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The article focuses on the study which investigates the effects of increased syk phosphorylation to overexpression of TRAF6 in peripheral B cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It states that pronounced phosphorylation and expression of Syk were identified in B cells from SLE patients than healthy donors. It mentions that activatd Syk-mediated TRAF-6 pathway results to abberant activation of B cells in SLE.

There is increasing interest in the role of T cell exhaustion and it is well known that the natural history of chronic hepatitis C virus infection ( HCV) is modulated by CD8+ T cell immunobiology. There are many pathways that alter the presence of exhaustive T cells and, in particular, they are functionally impaired by inhibitory receptors, such as programmed death-1 ( PD-1) and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 ( Tim-3). We obtained spleen, liver and peripheral blood (before and after splenectomy) lymphoid cells from 25 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation for end-stage disease or splenectomy for portal hypertension. In all samples we performed an extensive phenotypic study of exhaustion markers [ PD-1, Tim-3, interferon ( IFN)-γ) and their ligands ( PD-L1, PD-L2, galectin-9] in CD8+ T cell subpopulations (both total and HCV-specific) and in antigen-presenting cells ( APC; monocytes and dendritic cells). In the spleen, total and HCV-specific CD8+ T cells demonstrated enhanced markers of exhaustion, predominantly in the effector memory subpopulation. Similarly, splenic APC over-expressed inhibitory receptor ligands when compared to peripheral blood. Finally, when peripheral blood CD8+ T cells were compared before and after splenectomy, markers of exhaustion were reduced in splenic CD8+ T cells and APC. Our data in HCV-related cirrhosis suggest that CD8+ T cells in the spleen manifest a significantly higher exhaustion compared to peripheral blood and may thus contribute to the failure to control HCV. Counteracting this process may contribute to inducing an effective immune response to HCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) develops via multiple oncogenic steps in human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) carriers. To better understand pathogenesis of ATL, we developed a novel xenogeneic engraftment model in which primary ATL cells are intravenously transplanted into neonatal nonobese diabetic (NOD)/severe-combined immunodeficiency (SCID)/β2-microglobulinnull (NOD/SCID/β2mnull) mice. Acute-type ATL cells engrafted in the peripheral blood and in the lymph nodes of recipients at a high efficiency. Engrafted ATL cells were dually positive for human CD4 and CD25, and displayed patterns of HTLV-I integration identical to those of donors by Southern blot analysis. These cells infiltrated into recipients' liver, and formed nodular lesions, recapitulating the clinical feature of each patient. In contrast, in smoldering-type ATL cases, multiple clones of ATL cells engrafted efficiently in NOD/SCID/β2mnull mice. When smoldering-type ATL cells were retransplanted into secondary NOD/SCID/β2mnull recipients, single HTLV-I-infected clones became predominant, suggesting that clones with dominant proliferative activity can be competitively selected in this xenogeneic system. Taken together, the NOD/SCID/β2mnull newborn system is useful to understand kinetics, metastasis, and disease progression of ATL in vivo.Leukemia (2005) 19, 1384–1390. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2403829; published online 16 June 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The texts of Hobbes's works consulted and cited in the present article are the English versions edited by Sir William Molesworth, The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, 11 vols (London, 1839-45) (hereafter cited as "EW") and the following abridgement is made use of in citation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to identify the factors that influence outcome after hepatic resection, patient background was reviewed and operative morbidity and mortality rates were assessed during two periods: 1985-1988 (group I: N = 96) and 1995-1998 (group II: N = 109). There were no differences in patient background factors between the two groups, but intraoperative blood loss, operative morbidity, and mortality were significantly reduced in group II compared to group I. There has been a significant reduction in postoperative complications, even in cases complicated by liver cirrhosis or obstructive jaundice. As a result of appropriate surgical procedures, postoperative complications in cirrhosis have been markedly decreased. After preoperative percutaneous biliary drainage in obstructive jaundice, attempts have been made to reduce the volume of blood loss even in extensive hepatectomy, the extent of liver resection in poor risk cases has been reduced without sacrificing radicality, and, by minimizing surgical stress, perioperative management has been greatly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]