cytokines in the nasal washes of children with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis

n/

Inhaled tobramycin in children with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis.

Antibiotic abuse for treating rhinopharyngitis induces the occurrence of resistant bacteria. As topical drugs might reduce this phenomenon, the aims of our study were to evaluate inhaled tobramycin in children with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis and to compare it with oral amoxicillin/clavulanate. The trial was conducted as randomized, parallel group and double blind. Children, aged 3–6 years, with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis were treated with 15 mg of aerosolized tobramycin (Group A) or 50 mg/Kg of amoxicillin/clavulanate (Group B) twice daily for 10 days. The following parameters were assessed: nasal obstruction, mucopurulent rhinorrhea, post-nasal drip, adenoidal hypertrophy, tympanic inflammation, tympanogramm, rhinomanometry and cultures. Of 416 patients screened, 311 children (178 females and 133 males), median age 4.5 years, completed the study: 156 in Group A and 155 in Group B. Both treatments improved all parameters (p<0.01 for all). Intergroup analysis showed that inhaled tobramycin indu..

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Distribuzione dei Foraminiferi bentonici nel Golfo di Salerno (Basso Tirreno, Italia)

E' stata analizzata la distribuzione areale e batimetrica dei Foraminiferi bentonici nel Golfo di Salerno. I sedimenti esaminati sono stati prelavati mediante benna Shipek lungo transetti perpendicolari alla linea di costa dalla profondità di 4 m fino a 725 m. I campioni sono stati fissati e colorati allo scopo di confrontare le tanatocenosi con le biocenosi stagionali. Sono state descritte le associazioni dominanti nei differenti habitat e sono state distinte 6 associazioni-tipo in funzione della distribuzione batimetrica delle specie. Inoltre sono state discusse la variazione del numero di individui e quella del numero di specie in funzione della profondità

The perception of nanotechnology and nanomedicine: a worldwide social media study.

We explore at a world level the awareness of nanotechnology expressed through the most popular online social media: Facebook. We aimed at identifying future trends, the most interested countries and the public perception of ethics, funding and economic issues. We found that graphene and carbon nanotubes are the most followed nanomaterials. Our poll showed that the continents with the most interest are Asia and Africa. A total of 43% would like to have a world commission regulating nanomedicine. In addition, 43% would give priority to theranostics. Over 90% believe that nanomedicine has an economic impact. Finally, we observed that the continents of living and origin of poll contributors correlated with ethic and funding opinions. This study highlights the potential of online social media to influence scientific communities, grant committees and nanotechnology companies, spreading nanotechnology awareness in emerging countries and among new generations.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2014 Julimporte

Cytokines in the nasal washes of children with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis

Although respiratory syncytial (RS) virus is the major cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children, the factors that regulate the associated lung inflammation have not been defined. The levels of interleukin (IL)10, IL-12, and interferon (IFN) were determined in the nasal wash samples from 20 infants with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis, seven with confirmed RS virus infections and 9 control children without respiratory illnesses. IL-10 levels were significantly higher in acute nasal wash samples (1-4 d post-hospitalization) from RS virus- infected infants than in convalescent samples from these children (14-21 d post-hospitalization), from children with other forms of bronchiolitis and from control children. In contrast, only one RS virus-infected infant had detectable IL-12 in an acute nasal wash sample. IFN activity was not detected in any samples from RS virus-infected children. RS virus infection stimulates IL-10 expression but not IL-12 and IFN, possibly contributing to an ineffective cell-mediated immune response

Molecular and Genomic Impact of Large and Small Lateral Dimension Graphene Oxide Sheets on Human Immune Cells from Healthy Donors.

Graphene oxide (GO) is attracting great interest in biomedical sciences. The impact of GO on immune cells is one fundamental area of study that is often overlooked, but critical in terms of clinical translation. This work investigates the effects of two types of thoroughly characterized GO sheets, different in their lateral dimension, on human peripheral immune cells provided from healthy donors using a wide range of assays. After evaluation of cell viability, the gene expression was analyzed, following GO exposure on 84 genes related to innate and adaptive immune responses. Exposure to GO small sheets was found to have a more significant impact on immune cells compared to GO large sheets, reflected in the upregulation of critical genes implicated in immune responses and the release of cytokines IL1β and TNFα. These findings were further confirmed by whole-genome microarray analysis of the impact of small GO sheets on T cells and monocytes. Activation in both cell types was underlined by the overexpression of genes such as CXCL10 and receptor CXCR3. Significant energy-dependent pathway modulation was identified. These findings can potentially pave the foundations for further design of graphene that can be used for immune modulation applications, for example in cancer immunotherapy.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2016 Jan 212015 12 20importe