We investigate the presence and properties of PAHs on the surface of circumstellar disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars by comparing the predictions of disk models with observations. We present results of a radiation transfer code for disks heated by the central star, in hydrostatic equilibrium in the vertical direction (flared disks). The dust is a mixture of large grains in thermal equilibrium, tr...

A combination of different types of vaccines usually induces enhanced immune responses in comparison to immunization with single vaccines. The highest efficacy of a heterologous prime-boost strategy is mostly achieved after priming with a DNA vaccine and boosting with a recombinant virus or a protein vaccine. The aim of this study was to determine whether the combination of a DNA and cellular v...

Monoclonal antibodies were produced by murine hybridomas after immunization with semipurified baboon endogenous virus. In a solid-phase radioimmunoassay, two antibodies (F12-9 and B9-18) reacted with viral antigen only. The antibodies A6-8 and C9-12 also reacted with virus-producing cells but not with control cells, whereas antibodies E4-6 and D12-2 bound to virus-free cells as well. The cytofl...

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a growth factor for multiple myeloma (MM) cells, yet not all MM cell lines or patient cells require IL-6 for their growth. It is well known that IL-6 activates the signal transducers and activators of transcription (stat) 1-stat3 heterodimer, stat3 homodimer, and Ras-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades in multiple cell systems. We have shown previo...

We have investigated the sensitivity of the cisplatin-resistant enterohepatic tumor cell lines LS174T/R (human colon adenocarcinoma), WIF-B9/R (rat hepatoma-human fibroblast hybrid), and Hepa 1-6/R (mouse hepatoma) to free and liposome-encapsulated cytostatic bile acid derivatives Bamet-R2 and bamet-UD2. Expression of resistance associated genes was measured by quantitative reverse transcriptio...

BACKGROUND Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor gamma (PTPRG) is a ubiquitously expressed member of the protein tyrosine phosphatase family known to act as a tumor suppressor gene in many different neoplasms with mechanisms of inactivation including mutations and methylation of CpG islands in the promoter region. Although a critical role in human hematopoiesis and an oncosuppressor role in chr...

Upon cytokine withdrawal, interleukin (IL) 6-dependent murine plasmacytoma/hybridoma (myeloma) cells die in a way characteristic of apoptosis. Although gene transfer-mediated elevation in Bcl-2 protein levels has been demonstrated to repress a number of apoptotic death programs, it has been reported that ectopie bcl-2 expression is unable to prolong the survival of IL-6-deprived myeloma cells. ...