The importance of APC

Readers in immunology are familiar with the importance of antigen presenting cells in mounting immune responses. For the purpose of this particular editorial article, however, the abbreviation APC will stand for article processing charges. The publisher will introduce APCs for this Journal in May, 2005. Here we explain why article-processing charges are important to maintain our Open Access journal

ТРАНСПЛАНТАЦИЯ ЖИРОВОЙ ТКАНИ С ЦЕЛЬЮ ЗАМЕСТИТЕЛЬНОЙ ТЕРАПИИ

Transplantation of endocrine organs and tissues is often considered as an alternative therapy which has a number of advantages compared to regular injections for replacement of a missing hormone or another factor. During the last two decades, accumulating evidence demonstrates that adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that plays a pivotal role in the key physiological processes, and this raises a possibility of its potential use in transplantations aimed to correct inborn metabolic defi ciencies. In this review, we provide examples of the factors, secreted by adipose tissue, and which may be responsible for particular human pathologies when missing. We discuss practical aspects of fat transplantation, such as availability of donor tissue, its susceptibility to rejection, rationality of immune suppression, and possible ways to achieve medication-free tolerance.Трансплантацию эндокринных органов и тканей часто рассматривают как альтернативу инъекционной заместительной терапии гормонами и другими недостающими факторами, имеющую целый ряд преимуществ. Накопившиеся в течение последних двух десятилетий сведения о жировой ткани как эндокринном органе, играющем важнейшую роль в ряде ключевых физиологических процессов, поднимают вопрос о целесообразности ее использования для трансплантаций с целью компенсации врожденных метаболических дефицитов. В данном обзоре приведены примеры факторов, секретируемых жировой тканью, недостаток которых может быть связан с теми или иными патологическими состояниями у человека. Рассмотрены практические аспекты трансплантаций жира, такие как доступность донорской ткани, ее чувствительность к отторжению, целесообразность иммуносупрессии и возможности создания немедикаментозной толерантности

Exploring Digitalization of Animal-Assisted Reading

Animal-assisted reading is a form of animal-assisted activity where children interact with and read aloud to specially trained therapy dogs. Such activities have been shown to have positive impact on literacy skills, reading motivation and sense of empowerment and self-esteem in children. Mobile technologies and facets of engagement in digital reading are increasingly studied in the context of child learning and education. This short paper presents some first results of our ongoing study exploring potential ways in which mobile technology can be used to enhance and support animal-assisted reading activities for children

Banting Lecture 2009: An Unfinished Journey: Molecular Pathogenesis to Prevention of Type 1A Diabetes

The Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement Award is the American Diabetes Association's highest scientific award and honors an individual who has made significant, long-term contributions to the understanding of diabetes, its treatment, and/or prevention. The award is named after Nobel Prize winner Sir Frederick Banting, who codiscovered insulin treatment for diabetes

Les bulles « robustes »:Pourquoi il faut construire des logements en région parisienne

« Bulle » ou « pas bulle » ? La question taraude les observateurs et les acteurs du marché immobilier français. Nous examinons dans cet article les éléments empiriques et théoriques qui expliquent la hausse des prix récente et sa résistance aux retournements conjoncturels. En combinant la notion de bulle économique, les arguments de l’économie spatiale et une analyse d’économie politique, nous suggérons que la valorisation importante de l’immobilier en France est le résultat d’une logique rationnelle et conforte les intérêts des acteurs locaux. Dès lors, la forte valorisation peut être considérée comme une « bulle robuste », à même de résister à des chocs importants. Cette bulle organise un transfert intergénérationnel et peut avoir des effets positifs. Elle peut également renforcer la ségrégation spatiale, alimenter les inégalités territoriales et empêcher d’exploiter les économies d’agglomération possibles. L’analyse est détaillée sur la région Ile-de-France où ces phénomènes sont particulièrement marqués

Functional immunomics: Microarray analysis of IgG autoantibody repertoires predicts the future response of NOD mice to an inducer of accelerated diabetes

One's present repertoire of antibodies encodes the history of one's past immunological experience. Can the present autoantibody repertoire be consulted to predict resistance or susceptibility to the future development of an autoimmune disease? Here we developed an antigen microarray chip and used bioinformatic analysis to study a model of type 1 diabetes developing in non-obese diabetic (NOD) male mice in which the disease was accelerated and synchronized by exposing the mice to cyclophosphamide at 4 weeks of age. We obtained sera from 19 individual mice, treated the mice to induce cyclophosphamide-accelerated diabetes (CAD), and found, as expected, that 9 mice became severely diabetic while 10 mice permanently resisted diabetes. We again obtained serum from each mouse afterCAD induction. We then analyzed the patterns of antibodies in the individualmice to 266 different antigens spotted on the antigen chip. We identified a select panel of 27 different antigens (10% of the array) that revealed a pattern of IgG antibody reactivity in the pre-CAD serathat discriminated between the mice resistant or susceptible to CAD with 100% sensitivity and 82% specificity (p=0.017). Surprisingly, the set of IgG antibodies that was informative before CAD induction did not separate the resistant and susceptible groups after the onset of CAD; new antigens became criticalfor post-CAD repertoire discrimination. Thus, at least for a model disease, present antibody repertoires can predict future disease; predictive and diagnostic repertoires can differ; and decisive information about immune system behavior can be mined by bioinformatic technology. Repertoires matter.Comment: See Advanced Publication on the PNAS website for final versio

A Predominant Role for Parenchymal c-Jun Amino Terminal Kinase (JNK) in the Regulation of Systemic Insulin Sensitivity

It has been established that c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) is essential to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Although JNK influences inflammatory signaling pathways, it remains unclear whether its activity in macrophages contributes to adipose tissue inflammation and ultimately to the regulation of systemic metabolism. To address whether the action of this critical inflammatory kinase in bone marrow-derived elements regulates inflammatory responses in obesity and is sufficient and necessary for the deterioration of insulin sensitivity, we performed bone marrow transplantation studies with wild type and JNK1-deficient mice. These studies illustrated that JNK1-deficiency in the bone marrow-derived elements (BMDE) was insufficient to impact macrophage infiltration or insulin sensitivity despite modest changes in the inflammatory profile of adipose tissue. Only when the parenchymal elements lacked JNK1 could we demonstrate a significant increase in systemic insulin sensitivity. These data indicate that while the JNK1 activity in BMDE is involved in metabolic regulation and adipose milieu, it is epistatic to JNK1 activity in the parenchymal tissue for regulation of metabolic homeostasis

Human Cord Blood Stem Cell-Modulated Regulatory T Lymphocytes Reverse the Autoimmune-Caused Type 1 Diabetes in Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) Mice

Background: The deficit of pancreatic islet b cells caused by autoimmune destruction is a crucial issue in type 1 diabetes (T1D). It is essential to fundamentally control the autoimmunity for treatment of T1D. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a pivotal role in maintaining self-tolerance through their inhibitory impact on autoreactive effector T cells. An abnormality of Tregs is associated with initiation of progression of T1D. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we report that treatment of established autoimmune-caused diabetes in NOD mice with purified autologous CD4 + CD62L + Tregs co-cultured with human cord blood stem cells (CB-SC) can eliminate hyperglycemia, promote islet b-cell regeneration to increase b-cell mass and insulin production, and reconstitute islet architecture. Correspondingly, treatment with CB-SC-modulated CD4 + CD62L + Tregs (mCD4CD62L Tregs) resulted in a marked reduction of insulitis, restored Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in blood, and induced apoptosis of infiltrated leukocytes in pancreatic islets. Conclusions/Significance: These data demonstrate that treatment with mCD4CD62L Tregs can reverse overt diabetes