Antibody reactivity against cultured allogeneic melanoma Y-Mel 81:180 was studied in 43 patients who participated in an adjuvant trial for stage I and II melanoma. Serum samples were obtained at trial entry within 2 mo of definitive surgery. At the time of serum acquisition, all patients were free of disease by physical examination and routine radiologic and laboratory parameters. Serum antibod...

Rats thymectomized and irradiated as adults were restored to immunologic reactivity by grafts of normal adult rat thymus and bone marrow. Reactivity of the delayed (cellular) type and formation of mercaptoethanol-sensitive (MES) and mercaptoethanol-resistant (MER) antibody returned within 3 weeks, while Arthus reactivity remained subnormal till 9 weeks after irradiation and grafting. When the t...

When neonatally thymectomized CBA mice were implanted at 9 to 12 days of age with Millipore diffusion chambers (pore size, 0.1 micro) containing either syngeneic or allogeneic neonatal thymus, they were subsequently found to have the capacity to reject skin homografts and to form antibodies to sheep erythrocytes. In spite of displaying restored immune reactivity, thymectomized mice bearing thym...

Evolution of H1N1 influenza A outbreaks of the past 100 years is interesting and significantly complex and details of H1N1 genetic drift remains unknown. Here we investigated the clinical characteristics and immune cross-reactivity of significant historical H1N1 strains. We infected ferrets with H1N1 strains from 1943, 1947, 1977, 1986, 1999, and 2009 and showed each produced a unique clinical ...

Consumption of a hypercaloric diet upregulates microglial innate immune reactivity along with a higher expression of lipoprotein lipase (Lpl) within the reactive microglia in the mouse brain. Here, we show that knockdown of the Lpl gene specifically in microglia resulted in deficient microglial uptake of lipid, mitochondrial fuel utilization shifting to glutamine, and significantly decreased im...

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are important pollen and food allergens in the Mediterranean area. Peach LTP Pru p 3 is considered as primary sensitizer inducing LTP cross-reactive IgE antibodies. Despite the evidence on the importance of Pru p 3, it is unclear whether reactivity to multiple LTPs is due to antibody cross-reactivity or to independent sensitization events. Aim of th...

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is formed by hydrolysis of PC in low density lipoprotein (LDL) and cell membranes by phospholipase A2 or by oxidation. Oxidized (ox) LDL activates endothelial cells, an effect mimicked by LPC. oxLDL also has the capacity to activate T and B cells, and antibody titers to oxLDL are related to the degree of atherosclerosis. The antigen in oxLDL responsible for its imm...