Clonal restriction and predominance of regulatory T cells in coronary thrombi of patients with acute coronary syndromes

Aims Regulatory T cells (Treg) exert anti-inflammatory and atheroprotective effects in experimental atherosclerosis. Treg can be induced against specific antigens using immunization strategies associated with clonal restriction. No data exist on Treg in combination with clonal restriction of T cells in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Methods and results Among T cell subsets characterized by flow cytometry, Treg (CD4+ CD25+ CD127low) were twice as frequent in coronary thrombi compared with peripheral blood. Treg prevailed among T cell subsets identified in coronary thrombi. To evaluate clonal restriction, genomic DNA was extracted from coronary thrombi and peripheral blood in order to evaluate T cell receptor (TCR) β chain diversity by means of Multi-N-plex PCR using a primer specific for all TCR β V gene segments and another primer specific for TCR β J gene segments. T cell receptor diversity was reduced in thrombi compared with peripheral blood (intra-individual comparisons in 16 patients) with 8 gene rearrangements in the TCR common in at least 6 out of 16 analysed coronary thrombi. Compared with age-matched healthy controls (n = 16), TCR diversity was also reduced in peripheral blood of patients with ACS; these findings were independent of peripheral T cell numbers. Conclusion We provide novel evidence for a perturbed T cell compartment characterized by clonal restriction in peripheral blood and coronary thrombi from patients with ACS. Our findings warrant further studies on Treg as novel therapeutic targets aimed at enhancing this anti-inflammatory component of adaptive immunity in human atherothrombosi

Urban Gardening in Germany: Cultivating a Sustainable Lifestyle for the Societal Transition to a Bioeconomy

Urban gardening has the potential to turn the growing number of consumers into conscious producers by raising awareness of natural resource cycles, contributing to environmental conservation and climate change mitigation. This study investigated the motivations for urban gardening in Germany, based on an extensive review of 657 urban gardening project websites. The subsequent online survey of 380 project participants provides a characterization of the gardeners, giving insight into both cultivation methods and technologies used and the participants’ consumer behavior. It was shown that urban gardening has an influence on consumer behavior and can induce a change towards a more sustainable lifestyle. The gardens provide a space for the exchange of social values, knowledge and ideas on different ways of life among the diverse participants. Hence, urban gardening creates far more than just food; it influences society on multiple levels. Urban gardening can support the bottom-up societal transition towards a bioeconomy as both have common attributes. Finally, the paper proposes an innovative, resource-efficient cultivation system that may attract further societal groups to the urban gardening lifestyle, with the aim of fostering the development of the bioeconomy

Stiefgeschwister? Über das Verhältnis von Pornographie und moderner Sexualität

Lewandowski S. Stiefgeschwister? Über das Verhältnis von Pornographie und moderner Sexualität. In: Andergassen L, Claassen T, Grawinkel K, Meier A, eds. Explizit! Neue Perspektiven zu Pornografie und Gesellschaft. Deep focus. Vol 17. Berlin: Bertz+Fischer; 2014: 29-44

Risk Factors and Clinicopathological Features for Developing a Subsequent Primary Cutaneous Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinomas

Background: Patients with diagnosed keratinocyte carcinomas (KCs) have an increased risk of subsequent skin cancers development. Current studies indicate that patients with subsequent tumors should be followed up regularly. However, none of the studies indicate the connection between the specific subtypes and an increased risk for further KCs development. The study assesses the differences in the risk of developing a subsequent skin cancer after a previous diagnosis of KC, especially considering individual types of skin malignances, and identifies potential factors associated with an increased risk of new cutaneous tumor describing non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring. Methods: Pathology and medical records were examined to identify the characteristics of patients with multiple KCs diagnosed between 1999 and 2019. Results: The study group comprised 13,913 KCs occurring in 10,083 patients. Multiple KCs were observed in 2300 patients (22.8%). The analysis showed aggressive subtypes, multiple tumors, and male sex as significant prognostic factors. Conclusions: The most crucial risk factors for developing subsequent KC are being of a male gender, an aggressive tumor subtype, and previous history of multiple skin cancers. Basal cell carcinoma subtypes, such as infiltrative basosquamous, with aggressive growth patterns predispose not only to increased risk for the recurrence but are also expected to be at higher risk of subsequent KCs

Clonal restriction and predominance of regulatory T cells in coronary thrombi of patients with acute coronary syndromes

AIMS: Regulatory T cells (Treg) exert anti-inflammatory and atheroprotective effects in experimental atherosclerosis. Treg can be induced against specific antigens using immunization strategies associated with clonal restriction. No data exist on Treg in combination with clonal restriction of T cells in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Among T cell subsets characterized by flow cytometry, Treg (CD4(+) CD25(+) CD127(low)) were twice as frequent in coronary thrombi compared with peripheral blood. Treg prevailed among T cell subsets identified in coronary thrombi. To evaluate clonal restriction, genomic DNA was extracted from coronary thrombi and peripheral blood in order to evaluate T cell receptor (TCR) β chain diversity by means of Multi-N-plex PCR using a primer specific for all TCR β V gene segments and another primer specific for TCR β J gene segments. T cell receptor diversity was reduced in thrombi compared with peripheral blood (intra-individual comparisons in 16 patients) with 8 gene rearrangements in the TCR common in at least 6 out of 16 analysed coronary thrombi. Compared with age-matched healthy controls (n = 16), TCR diversity was also reduced in peripheral blood of patients with ACS; these findings were independent of peripheral T cell numbers. CONCLUSION: We provide novel evidence for a perturbed T cell compartment characterized by clonal restriction in peripheral blood and coronary thrombi from patients with ACS. Our findings warrant further studies on Treg as novel therapeutic targets aimed at enhancing this anti-inflammatory component of adaptive immunity in human atherothrombosis