CD4(+)CD25(+high) T cells are potent regulators of autoreactive T cells. However, it is unclear how regulatory CD4(+)CD25(+high) cells discriminate between desirable inflammatory immune responses to microbial Ags and potentially pathologic responses by autoreactive T cells. In this study, an in vitro model was created that allowed differential activation of regulatory CD4(+)CD25(+high) and resp...

T cell monitoring is increasingly performed using cryopreserved PBMC. It has been suggested that resting of PBMC after thawing, that is, culturing them overnight in test medium, produces higher antigen-induced spot counts in ELISPOT assays. To evaluate the importance of overnight resting, we systematically tested cryopreserved PBMC from 25 healthy donors. CEF peptides (comprising CMV, EBV and f...

Advances in the surgical techniques, preservation solutions, and methods for predicting eventual long-term renal function from expanded donors will be critical in allowing precise selection criteria for kidneys for transplantation, resulting in the optimum use of a scarce and precious resource. Until other options such as xenotransplantation or tissue engineering become realistic, the challenge...

Background The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness responder rate of Electroconvulsive therapy, ECT, in clinical routine work and to define clinical characteristics predictive of response to ECT. The main hypothesis is that the effectiveness responder rate of ECT might be lower in clinical routine than in controlled trials. Methods This is a population-based study of al...

The most common ocular side effect of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is GC-induced ocular hypertension (OHT) and GC-induced glaucoma (GIG). GC-induced OHT occurs in about 40% of the general population, while the other 60% are resistant. This study aims to determine the genes and pathways involved in differential GC responsiveness in the trabecular meshwork (TM). Using paired bovine eyes, one eye w...

Careful evaluation of potential living kidney donors is crucial to assure the well being of the donors, especially because they do not gain any direct medical benefit from donation. This process also helps assess the quality and safety of the organs donated to the recipients. While all programs share these goals, donor selection criteria vary significantly among U.S. transplant centers. In part...

Background: Iron deficiency and its related anemia, which is the world’s most widespread nutritional deficiency, can be one of the possible consequences of regular blood donation. This research was carried out to compare iron stores in regular blood donors and first-time blood donors in Tehran Regional Blood Transfusion Center. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 2,149 male bl...

BACKGROUND Optimization of the immunoglobulin (Ig) yield in bovine milk used as therapeutic immune milk or whey for the prevention of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in humans is of great importance to improve the economic efficiency of production. Individual dairy cows have diverse immune responses upon vaccination, resulting in a variable Ig yield in blood and milk. Therefore, it is...