Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy: Two case reports and literature review.

Rationale: Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM) is a rare but serious complication in patients with malignancy; its main manifestation includes acute pulmonary hypertension with severe respiratory distress. More than 200 cases have been reported since it was first identified in 1990. PTTM accounts for approximately 0.

Poly I:C-based rHBVvac therapeutic vaccine eliminates HBV via generation of HBV-specific CD8 effector memory T cells.

Objective: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection is a global health problem. Finding a cure for CHB remains a challenging task.

Design: In this study, poly I:C was employed as an adjuvant for HBV therapeutic vaccine (referred to as pHBV-vaccine) and the feasibility and efficiency of pHBV-vaccine in CHB treatment were evaluated in HBV-carrier mice.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-transduced natural killer cells in tumor immunotherapy.

Natural killer (NK) cells are potential effector cells in cell-based cancer immunotherapy, particularly in the control of hematological malignancies. The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is an artificially modified fusion protein that consists of an extracellular antigen recognition domain fused to an intracellular signaling domain. T cells genetically modified with a CAR have demonstrated remarkable success in the treatment of hematological cancers.

Increased susceptibility to experimental steatohepatitis induced by methionine-choline deficiency in HBs-Tg mice.

Background: Worldwide, about 25% of individuals with chronic hepatitis B have fatty liver disease. Lipogenic diets that are completely devoid of methionine and choline induce nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. However, no animal model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis associated with HBV infection is available, and the influence of viral infection on nutritional hepatic steatosis is unclear.

[Clinical effects of subcutaneous tunnel hepatocholangioplasty on the treatment of hepatolithiasis].

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of subcutaneous tunnel hepaticoplasty on the treatment of hepatolithiasis.

Methods: The early complications and clinical effects of 99 hepatolithiasis cases who underwent subcutaneous tunnel hepaticoplasty from January 1993 to August 2006 were analyzed retrospectively. The stones of 28 (28.

Inhibition of human gastric carcinoma cell growth by treatment of N(3)-o-toluyl-fluorouracil as a precursor of 5-fluorouracil.

N(3)-o-toluyl-fluorouracil (TFU), the pro-drug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is the metabolite of N(1)-acetyl-N(3)-o-toluyl-fluorouracil (atofluding). We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of TFU as a precursor of 5-FU on the growth inhibition of human gastric carcinoma cell lines SGC-7901 and MKN-45. Growth of SGC-7901 and MKN-45 cells was remarkably suppressed by treatment with TFU in the presence of liver microsomal enzymes in vitro, suggesting that TFU may be converted to 5-FU by the enzymes.

[Induction and mechanism study of anti-melanoma immune response by M. tuberculosis Ag85B].

Aim: To study the anti-melanoma immunity efficacy of Ag85B antigen gene therapy in vivo.

Methods: C57BL/6 mice were inoculated s.c.

Using caffeoyl pyrrolidine derivative LY52, a potential inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2, to suppress tumor invasion and metastasis.

LY52 is a caffeoyl pyrrolidine derivative designed to fit the S'1 active pocket of gelatinases that act in tumor invasion and metastasis. Herein, we examined the effects of LY52 on expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells and on in vitro invasion and in vivo metastasis. LY52 significantly blocked MMP-2 activity as evidenced by a decrease in the degradation of succinylated gelatin.

TLR3 ligand-induced accumulation of activated splenic natural killer cells into liver.

It has been revealed that poly I:C is a potent stimulator for NK cells, which can induce NK cell rapid activation and preferential accumulation into liver. However, the process mediating the influx of NK cells remains obscure. In this study, we found that poly I:C administration increased the portion and absolute number of NK cells in liver, but largely decreased those in spleen.

Analysis tissue expression of IFN-gamma in IL-12 and/or IL-18 gene ablated naïve mice.

Interleukin 12 (IL-12) and/or interleukin 18 (IL-18) gene ablated mice were applied for the investigation of the tissue expression of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). For IL-12(-/-), IL-18(-/-), IL-12(-/-)/18(-/-) and wt mice, reproductive performance were recorded and IFN-gamma concentrations in heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidney and serum were quantified by ELISA. There were no significant differences of IFN-gamma in heart, lung and kidney between 4 strains although control group was higher.

[Effect of natural killer cell line NK-92 against human ovarian carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo].

Objective: To study the cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells irradiated against human ovarian cancer.

Methods: NK-92 cells were exposed to different doses of radiation and assayed for proliferation by a standard (3)H-thymidine incorporation assay and cell count by using trypan blue exclusion. The cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells against targets was measured in a standard (51)Cr-release assay in vitro.

[The negative regulatory effect of IFN-gamma on cognitive function of human natural killer cells].

Objective: To investigate the regulatory effect of IFN-gamma on recognition of target cells by human natural killer (NK) cells.

Methods: The cytotoxic activity of human NK cell lines (NK92, NKL) was detected by MTT method. Expression of NK cell receptors (NKG2D, NKG2A/B, KIR2DL1 and KIR2DS1) and MICA on target cells (the ligand of NKG2D) was measured by RT-PCR.

Isolation of murine hepatic lymphocytes using mechanical dissection for phenotypic and functional analysis of NK1.1+ cells.

Aim: To choose an appropriate methods for the isolation of hepatic lymphocytes between the mechanical dissection and the enzymatic digestion and investigate the effects of two methods on phenotype and function of hepatic lymphocytes.

Methods: Hepatic lymphocytes were isolated from untreated, poly (I:C)-stimulated or ConA-stimulated mice using the two methods, respectively. The cell yield per liver was evaluated by direct counting under microscope.

Expression of prolactin receptor and response to prolactin stimulation of human NK cell lines.

We have previously shown a critical role of prolactin (PRL) during maturation and anti-tumor effects of murine natural killer (NK) cells in vitro and in vivo. We extended that study by exploring the ability of human NK cell lines (NK-92 and YT cell) to express PRL receptor (PRL-R) and to respond to PRL stimulation in vitro. Both human NK cell lines constitutively expressed PRL-R on membrane and mRNA transcripts, NK-92 cells contained higher level of PRL-R than YT cells, which correlated to the enhanced capacity of the cells to proliferate and to lyse target cells in response to PRL stimulation in the presence of trace amount of IL-2 or IL-15 in vitro.

[Negative Regulatory Effect of T-Lymphocytes on the Expansion of Human Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Cells In Vitro].

In this research, the regulatory effects of T-lymphocytes on the expansion of hematopoietic cells in human bone marrow were studied. Anti-CD3 McAb and anti-CD8 McAb were used to eliminate the T-lymphocytes in bone marrow MNCs. Cell surface antigens were analysed by flow cytometry.