Reduction of trapping of aggregated human IgG in germinal centers by mitogens

The effect of nonspecific mitogens on the trapping of ¹²⁵I-labeled aggregated human IgG (¹²⁵I-AHGG) in germinal centers (GC) of mouse spleens has been investigated by both radioactivity uptake and immunofluorescence. Phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A (Con A) significantly decreased trapping. Lipopolysaccharide produced less inhibition, and pokeweed mitogen had no significant effect. The maximum inhibition occurred with 250–500 μg Con A. This had no effect on ¹²⁵I-AHGG uptake in liver, kidney and blood. No differences were found between i.p. and i.v. routes of Con A injection. The effect of mitogens on the ¹²⁵I-AHGG trapping in GC is due more likely to modification of the migratory properties of lymphocytes brought about by surface binding, than to their mitogenic properties, since Con A decreased ¹²⁵I-AHGG localization in thymectomized, x-irradiated and bone marrow- reconstituted animals.     

The role of self-Ia antigens in the murine mixed lymphocyte response

Mouse splenic macrophages (M phi) were tested for their ability to potentiate in vitro allogeneic mixed lymphocyte response (MLR) of highly purified syngeneic responder T cells against allogeneic M phi. It was shown that even extremely low numbers of M phi syngeneic to the responder T cells were able to induce significantly stronger MLR. This potentiating effect was demonstrated to be expressed via the self-Ia antigens present on the surface of syngeneic M phi. The functional involvement of self-Ia antigens was substantiated by two approaches: (a) by using monoclonal antibodies specific for I-region determinants of the responder haplotype M phi and (b) by setting up MLR cultures with stimulator M phi of (responder X stimulator) F1 origin which express both self- and allo-Ia antigens. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that the presentation of self-Ia antigens, in conjunction with the recognition of allo-major histocompatibility complex antigens, are required for in vitro primary MLR.     

Impact of the Level of Adherence to Mediterranean Diet on the Parameters of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

High adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been associated with a lower prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). The present study aimed to investigate the impact of MD adherence on parameters of MetS. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Central Registry of Clinical Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. Observational studies that recorded adherence to MD and components/measures of the MetS, such as waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides (TG), were included in this study. A total of 58 studies were included in our study. WC and TG were significantly lower in the high adherence MD group (SMD: −0.20, (95%CI: −0.40, −0.01), SMD: −0.27 (95%CI: −0.27, −0.11), respectively), while HDL cholesterol was significantly higher in the same group (SMD: −0.28 (95%CI: 0.07, 0.50). There was no difference in FBG and SBP among the two groups (SMD: −0.21 (95%CI: −0.54, 0.12) & SMD: −0.15 (95%CI: −0.38, 0.07), respectively). MD may have a positive impact on all parameters of MetS. However, further research is needed in this field.     

HLA-DR2 frequency increase in severe aplastic anemia patients is mainly attributed to the prevalence of DR15 subtype

The association between severe aplastic anemia (AA) and DR2 antigen seems to be well established. However, since discrimination between two DR2-associated splits, namely DR15 and DR16, rarely was performed, it remains unclear whether one or both of these subvariants are responsible for AA susceptibility. In this study, we have analyzed the HLA-DR allelic distribution in a group of 37 AA patients of slavic origin from North-Western Russia. The experimental design included PCR-based amplification of DRB-specific sequences, followed by reverse dot-blot hybridization of the biotinylated PCR-product with the set of sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. HLA-DRB alleles were identified by non-radioactive enzymatic reaction, then standard serological specificities of HLA-DR antigen were estimated according to the WHO nomenclature. Whereas DR15 subtype occurred more often in the patients (23.0% vs. 13.3%, p< 0.05), DR16 split did not show the same tendency. The results, show the overall predominance of HLA-DR2 specificity (DR15+DR16) did not reach statistical significance (24.4% vs.17.5%, p<0.2). Thus, we conclude that repeatedly reported DR2 frequency increase in AA patients is mainly attributed to the prevalence of DR15 subtype.     

Health-related quality of life parameters as prognostic factors in a nonmetastatic breast cancer population: an international multicenter study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to evaluate whether baseline health-related quality of life (HRQOL) parameters are prognostic factors for survival in locally advanced breast cancer patients. Although the literature highlights the important role of HRQOL parameters in predicting survival in advanced metastatic disease, little evidence exists for earlier stages. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The overall sample consisted of 448 patients randomly assigned to receive cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil versus epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Patients were enrolled in 12 countries. HRQOL baseline scores were assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. In addition, a bootstrap resampling technique was used to assess the stability of the outcomes. Bootstrap results were then applied for model averaging purposes as a means to account for the observed model selection uncertainty. RESULTS: The final multivariate model retained inflammatory breast cancer (T4d) as the only factor predicting overall survival (OS) with a hazard ratio of 1.375 (95% CI, 1.027 to 1.840; P =.03). The presence of inflammatory breast cancer lowers the median survival time from 6.6 to 4.2 years (36% reduction). None of the preselected HRQOL variables were prognostic for OS or disease-free survival, in either the univariate or multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that baseline HRQOL parameters have no prognostic value in a nonmetastatic breast cancer population.     

Transdermal Diagnosis of Malaria Using Vapor Nanobubbles

A fast, precise, noninvasive, high-throughput, and simple approach for detecting malaria in humans and mosquitoes is not possible with current techniques that depend on blood sampling, reagents, facilities, tedious procedures, and trained personnel. We designed a device for rapid (20-second) noninvasive diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection in a malaria patient without drawing blood or using any reagent. This method uses transdermal optical excitation and acoustic detection of vapor nanobubbles around intraparasite hemozoin. The same device also identified individual malaria parasite–infected Anopheles mosquitoes in a few seconds and can be realized as a low-cost universal tool for clinical and field diagnoses.