Background: We have shown that the age-associated increase in prostaglandin E(2) production contributes to the decline in T cell-mediated function with age. Black currant seed oil (BCSO), rich in both gamma-linolenic (18:3n-6) and alpha-linolenic (18:3n-3) acids, has been shown to modulate membrane lipid composition and eicosanoid production.
Objective: Our objectives were to 1) test whether dietary supplementation with BCSO can improve the immune response of healthy elderly subjects, and 2) determine whether the altered immune response is mediated by a change in the factors closely associated with T cell activation.
Design: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled (soybean oil) study was conducted to examine the effect of 2 mo of BCSO supplementation on the immune response of 40 healthy subjects aged >/=65 y. In vivo immune function was determined by delayed-type hypersensitivity skin response. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were tested for in vitro immune response.
Results: In subjects supplemented with BCSO, the total diameter of induration at 24 h and individual responses to tetanus toxoid and Trichophyton mentagrophytes were significantly higher than their baseline values. The change in response to tetanus toxoid was significantly different from that of the placebo group. The BCSO group showed a significant increase in proliferative response of PBMCs to the T cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin that was not significantly different from that observed in the placebo group. BCSO had no effect on concanavalin A-induced mitogenic response, interleukin 2 and -1beta production, and PBMC membrane fluidity. Prostaglandin E(2) production was significantly reduced in the BCSO-supplemented group, and this change was significantly different from that of the placebo group.
Conclusion: BCSO has a moderate immune-enhancing effect attributable to its ability to reduce prostaglandin E(2) production.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/70.4.536 | DOI Listing |
JCO Precis Oncol
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are now first-line therapy for most patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), and cetuximab is most often used as subsequent therapy. However, data describing cetuximab efficacy in the post-ICI setting are limited.
Methods: We performed a single-institution retrospective analysis of patients with R/M HNSCC treated with cetuximab, either as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy, after receiving an ICI.
Blood
January 2025
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Most diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with immunotherapies such as bispecific antibodies (BsAb) or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells fail to achieve durable treatment responses, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding of mechanisms that regulate the immune environment and response to treatment. Here, an integrative, multi-omic approach was applied to multiple large independent datasets in order to characterize DLBCL immune environments, and to define their association with tumor cell-intrinsic genomic alterations and outcomes to CD19-directed CAR T-cell and CD20 x CD3 BsAb therapies. This approach effectively segregated DLBCLs into four immune quadrants (IQ) defined by cell-of-origin and immune-related gene set expression scores.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Pathog
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
The mosquito midgut functions as a key interface between pathogen and vector. However, studies of midgut physiology and virus infection dynamics are scarce, and in Culex tarsalis-an extremely efficient vector of West Nile virus (WNV)-nonexistent. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on Cx.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda.
Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) restores cellular immunity, significantly reducing AIDS-related mortality and morbidity thus improving the quality of life among People living with HIV (PLHIV). Studies done in several countries show a decline in AIDS defining cancers (ADCs) with the introduction of ART however the increased longevity has led to the increase of Non-AIDS defining cancers (NADCs). The study was aimed at studying the changing spectrum and trends of cancer among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients in southwestern Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Pathog
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
RNA viruses have evolved numerous strategies to overcome host resistance and immunity, including the use of multifunctional proteases that not only cleave viral polyproteins during virus replication but also deubiquitinate cellular proteins to suppress ubiquitin (Ub)-mediated antiviral mechanisms. Here, we report an approach to attenuate the infection of Arabidopsis thaliana by Turnip Yellow Mosaic Virus (TYMV) by suppressing the polyprotein cleavage and deubiquitination activities of the TYMV protease (PRO). Performing selections using a library of phage-displayed Ub variants (UbVs) for binding to recombinant PRO yielded several UbVs that bound the viral protease with nanomolar affinities and blocked its function.
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