PURPOSE The development of local and distant recurrences is a major problem in the treatment of rectal cancer patients. In this study, we investigated whether epithelial human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) expression allowed discrimination between high and low tumor recurrence rates, and analyzed the mechanism behind its expression. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The role of IFNgamma in HLA-DR expressio...

The influence of HLA mismatches between donor and recipient on the phenotypes, function, and specificity of T-lymphocyte cultures derived from endomyocardial biopsies was studied in 118 heart transplant recipients. In case of HLA-DR mismatches, the majority of the EMB-derived cultures were dominated by CD4+ T cells while, in patients with HLA-A and -B mismatches but without DR mismatches, CD8+ ...

P. Arrizabalaga, MD, Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Clínico, c/Casanova, 143, E-Barcelona 36 (Spain) Dear Sir, Human HLA-DR antigens are expressed on cytoplas-mic membrane of cells associated with immunological activity [1]. Moreover, the HLA-DR expression can be induced on other cells which are normally negative for HLA-DR molecules. Thus, the thyroid follicular cells bear these antigens whe...

OBJECTIVES To assess the value of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen (HLA-DR) expression to distinguish anti-synthetase myopathy (ASM) from dermatomyositis (DM). METHODS Muscle biopsies from patients with ASM (n = 33), DM without anti-synthetase antibodies (ASAb) (n = 17), and normal muscle biopsy (n = 10) were first reviewed. ASAb included anti-Jo1 (26/33), anti-PL12 (4/...

CD4 positive T helper cells control many aspects of specific immunity. These cells are specific for peptides derived from protein antigens and presented by molecules of the extremely polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II system. The identification of peptides that bind to MHC class II molecules is therefore of pivotal importance for rational discovery of immune epitopes. H...

The influence of HLA-DR antigen matching in 70 cadaver transplants was studied for up to four years. The overall cumulative renal graft survival at one year was 62 percent, and at two and four years it was 60 percent. The one, two, and four year cumulative graft survival for patients receiving one or two HLA-DR antigen matched grafts was 74 percent, 69 percent, and 69 percent, respectively. In ...

Subsets of NK cells can have distinct functions. Here, we report that >25% of human peripheral blood NK cells express HLA-DR after culture with IL-2. This can be driven by an expansion of a small subset of NK cells expressing HLA-DR, in contrast to previous assumptions that HLA-DR is upregulated on previously negative cells. HLA-DR-expressing NK cells showed enhanced degranulation to susceptibl...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the number and function of CD8+HLA-DR+ cells, which are considered to be activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), in peripheral blood to further examine the pathogenesis of severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Thirty-eight patients with SAA were included in the present study. Patients were screened for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria by flow cytomet...

AIM To establish if coincidental HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR tissue matching is associated with a reduced likelihood of corneal graft rejection. METHODS Organ culture preserved random donor corneas were used for penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Corneal tissue from all graft recipients and donors or blood samples from recipients after repeated transplantation were obtained in order to perform retr...

the hla class ii genes of human major histocompatibility complex (mhc) exhibit an extensive degree of genetic polymorphism. this region subdivides into four sub-regions dp, do, dq, and dr. there are five different dr haplotypes that all contain a highly polymorphic allele called hla-drb1. in most recent studies, the association between hla-drb1 and a large number of diseases such as multiple sc...