Targeting expression to megakaryocytes and platelets by lineage-specific lentiviral vectors.

Unlabelled: Essentials Platelet phenotypes can be modified by lentiviral transduction of hematopoietic stem cells. Megakaryocyte-specific lentiviral vectors were tested in vitro and in vivo for restricted expression. The glycoprotein 6 vector expressed almost exclusively in megakaryocytes.

Diffusion-Weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging detect delayed graft function and correlate with allograft fibrosis in patients early after kidney transplantation.

Purpose: To combine diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for detection of allograft dysfunction in patients early after kidney transplantation and to correlate diffusion parameters with renal function and renal histology of allograft biopsies.

Materials And Methods: Between day 4 and 11 after kidney transplantation 33 patients with initial graft function and 31 patients with delayed graft function (DGF) were examined with a 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.

[Transplant Surgeon Meets Nephrologist: Important Nephrological Aspects Before and After Kidney or Liver Transplantation].

In cases of chronic renal insufficiency, successful kidney transplantation is the method of choice to restore patients' health, well-being and physical fitness. The interdisciplinary collaboration of nephrologists and transplant surgeons has always been a prerequisite for the successful pre-, peri- and post-transplant care of renal transplant patients. The same holds true for liver transplant patients.

Human muscle cells express the costimulatory molecule B7-H3, which modulates muscle-immune interactions.

Objective: Interactions between the family of B7 ligands and their receptors are increasingly recognized as crucial for stimulation and/or inhibition of immune responses. The present study was undertaken to examine the expression and functional relevance of B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3), a novel B7 homolog attributed significant immunoregulatory functions, in human muscle cells in vivo and in vitro.

Methods: Thirty-five muscle biopsy specimens obtained from patients with polymyositis, dermatomyositis, inclusion body myositis, or noninflammatory myopathies and normal controls were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for B7-H3 expression.

The role of leukemia-derived B7-H1 (PD-L1) in tumor-T-cell interactions in humans.

Objective: Expression of the B7 homolog B7-H1 (PD1-Ligand) has been proposed to enable tumor cells to evade immune surveillance. Recently, B7-H1 on murine leukemia cells was reported to mediate resistance to cytolytic T-cell destruction. We here investigate the expression and function of the B7 homolog B7-H1 in human leukemia.

Expression of the B7-related molecule B7-H1 by glioma cells: a potential mechanism of immune paralysis.

Human glioblastoma is a highly lethal tumor that is known for its immune inhibitory capabilities. B7-homologue 1 (B7-H1), a recently identified homologue of B7.1/2 (CD80/86), has been described to exert costimulatory and immune regulatory functions.

The CD28 related molecule ICOS: T cell modulation in the presence and absence of B7.1/2 and regulational expression in multiple sclerosis.

Costimulatory signals play a key role in regulating T cell activation and are believed to have decisive influence in the inciting and perpetuating cellular effector mechanisms in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Inducible costimulator protein (ICOS), a recently identified member of the CD28-family, presumably affects the differentiation of Th1/Th2 cells after primary activation and modulates the immune response of effector/memory T cells. This study examines the expression and functional role of ICOS costimulation in healthy donors and patients with MS.