The cellular ratio of immune tolerance (immunoCRIT) is a definite marker for aggressiveness of solid tumors and may explain tumor dissemination patterns.

The adaptive immune system is involved in tumor establishment and aggressiveness. Tumors of the ovaries, an immune-privileged organ, spread via transceolomic routes and rarely to distant organs. This is contrary to tumors of non-immune privileged organs, which often disseminate hematogenously to distant organs.

Plasticity of human regulatory T cells in healthy subjects and patients with type 1 diabetes.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) constitute an attractive therapeutic target given their essential role in controlling autoimmunity. However, recent animal studies provide evidence for functional heterogeneity and lineage plasticity within the Treg compartment. To understand better the plasticity of human Tregs in the context of type 1 diabetes, we characterized an IFN-γ-competent subset of human CD4(+)CD127(lo/-)CD25(+) Tregs.

Epigenetic quantification of tumor-infiltrating T-lymphocytes.

The immune system plays a pivotal role in tumor establishment. However, the role of T-lymphocytes within the tumor microenvironment as major cellular component of the adaptive effector immune response and their counterpart, regulatory T-cells (Treg), responsible for suppressive immune modulation, is not completely understood. This is partly due to the lack of reliable technical solutions for specific cell quantification in solid tissues.

Quantitative DNA methylation analysis of FOXP3 as a new method for counting regulatory T cells in peripheral blood and solid tissue.

Regulatory T-cells (Treg) have been the focus of immunologic research due to their role in establishing tolerance for harmless antigens versus allowing immune responses against foes. Increased Treg frequencies measured by mRNA expression or protein synthesis of the Treg marker FOXP3 were found in various cancers, indicating that dysregulation of Treg levels contributes to tumor establishment. Furthermore, they constitute a key target of immunomodulatory therapies in cancer as well as transplantation settings.

DNA methylation analysis as a tool for cell typing.

Cell therapeutic approaches currently lack definitive quality control measures which guarantee safety in clinical applications and create consistent standards for regulatory approval. These approaches rely on isolation, purification and possibly ex vivo manipulation of donor cells. Since such cells are exposed to artificial environments, there is potential for deviations from natural growth processes.

DNA methylation analysis as novel tool for quality control in regenerative medicine.

Cell-based regenerative medicine, including tissue engineering, is a novel approach to reconstituting tissues that do not spontaneously heal, such as damaged cartilage, and to curing diseases caused by malfunctioning cells. Typically, manufacturing processes to generate cartilage for replacement therapies involve isolation and expansion of cells from cartilage biopsies. A challenge in the field is potential contamination by other cell types (e.

Interaction of a PDZ Protein Domain with a Synthetic Library of All Human Protein C Termini.

New interaction partners of a PDZ protein domain were identified through use of a library made up of all known human protein C-terminal peptides ("P" in the schematic representation). The library was displayed on a cellulose membrane by positional resolution of inverted peptides.

In Vitro Evolution and Selection of Proteins: Ribosome Display for Larger Libraries.

The cell-free production of large protein libraries can now be achieved with the ribosome display technique. The use of intact ribosomes (R) in the translation of a mRNA library enables the rapid selection of the generated proteins (P) according to their affinity to a given immobilized binding partner (B).