Dendritic cells (DCs) that acquired antigen from apoptotic tumor cells are able to induce major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes and antitumor immunity. In the present study, we investigated the efficiency of antitumor immunity derived from DCs that had phagocytosed apoptotic/necrotic BL6-10 melanoma cells compared with that of DCs pulsed with the tumor mTRP2 peptide. Our data showed that phagocytosis of apoptotic/ necrotic tumor cells resulted in maturation of DCs with up-regulated expression of proinflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1␤, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-␣, interferon-␥ and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor], chemokines (MIP-1␣, MIP-1␤ and MIP-2), the CC chemokine receptor CCR7 and the cell surface molecules (MHC class II, CD11b, CD40 and CD86), and down-regulated expression of the CC chemokine receptors CCR2 and CCR5. These mature DCs displayed enhanced migration toward the CC chemokine MIP-3␤ in a chemotaxis assay in vitro and to the regional lymph nodes in an animal model in vivo. Our data also showed that vaccination with DCs that had phagocytosed apoptotic/necrotic BL6-10 cells was able to (i) more strongly stimulate allogeneic T-cell proliferation in vitro, (ii) induce an in vivo Th1-type immune response leading to more efficient tumor-specific cytotoxic CD8 ؉ T-cell-mediated immunity and (iii) eradicate lung metastases in all 6 vaccinated mice compared with mice vaccinated with DCs pulsed with the tumor mTRP2 peptide, in which lung metastases were reduced (mean number of 16 per mouse) but not completely eradicated. Therefore, DCs that had phagocytosed apoptotic/necrotic tumor cells appear to offer new strategies in DC cancer vaccines. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: cancer vaccine; dendritic cell maturation; apoptotic/ necrotic tumor cellCytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a major role in the rejection of immunogenic tumors. 1 Classically, CTLs target tumors through recognition of a ligand consisting of the self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule and peptides that are generally derived from tumor antigens synthesized within the tumor cells. 2,3 However, there is evidence for an exogenous pathway whereby antigens that are not expected to gain access to the cytoplasm are presented on MHC class I molecules. 4 -6 A most striking example of this is the in vivo phenomenon of crosspriming: antigens from donor cells are acquired by host antigenpresenting cells (APCs) and presented on MHC class I molecules in the appropriate context of co-stimulation. Delivery of exogenous antigen to the endogenous MHC class I-restricted processing pathway of APCs is a critical challenge in cancer vaccine design.Dendritic cells (DCs) are one of the most potent APCs. They capture antigens in situ, and migrate to lymphoid organs to interact/activate naive T cells. 7 DCs pulsed with synthetic tumorderived MHC class I-restricted peptides or tumor lysates and tumor cell-derived RNA induced significant CTL-dependent antitumor immune respon...

Although both Bcl-2/Bax ratio and Mcl-1 have been identified to be of clinical relevance in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), there is controversy regarding their role; further, their relative importance is not well delineated. Expression of Bcl-2, Bax, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and Mcl-1 in 51 consecutive previously untreated CLL patients and 16 controls was determined by Western blotting. Only 37 patients were treated, all with chlorambucil and prednisone initially. Six patients achieved complete response (CR), 14 were non-responders (NR), and 17 had a partial response (PR), as defined by NCI criteria. There was considerable inter-patient variability in protein expression and overlap with healthy volunteers (P > 0.05). All patients with CR had low Mcl-1 levels compared to the PR + NR group (0.07 ± 0.02 vs. 0.14 ± 0.07, P = 0.043). Higher Mcl-1 expression as determined by dichotomizing the data was associated with a failure to achieve CR (P = 0.021). The Bcl-2/Bax ratio was significantly associated with treatment response only when CR and PR were considered together (0.89 ± 0.53 [CR + PR] vs. 3.38 ± 4.47 [NR], P = 0.0118). There was no association with Rai stage. Low Mcl-1 appears to be a requirement for CR, while low Bcl-2/Bax ratio is indicative of some response to conventional treatment. Am.

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BackgroundCREB3L1 (cAMP-responsive element-binding protein 3-like protein 1), a member of the unfolded protein response, has recently been identified as a metastasis suppressor in both breast and bladder cancer.MethodsQuantitative real time PCR (qPCR) and immunoblotting were used to determine the impact of histone deacetylation and DNA methylation inhibitors on CREB3L1 expression in breast cancer cell lines. Breast cancer cell lines and tumor samples were analyzed similarly, and CREB3L1 gene methylation was determined using sodium bisulfite conversion and DNA sequencing. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine nuclear versus cytoplasmic CREB3L1 protein. Large breast cancer database analyses were carried out to examine relationships between CREB3L1 gene methylation and mRNA expression in addition to CREB3L1 mRNA expression and prognosis.ResultsThis study demonstrates that the low CREB3L1 expression previously seen in highly metastatic breast cancer cell lines is caused in part by epigenetic silencing. Treatment of several highly metastatic breast cancer cell lines that had low CREB3L1 expression with DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors induced expression of CREB3L1, both mRNA and protein. In human breast tumors, CREB3L1 mRNA expression was upregulated in low and medium-grade tumors, most frequently of the luminal and HER2 amplified subtypes. In contrast, CREB3L1 expression was repressed in high-grade tumors, and its loss was most frequently associated with triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs). Importantly, bioinformatics analyses of tumor databases support these findings, with methylation of the CREB3L1 gene associated with TNBCs, and strongly negatively correlated with CREB3L1 mRNA expression. Decreased CREB3L1 mRNA expression was associated with increased tumor grade and reduced progression-free survival. An immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that low-grade breast tumors frequently had nuclear CREB3L1 protein, in contrast to the high-grade breast tumors in which CREB3L1 was cytoplasmic, suggesting that differential localization may also regulate CREB3L1 effectiveness in metastasis suppression.ConclusionsOur data further strengthens the role for CREB3L1 as a metastasis suppressor in breast cancer and demonstrates that epigenetic silencing is a major regulator of the loss of CREB3L1 expression. We also highlight that CREB3L1 expression is frequently altered in many cancer types suggesting that it could have a broader role in cancer progression and metastasis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-016-0672-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Composite lymphomas involving cutaneous B-cell and T-cell lymphomas are very uncommon. We report here the unique circumstance of a patient with mycosis fungoides (primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) who later developed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-cell lymphoproliferation, B-CLL), which presented in the skin (leukaemia cutis) as a composite lymphoma affecting an earlobe. The presence of both lymphoproliferative disorders was confirmed with immunophenotyping and the finding of both immunoglobulin gene rearrangements and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements in the ear and the same T-cell receptor gene rearrangement in a plaque lesion of mycosis fungoides on the arm.

Bleomycin is easy to administer, is cheap, shows high regression rate, and has minimum complication and recurrence. Thus, it can be used as the first-line treatment modality for management of keloids and hypertrophic scars.

Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a risk factor for thyroid lymphoma, and clonal B cell populations in HT support this link. The literature on B cell clonality in HT is controversial. Aims: To identify clonal B cell populations in HT and to assess their usefulness in differentiating HT from mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and predicting future development of lymphoma. Methods: DNA from formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded blocks of thyroid specimens from 10 patients with HT and two thyroid MALT lymphomas was analysed for B cell clonality by seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using FRIII/LJH and FRIII/VLJH primers to amplify the IgH gene VDJ region. In one case, PCR products were sequenced. Immunohistochemistry was performed by labelled streptavidin-biotin technique using antibodies to: CD45, CD45RO, CD3, CD20, and cytokeratin. Results: The histopathological and clinical findings were characteristic of HT. Clonal bands were seen in three and a polyclonal smear pattern was seen in seven cases. The clonal bands in HT were associated with a background smear, and could not be reproduced from other blocks from the same case or from deeper sections of the same block. The clonal bands in thyroid lymphomas were not associated with a background smear and were reproducible. None of the patients with clonal B cells has developed malignant lymphoma during a follow up of 10-13 years. Conclusions: B cell clonal bands in HT have different features from those in lymphoma (non-pure and nonreproducible) and do not predict future development of lymphoma.

N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) exists in two isoforms, NMT1 and NMT2, that catalyze myristoylation of various proteins crucial in signal transduction, cellular transformation, and oncogenesis. We have recently demonstrated that NMT1 is essential for the early development of mouse embryo. In this report, we have demonstrated that an invariant consequence of NMT1 knock out is defective myelopoesis. Suppressed macrophage colony forming units were observed in M-CSF-stimulated bone marrow cells from heterozygous (+/–) Nmt1-deficient mice. Homozygous (−/−) Nmt1-deficient mouse embryonic stem cells resulted in drastic reduction of macrophages when stimulated to differentiate by M-CSF. Furthermore, to understand the requirement of NMT1 in the monocytic differentiation we investigated the role of NMT, pp60c−Src (NMT substrate) and heat shock cognate protein 70 (inhibitor of NMT), during PMA-induced differentiation of U937 cells. Src kinase activity and protein expression increased during the differentiation process along with regulation of NMT activity by hsc70. NMT1 knock down in PMA treated U937 cells showed defective monocytic differentiation. We report in this study novel observation that regulated total NMT activity and NMT1 is essential for proper monocytic differentiation of the mouse bone marrow cells.