A pathogenic role of the M protein in monoclonal IgM neuropathy has been suggested. This is based among other things on a close relation between immunosuppressive treatment, lowered concentration of M protein, and clinical effect. We studied five patients with monoclonal IgM and antibodies to peripheral nerve myelin. The immunosuppressive treatment was beneficial in three of the patients. In th...

Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) migrating from the skin to the draining lymph node (dLN) have a strong immunosuppressive effect on the cutaneous immune response. However, the subpopulations responsible for their inhibitory function remain unclear. We investigated single-cell gene expression heterogeneity in Tregs from the dLN of inflamed skin in a contact hypersensitivity model. The immunosup...

BACKGROUND The responsibility of immunosuppressants for the increased risk of skin cancers in organ transplant recipients is widely recognized. Discerning the role of each drug is complicated owing to the fact that most patients generally have combinations of several medications. OBJECTIVE This article will discuss the role of the main immunosuppressants in the pathogenesis of skin cancers. ...

RECENTL Y brequinar sodium (BQR), has been described as a new immunosuppressive drug that inhibits de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. By inhibiting the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, BQR abrogates both DNA and RNA synthesis during cell proliferation. l In addition, we have recently reported that BQR may also inhibit the activity of cytidine deaminase, which results in the potentiation of BQ...

The dose-response and plasma concentration-response relationships of cyclosporine after both inducing and inhibiting its metabolism were studied in a mouse heart transplant model. The metabolism of cyclosporine was altered by coadministering phenobarbital and cimetidine as metabolism inducing and inhibiting agents, respectively. We found that phenobarbital depressed the immunosuppressive potenc...

Tacrolimus is a product of fermentation of Streptomyces, and belongs to the family of calcineurin inhibitors. It is a widely used immunosuppressive drug for preventing solid-organ transplant rejection. Compared to cyclosporine, tacrolimus has greater immunosuppressive potency and a lower incidence of side effects. It has been accepted as first-line treatment after liver and kidney transplantati...

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is a rare, but potentially lethal, complication of peritoneal dialysis. Treatment of patients with encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is controversial. Conservative treatment carries a poor outcome, and immunosuppressive drugs are now used frequently. Most commonly, these immunosuppressive regimens include steroids with or without azathioprine or cyclosporine....