Case Report: Sustained Remission Due to PD-1-Inhibition in a Metastatic Melanoma Patient With Depleted B Cells.

Introduction: Checkpoint-Inhibition (CPI) with PD-1- and PD-L1-inhibitors is a well-established therapy for advanced stage melanoma patients. CPI mainly acts T-lymphocytes. However, recent literature suggests also a role for B cells modulating its efficacy and tolerability of CPI.

A small set of succinct signature patterns distinguishes Chinese and non-Chinese HIV-1 genomes.

The epidemiology of HIV-1 in China has unique features that may have led to unique viral strains. We therefore tested the hypothesis that it is possible to find distinctive patterns in HIV-1 genomes sampled in China. Using a rule inference algorithm we could indeed extract from sequences of the third variable loop (V3) of HIV-1 gp120 a set of 14 signature patterns that with 89% accuracy distinguished Chinese from non-Chinese sequences.

Detection of cytomegalovirus in human placental cells by polymerase chain reaction.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of viral intrauterine infection. Progress in rapid, specific, and dependable detection of HCMV has recently been achieved by the use of DNA hybridization techniques and other molecular methods. We examined 21 placentas after delivery for the presence of HCMV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Constitutive activity of beta-adrenergic receptors in C6 glioma cells.

Alprenolol and propranolol (0.001-10 microM) significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited both isoprenaline-driven and basal (non-stimulated) cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation in the rat C6 glioma cells, showing high potency particularly in the latter condition (IC 50 values of 30 and 27 nM, respectively). In the rat cerebral cortical slices, these two tested beta-adrenoceptor antagonists inhibited the isoprenaline-evoked cAMP response, but had no effect on the nucleotide accumulation under basal (non-stimulated) conditions.

Flow cytometric evaluation of human neutrophil apoptosis during nitric oxide generation in vitro: the role of exogenous antioxidants.

Among numerous inflammatory mediators a nitric oxide molecule is supposed to be important in the modulation of neutrophil survival in vivo and in vitro. The effect of exogenous supply of NO donors such as SNP, SIN-1, and GEA-3162 on the course of human neutrophil apoptosis and the role of extracellular antioxidants in this process was investigated. Isolated from peripheral blood, neutrophils were cultured in the presence or absence of NO donor compounds and antioxidants for 8, 12, and 20 hours.

Heat shock proteins and other components of cellular machinery for protein synthesis are up-regulated in vascular endothelial cell growth factor-activated human endothelial cells.

Proteome analysis of human umbilical endothelial cells was performed to identify proteins that are modified during vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF)-induced transition from the quiescent into the proliferating-migrative phenotype. Subtractive analysis of two-dimensional gel patterns of human endothelial cells, before and after stimulation with VEGF(165), revealed differences in 85 protein spots. All proteins were identified by peptide sequencing and peptide mass fingerprinting using an electrospray spectrometer.

Thymosin beta 4 induces the synthesis of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in cultured endothelial cells and increases its extracellular expression.

Thymosin beta 4(T beta 4), a 4.9-kDa polypeptide primarily known as a main G-actin-sequestering peptide, is present in high concentrations in various cells and in the circulation. We have found that T beta 4 upregulates the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) in endothelial cells measured both at the level of mRNA and protein synthesis.