Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a CD4+ Th1-mediated demyelinating disease of the CNS that serves as a model for multiple sclerosis. A critical event in the pathogenesis of EAE is the entry of both Ag-specific and Ag-nonspecific T lymphocytes into the CNS. In the present report, we investigated the role of the CXC chemokine CXCL10 (IFN-γ-inducible protein-10) in the pathogenesis of EAE. Production of CXCL10 in the CNS correlated with the development of clinical disease. Administration of anti-CXCL10 decreased clinical and histological disease incidence, severity, as well as infiltration of mononuclear cells into the CNS. Anti-CXCL10 specifically decreased the accumulation of encephalitogenic PLP139–151 Ag-specific CD4+ T cells in the CNS compared with control-treated animals. Anti-CXCL10 administration did not affect the activation of encephalitogenic T cells as measured by Ag-specific proliferation and the ability to adoptively transfer EAE. These results demonstrate an important role for the CXC chemokine CXCL10 in the recruitment and accumulation of inflammatory mononuclear cells during the pathogenesis of EAE.

This study establishes evidence of S. aureus SAg-T-cell interactions in polyp lymphocytes of 35% of CRSwNP patients. Although these results are consistent with intranasal exposure of polyp lymphocytes to SAg's, additional study is necessary to establish the role of these toxins in disease pathogenesis.

Summary Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a significant healthcare burden worldwide, but most affected individuals reside in low-resource areas where access to diagnostic testing may be limited. We developed and validated a rapid, inexpensive, disposable diagnostic test, the HemoTypeSC™, based on novel monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that differentiate normal adult haemoglobin (Hb A), sickle haemoglobin (Hb S) and haemoglobin C (Hb C). In competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, each MAb bound only its target with <0.1% cross-reactivity. With the HemoTypeSC™ test procedure, the sensitivity for each variant was <5.0 g/l. The accuracy of HemoTypeSC™ was evaluated on 100 whole blood samples from individuals with common relevant haemoglobin phenotypes, including normal (Hb AA, N=20), carrier or trait (Hb AS, N=22; Hb AC, N=20), SCD (Hb SS, N=22; Hb SC, N=13), and Hb C disease (Hb CC, N=3). The correct haemoglobin phenotype was identified in 100% of these samples. The accuracy of the test was not affected by Hb F (0-94.8% of total Hb) or Hb A2 (0-5.6% of total Hb). HemoTypeSC™ requires <1 μl of whole blood and no instruments or power sources. The total time-to-result is <20 min. HemoTypeSC™ may be a practical solution for point-of-care testing for SCD and carrier status in low-resource settings.

Elastic laminae are extracellular matrix constituents that not only contribute to the stability and elasticity of arteries but also play a role in regulating arterial morphogenesis and pathogenesis. We demonstrate here that an important function of arterial elastic laminae is to prevent monocyte adhesion, which is mediated by the inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein (SIRP) ␣ and Src homology 2 domain-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase (SHP)-1. In a matrix-based arterial reconstruction model in vivo, elastic laminae were resistant to leukocyte adhesion and transmigration compared with the collagen-dominant arterial adventitia. The density of leukocytes within the elastic lamina-dominant media was about 58 -70-fold lower than that within the adventitia from 1 to 30 days. An in vitro assay confirmed the inhibitory effect of elastic laminae on monocyte adhesion. The exposure of monocytes to elastic laminae induced activation of SIRP ␣, which in turn activated SHP-1. Elastic lamina degradation peptides extracted from arterial specimens could also activate SIRP ␣ and SHP-1. The knockdown of SIRP ␣ and SHP-1 by specific small interfering RNA diminished the inhibitory effect of elastic laminae, resulting in a significant increase in monocyte adhesion. These observations suggest that SIRP ␣ and SHP-1 potentially mediate the inhibitory effect of elastic laminae on monocyte adhesion.Arterial elastic laminae have long been considered a structure that determines the strength and elasticity of blood vessels (1-6). Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that arterial elastic laminae also participate in the regulation of arterial morphogenesis and pathogenesis (7-12). An important contribution of elastic laminae is to confine smooth muscle cells (SMCs) 2 to the arterial media by inhibiting SMC proliferation (8, 9) and migration (10), thus preventing intimal hyperplasia under physiological conditions. Arterial elastic laminae also exhibit thrombosis-resistant properties. When implanted in an artery, elastic lamina scaffolds are associated with significantly lower leukocyte adhesion and thrombosis compared with collagen matrix scaffolds (10).These observations suggest an inhibitory role for elastic laminae relative to collagen matrix. Although such a role is well documented, the mechanisms remain poorly understood.Leukocytes are known to express the inhibitory receptor SIRP ␣ (also known as Src homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase substrate-1), a transmembrane glycoprotein receptor that exerts an inhibitory effect on cell mitogenic (13-18) and inflammatory (19,20) activities. Upon ligand binding, SIRP ␣ transmits inhibitory signals through tyrosine phosphorylation of its intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (15-18, 21, 22). The phosphorylation of the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif initiates the recruitment of Src homology 2 domain-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase (SHP)-1 to SIRP ␣, which is known as a substrate of SHP-1 (21, 22). The recruitment of SH...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common and life-threatening hematological disorder, affecting approximately 400,000 newborns annually worldwide. Most SCD births occur in low-resource countries, particularly in subSaharan Africa, where limited access to accurate diagnostics results in early mortality. We evaluated a prototype immunoassay as a novel, rapid, and low-cost point-of-care (POC) diagnostic device (Sickle SCAN TM ) designed to identify HbA, HbS, and HbC. A total of 139 blood samples were scored by three masked observers and compared to results using capillary zone electrophoresis. The sensitivity (98.3-100%) and specificity (92.5-100%) to detect the presence of HbA, HbS, and HbS were excellent. The test demonstrated 98.4% sensitivity and 98.6% specificity for the diagnosis of HbSS disease and 100% sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of HbSC disease. Most variant hemoglobins, including samples with high concentrations of HbF, did not interfere with the ability to detect HbS or HbC. Additionally, HbS and HbC were accurately detected at concentrations as low as 1-2%. Dried blood spot samples yielded clear positive bands, without loss of sensitivity or specificity, and devices stored at 378C gave reliable results. These analyses indicate that the Sickle SCAN POC device is simple, rapid, and robust with high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of HbA, HbS, and HbC. The ability to obtain rapid and accurate results with both liquid blood and dried blood spots, including those with newborn high-HbF phenotypes, suggests that this POC device is suitable for large-scale screening and potentially for accurate diagnosis of SCD in limited resource settings.