organotypic spinal cord slices from neonatal mammals could be a powerful model for evaluation of cell survival but also cell death mechanisms. the aim of this study was to establish an in vitro model for investigating cell survival and mechanism involved in cell death in neonatal spinal cord slices. the spinal cord was sliced and incubated into culture medium. the mtt assay was carried out to a...

indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (ido), an enzyme involved in the catabolism of tryptophan, is expressed by a variety of cells and tissues such as macrophages, dendritic cells, cells of the endocrine system and by the placenta. ifn- γ is the main inducer of this enzyme. ido acts as an important defense mechanism of innate immunity against pathogens. it also has tumor suppressive activity and prolong...

The molecular mechanisms by which mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) suppress T-cell proliferation are poorly understood, and whether a soluble factor plays a major role remains controversial. Here we demonstrate that the T-cell-receptor complex is not a target for the suppression, suggesting that downstream signals mediate the suppression. We found that Stat5 phosphorylation in T cells is suppresse...

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory destructive disorder that affects the joints, muscles, and tendons accompanying various extra-articular manifestations. Traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) represent basic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Over last 20 years, biologic DMARDs (tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, interleukin-1 interleukin-6 T cell B inhibitors...

The serine protease cathepsin G (CatG) is expressed in primary antigen-presenting cells and regulates autoantigen processing in CatG pre-loaded fibroblasts. To further investigate the function of CatG in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II loading compartments, a specific, cell permeable CatG-inhibitor is needed. In this study, several CatG-inhibitors were tested for their abili...

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a non-Hodgkin that presents with skin manifestations and often incurable at advanced stages blood involvement. Genomic profiling of malignant cells from CTCL patients has revealed diverse range genetic mutations underlying the disease, including single nucleotide gene copy number alterations involving JAK/STAT NF-κB signaling pathways. Synergistic drug combin...

Interleukin (IL)-7 is essential for normal T cell development. Previously, we have shown that IL-7 increases viability and proliferation of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells by up-regulating Bcl-2 and down-regulating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1. Here, we examined the signaling pathways via which IL-7 mediates these effects. We investigated mitogen-activated pro...