Fiber injury appears in critical medullary respiratory regulatory sites, as well as cognitive and autonomic control areas. Myelin is more affected in newly diagnosed OSA than axons, and primarily on the left side, possibly from the increased myelin sensitivity to hypoxia and asymmetric perfusion.

Nasal administration of an oil-in-water nanoemulsion (NE) adjuvant W805EC produces potent systemic and mucosal, Th-1– and Th-17–balanced cellular responses. However, its molecular mechanism of action has not been fully characterized and is of particular interest because NE does not contain specific ligands for innate immune receptors. In these studies, we demonstrate that W805EC NE adjuvant activates innate immunity, induces specific gene transcription, and modulates NF-κB activity via TLR2 and TLR4 by a mechanism that appears to be distinct from typical TLR agonists. Nasal immunization with NE-based vaccine showed that the TLR2, TLR4, and MyD88 pathways and IL-12 and IL-12Rβ1 expression are not required for an Ab response, but they are essential for the induction of balanced Th-1 polarization and Th-17 cellular immunity. NE adjuvant induces MHC class II, CD80, and CD86 costimulatory molecule expression and dendritic cell maturation. Further, upon immunization with NE, adjuvant mice deficient in the CD86 receptor had normal Ab responses but significantly reduced Th-1 cellular responses, whereas animals deficient in both CD80 and CD86 or lacking CD40 failed to produce either humoral or cellular immunity. Overall, our data show that intranasal administration of Ag with NE induces TLR2 and TLR4 activation along with a MyD88-independent Ab response and a MyD88-dependent Th-1 and Th-17 cell–mediated immune response. These findings suggest that the unique properties of NE adjuvant may offer novel opportunities for understanding previously unrecognized mechanisms of immune activation important for generating effective mucosal and systemic immune responses.

In the setting of conventional radiation therapy, even when combined with immunotherapy, head and neck cancer often recurs locally and regionally. Elective nodal irradiation (ENI) is commonly employed to decrease regional recurrence. Given our developing understanding that immune cells are radio-sensitive, and that T cell priming occurs in the draining lymph nodes (DLNs), we hypothesize that radiation therapy directed at the primary tumor only will increase the effectiveness of immunotherapies. We find that ENI increases local, distant, and metastatic tumor growth. Multi-compartmental analysis of the primary/distant tumor, the DLNs, and the blood shows that ENI decreases the immune response systemically. Additionally, we find that ENI decreases antigen-specific T cells and epitope spreading. Treating the primary tumor with radiation and immunotherapy, however, fails to reduce regional recurrence, but this is reversed by either concurrent sentinel lymph node resection or irradiation. Our data support using lymphatic sparing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.

Nanoemulsions are adjuvants that enhance antigen penetration in the nasal mucosa, increase cellular uptake of antigens by both epithelial dendritic cells, and promote migration of antigen-loaded dendritic cells to regional lymph nodes within a day of vaccine administration. The objective of this study was to determine whether the W805EC nanoemulsion adjuvant enhances immune response not only by direct uptake of antigen by dendritic cells, but also indirectly, by phagocytosis of antigen-primed, apoptotic, epithelial cells. Consistent with this, we show that exposure of both epithelial cells (TC-1s) and dendritic cells (JAWS II or bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs)) to nanoemulsion exhibited augmented antigen uptake in cell culture. TC-1 cells subsequently underwent G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and when co-cultured with JAWS II or BMDCs were rapidly engulfed by the dendritic cells, which responded by up-regulating dendritic cell maturation marker CD86. Altogether these results suggest that the effectiveness of nanoemulsions as adjuvants stems, at least in part, from the engulfment of antigen-loaded epithelial cells, leading to enhanced antigen processing and a strong and balanced mucosal and systemic immune response.

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection is widespread among humans. The HSV-1 virion protein 13/14 (VP13/14), also known as UL47, is a tegument antigen targeted by CD8 ϩ T cells from HSV-seropositive individuals. However, whether VP13/14-specific CD8 ϩ T cells play a role in the natural protection seen in asymptomatic (ASYMP) individuals (individuals who have never had a clinical herpetic disease) has not been elucidated. Using predictive computer-assisted algorithms, we identified 10 potential HLA-A*02:01-restricted CD8 ϩ T-cell epitopes from the 693-amino-acid sequence of the VP13/14 protein. Three out of 10 epitopes exhibited a high to moderate affinity of binding to soluble HLA-A*02:01 molecules. The phenotype and function of CD8 ϩ T cells specific for each epitope were compared in HLA-A*02:01-positive ASYMP individuals and symptomatic (SYMP) individuals (individuals who have frequent clinical herpetic diseases) using determination of a combination of tetramer frequency and the levels of granzyme B, granzyme K, perforin, gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-2 production and CD107 a/b cytotoxic degranulation. High frequencies of multifunctional CD8 ϩ T cells directed against three epitopes, VP13/14 from amino acids 286 to 294 (VP13/14 286 -294 ), VP13/14 from amino acids 504 to 512 (VP13/14 504 -512 ), and VP13/14 from amino acids 544 to 552 (VP13/14 544 -552 ), were detected in ASYMP individuals, while only low frequencies were detected in SYMP individuals. The three epitopes also predominantly recalled more CD45RA low CD44 high CCR7 low CD62L low CD8 ϩ effector memory T cells (T EM cells) in ASYMP individuals than SYMP individuals. Moreover, immunization of HLA-A*02:01 transgenic mice with the three CD8 ϩ T EM -cell epitopes from ASYMP individuals induced robust and polyfunctional HSV-specific CD8 ϩ T EM cells associated with strong protective immunity against ocular herpesvirus infection and disease. Our findings outline the phenotypic and functional features of protective HSV-specific CD8 ϩ T cells that should guide the development of a safe and effective T-cell-based herpes simplex vaccine.IMPORTANCE Although most herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)-infected individuals shed the virus in their body fluids following reactivation from latently infected sen-

Body contouring achieved via subcutaneous adipose tissue reduction has notably advanced over the past century, from suction assisted lipectomy to techniques with reduced degrees of invasiveness including laser, radiofrequency, high frequency focused ultrasound, cryolipolysis, and drug-based injection approaches. These costly techniques have focused on damaging adipocyte cell membranes, hydrolyzing triglycerides (TGs), or inducing apoptosis. Here, we present a simple, low-cost technique, termed electrochemical lipolysis (ECLL). During ECLL, saline is injected into the subcutaneous adipose tissue, followed by insertion of needle electrodes and application of an electrical potential. Electrolysis of saline creates localized pH gradients that drive adipocyte death and saponification of TGs. Using pH mapping, various optical imaging techniques, and biochemical assays, we demonstrate the ability of ECLL to induce acid and base injury, cell death, and the saponification of triglycerides in ex vivo porcine adipose tissue. We define ECLL’s potential role as a minimally-invasive, ultra-low-cost technology for reducing and contouring adipose tissue, and present ECLL as a potential new application of an emerging electrochemical redox based treatment modality.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a member of the intracellular serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) phosphatases. Innate immune cell activation triggered by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) is mediated by various protein kinases, and PP2A plays a counter regulatory role by deactivating these kinases. In this study, we generated a conditional knockout of the catalytic subunit of PP2A (PP2ACα). After crossing with myeloid-specific cre-expressing mice, effective gene knockout was achieved in various myeloid cells. The myeloid-specific knockout mice (lyM-PP2Afl/fl) showed higher mortality in response to both endotoxin challenge and bacterial infection. Upon LPS challenge, serum levels of TNF-α, KC, IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly increased in lyM-PP2Afl/fl mice and increased phosphorylation was observed in Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathways (p38, ERK, JNK) and the NF-κB pathway (IKKα/β, NF-κB p65) in bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDM) from knockout mice. Heightened NF-κB activation was not associated with degradation of IκB-α, instead, enhanced phosphorylation of the NF-κB p65 subunit and p38 phosphorylation-mediated TNF-α mRNA stabilization appear to contribute to the increased TNF-α expression. In addition, increased IL-10 expression appears to be due to PP2ACα knockout-induced IKKα/β hyper-activation. Microarray experiments indicated the TRIF/TRAF3 pathway was highly upregulated in LPS-treated PP2ACα knockout BMDM and knockout BMDM had elevated IFN-α/β production compared to control BMDM. Serum IFN-β levels from PP2ACα knockout mice treated with LPS was also greater than that in controls. Thus, we demonstrate that PP2A plays an important role in regulating inflammation and survival in the setting of septic insult, by targeting both MyD-88 and TRIF-dependent pathways.

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