliferation of lymphocytes were investigated. Weanling male Wistar rats were fed for 8 weeks on one of two low-fat diets which contained 50 g lipid/kg, or one of two high-fat diets containing 200 g lipid/kg, from either coconut oil or soyabean oil. The fatty acid composition of phospholipids from splenocyte membranes was affected by dietary lipid manipulation, and these differences influenced lymphocyte functions.

[Clinical perspectives of xenografts: encapsulated chromaffin cells and pain].

Intrathecal allograft of chromaffin cells can be effectively used in replacement of more conventional therapies for treating intractable chronic pain, such as in cancer. The efficacy of this technique depends on the ability of those cells to produce analgesic opioids and on the immuno-privileged property of the central nervous system, in which rejection risks are limited. However, there are some limitations to the generalization of this new therapy, mainly due to the low number of available grafts.

Human chromaffin cell graft into the CSF for cancer pain management: a prospective phase II clinical study.

A number of pre-clinical studies have demonstrated the value of adrenal medullary allografts in the management of chronic pain. The present longitudinal survey studied 15 patients transplanted for intractable cancer pain after failure of systemic opioids due to the persistence of undesirable side-effects. Before inclusion, all the patients had their pain controlled by daily intrathecal (I-Th) morphine administration.

Adrenal medullary explants as an efficient tool for pain control: adhesive biomolecular components are involved in graft function ex vivo.

Adrenal medullary (AM) tissue transplantation into the central nervous system has been reported as a potential source of opioid peptides and catecholamines, which have analgesic effects useful in the control of chronic pain. Clinical trials, involving allogeneic graft of whole tissue explants into the subarachnoid space of the lumbar spinal cord, have already been reported. The aim of the present study was to determine whether adhesion and function of AM explants were related in some extent and how this relationship could account for improvement of AM tissue in terms of analgesic activity before grafting.

Intrathecal grafting of unencapsulated adrenal medullary tissue can bring CD4 T lymphocytes into CSF: a potentially deleterious event for the graft.

Adrenal medullary tissue including chromaffin cells was grafted intrathecally in cancer patients to relieve intractable pain. The central nervous system (CNS) is considered an immune privileged site. Therefore, non-HLA-matched and unencapsulated tissue was grafted in 15 patients and 1 sham control in a series of at least 20 grafts.

In vivo effects of olive oil-based lipid emulsion on lymphocyte activation in rats.

Numerous studies suggest that immune function may be compromised by lipid emulsions rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. In our study, we compared the effect of a new olive oil-based lipid emulsion (ClinOleic(R)) containing 18% linoleic acid, and an emulsion based on soybean oil (Ivelip(R); 52% linoleic acid) on lymphocyte functions. Weaning Wistar rats (n= 24) were fed for 4 weeks on an oral diet that contained 12% of total energy as lipids from soybean oil.