A novel conditioning regimen with pre-transplantation immunosuppression reduces the complication rates in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia.

Background: Allo-HSCT is a curative therapy for patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT). The high incidence of transplant-related complications is becoming an obstacle to safe and effective unrelated donor (URD) transplantation.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we reported the survival outcomes and complications of transplantation in thalassemia patients using a novel regimen consisting of pre-transplantation immunosuppression (PTIS) and modified myeloablative conditioning based on intravenous busulfan, cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and rabbit anti-human thymocyte immunoglobulin.

SHIP-1 regulates the differentiation and function of Tregs via inhibiting mTORC1 activity.

Cell metabolism is crucial for orchestrating the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, the underlying mechanism that coordinates cell metabolism to regulate Treg activity is not completely understood. As a pivotal molecule in lipid metabolism, the role of SHIP-1 in Tregs remains unknown.

Liver transplantation in acute liver failure.

ABO-compatible Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT) is the standard treatment for patients with acute liver failure (ALF) who meet the criteria for poor prognosis. Contraindications to liver transplantation may be related to the presence of severe medical or psychiatric comorbidities, or to an unstable clinical state incompatible with transplantation. Early mortality predictive scores and factors have been developed to identify futile transplantations that exacerbate organ shortage.

Engineered Microalgae for Photo-Sonodynamic Synergistic Therapy in Breast Cancer Treatment.

Dynamic therapies such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) have potential in cancer treatment. Microalgae have attracted increasing attention because of their high active mobility, flexibility in terms of functionality, and good biocompatibility. In this study, surface-engineered microalgae Chlorella vulgaris (Chl) modified with metal‒organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles (denoted Chl-MOF) are successfully developed for synergistic photo-sonodynamic therapy and immunotherapy.

Single-cell RNA seq-derived signatures define response patterns to atezolizumab + bevacizumab in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: The combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab (atezo+bev) is the current standard of care for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), providing a median overall survival (OS) of 19.2 months. Here, we aim to uncover the underlying cellular processes driving clinical benefit versus resistance to atezo+bev.

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction ameliorates sepsis through dynamic regulation of immune response and gut microbiota-metabolite axis.

Sepsis remains a life-threatening condition with high mortality rates despite current therapeutic approaches. While Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction (HLJDD), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been historically used to treat inflammatory conditions, its therapeutic potential in sepsis and underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This study investigated HLJDD's comprehensive effects on sepsis pathophysiology using a rat cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model.

Fulminant Edwardsiella tarda bacteremia following near-drowning episode in a patient without cirrhosis: A case report.

Edwardsiella tarda is a Gram-negative intracellular pathogen within the Enterobacterales order, recognized as a causative agent of hemorrhagic septicemia in fish but also pathogenic to humans. However, the clinical course and prognostic factors of E. tarda bacteremia are not fully understood.

Immunomodulatory and anti-ovarian cancer effects of novel astragalus polysaccharide micelles loaded with podophyllotoxin.

Ovarian cancer, a highly lethal form of gynecological cancer globally, has witnessed notable advancements in its treatment through the integration of nanotechnology and immunotherapy. Here, we designed a novel astragalus polysaccharide vector (PDA), encapsulating podophyllotoxin (PPT), and modifying methotrexate (DSPE-PEG-MTX) on its surface for targeting ovarian cancer cells with high folate receptor expression. We prepared novel MTX-modified PPT-loaded astragalus polysaccharide micelles (MTX-PPT-micelles) by dialysis method and evaluated their characterization, stability, safety and targeting ability.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy by liposomal doxorubicin boosts immune protection of tumor membrane antigens-based nanovaccine.

Autologous tumor cell membrane antigen-based vaccines (TMVs) have garnered extensive attention as personalized immunotherapy. However, patients who take TMVs therapy usually undergo various treatments prior to surgery, and these processes modulate the immunogenicity of the tumor membrane and the tumor immune microenvironment. Herein, we investigate the impact of preoperative chemotherapy on the efficacy of TMVs.

Macrophage and osteosarcoma cell crosstalk is dependent on oxygen tension and 3D culture.

Osteosarcoma (OS), the most common form of primary bone cancer in young adults, has had no improvements in clinical outcomes in 50 years. This highlights a critical need to advance mechanistic understanding of OS to further therapeutic discovery, which will only be possible with accurate models of the disease. Compared to traditional monolayer studies and preclinical models, in vitro models that better replicate the three-dimensional (3D) bone marrow microenvironment will facilitate methodical investigations of the events and factors that drive OS progression.

Immunodeficiency-related high-grade B-cell lymphoma with 11q aberration: Further evidence for a lymphoma entity from a patient with simultaneous papillary renal cell carcinoma following pediatric kidney transplant.

Various aggressive lymphomas entities have been associated with immunodeficiency. To provide further evidence that also MYC-negative high-grade B-cell (formerly Burkitt-like) lymphoma with 11q aberrations comprises an immunodeficiency-related subtype, we here conducted a comprehensive pathological and genetic workup of a 25-year-old patient with this type of lymphoma and simultaneous papillary renal cell carcinoma. The patient developed both malignancies following extensive childhood immunosuppression and a kidney transplant.

The impact of neoadjuvant immunotherapy on the clinical efficacy of stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Objective: To explore the impact of neoadjuvant immunotherapy on the clinical efficacy of stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: The retrospective study was conducted on 120 patients with stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC admitted to our hospital during April 2020 to April 2022. The control group received local chemotherapy, while the combination group received neoadjuvant immunotherapy on the basis of chemotherapy.

Alemtuzumab Associated With Higher Mortality Than Basiliximab in Older Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Introduction: Kidney transplantation (KT) in older age is increasingly common as more elderly patients live with end-stage renal disease. Immunosuppression (IS) after KT confers additional risk in aging patients with weakened immune systems. We hypothesized that 1-year mortality among KT recipients aged 70 y and older would be higher in those receiving induction IS with alemtuzumab lymphocyte depletion versus basiliximab interleukin-2 inhibition.

Real-world status of multimodal treatment of Stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer in Japan: Results from the SOLUTION study, a non-interventional, multicenter cohort study.

Objectives: There is limited consensus on resectability criteria for Stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined the patient characteristics, N2 status, treatment decisions, and clinical outcomes according to the treatment modality for Stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC in Japan.

Materials And Methods: Patients with Stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC in Japan were consecutively registered in the SOLUTION study between 2013 and 2014.

Importance of trace elements in the immunometabolic health of people living with HIV/AIDS: a literature review.

Trace elements (TEs) are essential for human health and for maintaining immune responses against potentially aggressive pathogens, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). During the infectious process, the body needs greater amounts of TEs in order to coordinate an efficient immune response to combat the invading agent, a condition that reflects in lymphocyte proliferation and activation of the antioxidant defense system of neutrophils and macrophages. Thus, during the progression phase of a viral infection, immunomodulation of TEs such as iron, zinc, chromium, magnesium, selenium, copper, calcium, and manganese occurs, can lead to immunosuppression and increased oxidative stress.

Ex vivo evaluation of the effect of plasma-derived factor VIII/von Willebrand factor in patients with severe hemophilia A on emicizumab prophylaxis.

Hemophilia A (HA) patients under emicizumab prophylaxis may require the concomitant use of procoagulant factors for breakthrough bleedings or immune tolerance induction (ITI). The aim of this study is to evaluate the ex vivo procoagulant effect of plasma-derived FVIII concentrates containing von Willebrand factor (pdFVIII/VWF) in samples from patients with severe HA without inhibitors on emicizumab prophylaxis. Samples from healthy controls (HC) and HA patients were drawn in sodium citrate plus corn trypsin inhibitor tubes and spiked with increasing concentrations of pdFVIII/VWF concentrates (10-400 IU/dL) (Fanhdi/Alphanate, Grifols), activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC, 0.

Immunological differences between monophasic and biphasic synovial sarcoma with implications for immunotherapy.

Synovial sarcoma is an aggressive soft-tissue cancer that shows limited responses to current immunotherapeutic approaches using immune checkpoint blockade or adoptive cell therapy. To improve immunotherapy for this cancer, understanding how the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment associate with histological subtype, disease progression and current therapies is vital. To evaluate the immune infiltrate in synovial sarcoma in relation to histological subtype, disease progression and in response to cytotoxic treatment, we performed immunodetection of T cells, CD68 myeloid cells, endothelial cells and keratin on a series of 41 synovial sarcoma patients at various stages of disease.

Combined fractional CO2 laser 10,600 nm with methotrexate 1% gel versus methotrexate 1% gel alone in the treatment of nail psoriasis: a randomized comparative study.

Methotrexate injections intralesionally as a treatment for psoriatic nails proved to be effective in large-scale studies as well as individual case reports, but the process is painful and time-consuming. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of combined fractional CO2 laser (Fr. CO2) 10,600 nm and methotrexate gel versus methotrexate 1% gel alone in treatment of nail psoriasis.

Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disease during remission after induction therapy with dasatinib in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a case report.

Dasatinib, a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been reported to have immunomodulatory effects. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoproliferative disorders (EBV-LPD) occur in immunocompromised patients, such as those receiving methotrexate or other immunosuppressive drugs or after allogenic transplantation. EBV-LPD is also reported to be a rare side effect in patients receiving long-term dasatinib or imatinib.

Update on Autoimmune Pancreatitis and IgG4-Related Disease.

Autoimmune pancreatitis is an increasingly recognized inflammatory type of subacute pancreatitis; two subtypes of autoimmune pancreatitis have been identified so far: the "lymphoplasmacytic" type 1 variant and the "neutrophilic" type 2 variant. Type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis represents the most common manifestation of IgG4-related disease, a fibro-inflammatory disorder characterized by elevated IgG4 levels in the serum and affected tissues. Type 2 autoimmune pancreatitis is a pancreas-specific disorder that frequently occurs in the context of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Can interventions targeting MDSCs improve the outcome of vaccination in vulnerable populations?

Preventive vaccination is a crucial strategy for controlling and preventing infectious diseases, offering both effectiveness and cost-efficiency. However, despite the widespread success of vaccination programs, there are still certain population groups who struggle to mount adequate responses to immunization. These at-risk groups include but are not restricted to the elderly, overweight individuals, individuals with chronic infections and cancer patients.

Achieving Medication-Free Remission in Patients With Juvenile Dermatomyositis.

Objective: Prognostic factors associated with medication discontinuation in children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) remain largely elusive. We aim to identify the predictors of medication-free remission (MFR) in children with JDM.

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients diagnosed with JDM according to Peter & Bohan criteria and followed for ≥18 months at a tertiary care center from 2006 through 2022 were included.

Synergistic Potential of Argentatins A and B to Improve 5-Fluorouracil Cytotoxicity in Colorectal Cancer Cell Models.

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer-related death in both men and women. Although a number of treatments are available to combat this malignancy, the antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil has been the cornerstone of therapy since its synthesis in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the prolonged use of 5-fluorouracil can lead to chemoresistance, which has prompted research into combination regimens to improve efficacy and quality of life and reduce resistance.

MPO-ANCA-positive eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis complicated by alveolar hemorrhage treated with mepolizumab as an induction therapy: Case report.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a systemic vasculitis preceded by bronchial asthma or allergic sinusitis and accompanied by peripheral blood eosinophilia. Immunosuppressive drugs, such as cyclophosphamide in addition to high-dose glucocorticoids, are recommended for induction of remission in patients with severe EGPA. Although mepolizumab is widely recognized as remission induction therapy in non-fatal/non-organ disabling or relapsed/refractory EGPA, its efficacy and safety in induction of remission for severe cases have been ambiguous.