Characterization of cord blood natural killer and lymphokine activated killer lymphocytes following ex vivo cellular engineering.

Cord blood (CB) natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cytotoxic cells are poorly characterized but might be used to treat minimal residual and/or recurrent malignant disease. Currently, there is no mechanism to use CB for adoptive cancer cellular immunotherapy after CB transplantation (CBT). Recognizing this as a deficiency, we hypothesized that CB aliquots could be engineered ex vivo for potential donor lymphocyte infusion after CBT.

Placental overgrowth in mice lacking the imprinted gene Ipl.

The Ipl (Tssc3) gene lies in an extended imprinted region of distal mouse chromosome 7, which also contains the Igf2 gene. Expression of Ipl is highest in placenta and yolk sac, where its mRNA is derived almost entirely from the maternal allele. Ipl encodes a small cytoplasmic protein with a pleckstrin-homology (PH) domain.