Increased sHLA-G Is Associated with Improved COVID-19 Outcome and Reduced Neutrophil Adhesion.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is a group of molecules involved in inflammatory and infective responses. We evaluated blood sHLA-E and sHLA-G levels in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and their relationship with clinical evolution, changes in endothelial activation biomarker profile, and neutrophil adhesion. sHLA-E, sHLA-G, and endothelial activation biomarkers were quantified by ELISA assay in plasma samples.

Factors associated with tuberculosis-associated haemophagocytic syndrome: a multicentre case-control study.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potential trigger of haemophagocytic syndrome (HS) but little is known about the features of TB-associated HS. To assess the risk factors associated with HS in patients with TB. We performed a multicentre case-control study assessing the medical records of adult patients diagnosed with proven TB with (TB/HS+) or without (TB/HS-) associated HS.

Architectural Patterns are a Relevant Morphologic Grading System for Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Prognosis Assessment: Comparisons With WHO/ISUP Grade and Integrated Staging Systems.

We developed and validated an architecture-based grading for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in an observational retrospective cohort study including 506 tumors (principal cohort, n=254; validation cohort, n=252). Study endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Relationships with outcome were analyzed using Harrell concordance index, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve, area under curve, and Cox regression model.

NRPa-308, a new neuropilin-1 antagonist, exerts in vitro anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative effects and in vivo anti-cancer effects in a mouse xenograft model.

Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) is an extra-cellular receptor for the main Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor over-expressed in tumour tissues, VEGF-A. Consequently, NRP-1 is involved in angiogenesis and in tumour growth, and its over-expression is related to a clinical poor prognosis. NRP-1 appears as a major target in oncology, which remains poorly exploited.

APN/CD13 is over-expressed by Psoriatic fibroblasts and is modulated by CGRP and IL-4 but not by retinoic acid treatment.

Psoriasis vulgaris is a common skin inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent flare episodes associated with scaly well-demarcated skin plaques. Skin biopsies from psoriatic patients with high PASI score (22.67 ± 8.

Listeriomics: an Interactive Web Platform for Systems Biology of .

As for many model organisms, the amount of omics data produced has recently increased exponentially. There are now >80 published complete genomes, around 350 different transcriptomic data sets, and 25 proteomic data sets available. The analysis of these data sets through a systems biology approach and the generation of tools for biologists to browse these various data are a challenge for bioinformaticians.

Sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide is the limiting host factor of hepatitis B virus infection in macaque and pig hepatocytes.

Unlabelled: Infections with the human hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) depend on species-specific host factors like the receptor human sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (hNTCP). Complementation of mouse hepatocytes with hNTCP confers susceptibility to HDV but not HBV, indicating the requirement of additional HBV-specific factors. As an essential premise toward the establishment of an HBV-susceptible animal model, we investigated the role of hNTCP as a limiting factor of hepatocytes in commonly used laboratory animals.

Induced pluripotent stem cell generation from a man carrying a complex chromosomal rearrangement as a genetic model for infertility studies.

Despite progress in human reproductive biology, the cause of male infertility often remains unknown, due to the lack of appropriate and convenient in vitro models of meiosis. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from the cells of infertile patients could provide a gold standard model for generating primordial germ cells and studying their development and the process of spermatogenesis. We report the characterization of a complex chromosomal rearrangement (CCR) in an azoospermic patient, and the successful generation of specific-iPSCs from PBMC-derived erythroblasts.

High-Efficiency Transduction of Primary Human Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells by AAV6 Vectors: Strategies for Overcoming Donor-Variation and Implications in Genome Editing.

We have reported that of the 10 commonly used AAV serotype vectors, AAV6 is the most efficient in transducing primary human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, the transduction efficiency of the wild-type (WT) AAV6 vector varies greatly in HSPCs from different donors. Here we report two distinct strategies to further increase the transduction efficiency in HSPCs from donors that are transduced less efficiently with the WT AAV6 vectors.

Inhibitors of retrograde trafficking active against ricin and Shiga toxins also protect cells from several viruses, Leishmania and Chlamydiales.

Medical countermeasures to treat biothreat agent infections require broad-spectrum therapeutics that do not induce agent resistance. A cell-based high-throughput screen (HTS) against ricin toxin combined with hit optimization allowed selection of a family of compounds that meet these requirements. The hit compound Retro-2 and its derivatives have been demonstrated to be safe in vivo in mice even at high doses.

The growth of arthralgic Ross River virus is restricted in human monocytic cells.

Alphaviruses such as Chikungunya and Ross River (RRV) viruses are associated with persistent arthritis and arthralgia in humans. Monocytes and macrophages are believed to play an important role in alphaviral arthritides. In this study, we evaluated RRV permissiveness of the human acute leukemia MM6 cell line.

What are the challenges in 2016 regarding resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chronic myeloid leukemia and cancer?

In the past decade, the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has undergone a drastic evolution. The discovery and success of imatinib and second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors have substantially increased the outcome for CML patients. The next step in medical and scientific research is to better understand the malignancy so as to eventually find a cure to eliminate all leukemic cells from patients.

Identification of Vaccine-Altered Circulating B Cell Phenotypes Using Mass Cytometry and a Two-Step Clustering Analysis.

Broadening our understanding of the abundance and phenotype of B cell subsets that are induced or perturbed by exogenous Ags will improve the vaccine evaluation process. Mass cytometry (CyTOF) is being used to increase the number of markers that can be investigated in single cells, and therefore characterize cell phenotype at an unprecedented level. We designed a panel of CyTOF Abs to compare the B cell response in cynomolgus macaques at baseline, and 8 and 28 d after the second homologous immunization with modified vaccinia virus Ankara.

Immunomodulation of classical and non-classical HLA molecules by ionizing radiation.

Radiotherapy has been employed for the treatment of oncological patients for nearly a century, and together with surgery and chemotherapy, radiation oncology constitutes one of the three pillars of cancer therapy. Ionizing radiation has complex effects on neoplastic cells and on tumor microenvironment: beyond its action as a direct cytotoxic agent, tumor irradiation triggers a series of alterations in tumoral cells, which includes the de novo synthesis of particular proteins and the up/down-regulation of cell surface molecules. Additionally, ionizing radiation may induce the release of "danger signals" which may, in turn lead to cellular and molecular responses by the immune system.

Current and future alternative therapies for beta-thalassemia major.

Beta-thalassemia is a group of frequent genetic disorders resulting in the synthesis of little or no β-globin chains. Novel approaches are being developed to correct the resulting α/β-globin chain imbalance, in an effort to move beyond the palliative management of this disease and the complications of its treatment (e.g.

Validation of an air-liquid interface toxicological set-up using Cu, Pd, and Ag well-characterized nanostructured aggregates and spheres.

Abstract: Systems for studying the toxicity of metal aggregates on the airways are normally not suited for evaluating the effects of individual particle characteristics. This study validates a set-up for toxicological studies of metal aggregates using an air-liquid interface approach. The set-up used a spark discharge generator capable of generating aerosol metal aggregate particles and sintered near spheres.

Inhibition of the acetyl lysine-binding pocket of bromodomain and extraterminal domain proteins interferes with adipogenesis.

The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) domain family proteins are epigenetic modulators involved in the reading of acetylated lysine residues. The first BET protein inhibitor to be identified, (+)-JQ1, a thienotriazolo-1, 4-diazapine, binds selectively to the acetyl lysine-binding pocket of BET proteins. We evaluated the impact on adipogenesis of this druggable targeting of chromatin epigenetic readers, by investigating the physiological consequences of epigenetic modifications through targeting proteins binding to chromatin.

Erythropoietin and IGF-1 signaling synchronize cell proliferation and maturation during erythropoiesis.

Tight coordination of cell proliferation and differentiation is central to red blood cell formation. Erythropoietin controls the proliferation and survival of red blood cell precursors, while variations in GATA-1/FOG-1 complex composition and concentrations drive their maturation. However, clear evidence of cross-talk between molecular pathways is lacking.

Disruption of phactr-1 pathway triggers pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic factors: New insights in atherosclerosis development.

Significant interest has recently emerged for phosphatase and actin regulatory protein (PHACTR1) gene in heart diseases prognosis. However, the functional role of phactr-1 protein remains elusive in heart related-diseases such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery calcification, ischaemic stroke, coronary artery stenosis and early-onset myocardial infarction. Phactr-1 is directly regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor A165 (VEGF-A165) through VEGF receptor 1 (VEGR-1) and Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1).

Erosion of the chronic myeloid leukaemia stem cell pool by PPARγ agonists.

Whether cancer is maintained by a small number of stem cells or is composed of proliferating cells with approximate phenotypic equivalency is a central question in cancer biology. In the stem cell hypothesis, relapse after treatment may occur by failure to eradicate cancer stem cells. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is quintessential to this hypothesis.

Molecular characterization of the 17D-204 yellow fever vaccine.

Introduction: The worldwide use of yellow fever (YF) live attenuated vaccines came recently under close scrutiny as rare but serious adverse events have been reported. The population identified at major risk for these safety issues were extreme ages and immunocompromised subjects. Study NCT01426243 conducted by the French National Agency for AIDS research is an ongoing interventional study to evaluate the safety of the vaccine and the specific immune responses in HIV-infected patients following 17D-204 vaccination.