Cytokine and immunoglobulin production by PWM-stimulated peripheral and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients

BACKGROUND: Undifferentiated Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) patients show a characteristic pattern of antibody responses to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) which is regularly associated with this tumor. However, no EBV-specific cytotoxic activity is detectable by the standard chromium-release assay at both peripheral and intratumoral levels. The mechanisms underlying this discrepancy between the humoral and cellular immune responses in NPC are still unknown, but might be related to an imbalance in immunoregulatory interleukin production. In this report, we investigated the ability of peripheral (PBL) and tumor- infiltrating (TIL) lymphocytes of undifferentiated NPC patients to produce in vitro three interleukins (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10) and three immunoglobulin isotypes (IgM, IgG, IgA). METHODS: Lymphocytes from 17 patients and 17 controls were cultured in the presence of Pokeweed mitogen (PWM) for 12 days and their culture supernatants were tested for interleukins and immunoglobulins by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Data were analysed using Student's t-test and probability values below 5% were considered significant. RESULTS: The data obtained indicated that TIL of NPC patients produced significantly more IL-2 (p = 0,0002), IL-10 (p = 0,020), IgM (p= 0,0003) and IgG (p < 0,0001) than their PBL. On the other hand, patients PBL produced significantly higher levels of IL-2 (p = 0,022), IL-10 (p = 0,016) and IgM (p = 0,004) than those of controls. No significant differences for IL-6 and IgA were observed. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data reinforce the possibility of an imbalance in immunoregulatory interleukin production in NPC patients. An increased ability to produce cytokines such as IL-10 may underlie the discrepancy between humoral and cellular immune responses characteristic of NPC

Gene Expression in Human Hippocampus from Cocaine Abusers Identifies Genes which Regulate Extracellular Matrix Remodeling

The chronic effects of cocaine abuse on brain structure and function are blamed for the inability of most addicts to remain abstinent. Part of the difficulty in preventing relapse is the persisting memory of the intense euphoria or cocaine “rush”. Most abused drugs and alcohol induce neuroplastic changes in brain pathways subserving emotion and cognition. Such changes may account for the consolidation and structural reconfiguration of synaptic connections with exposure to cocaine. Adaptive hippocampal plasticity could be related to specific patterns of gene expression with chronic cocaine abuse. Here, we compare gene expression profiles in the human hippocampus from cocaine addicts and age-matched drug-free control subjects. Cocaine abusers had 151 gene transcripts upregulated, while 91 gene transcripts were downregulated. Topping the list of cocaine-regulated transcripts was RECK in the human hippocampus (FC = 2.0; p<0.05). RECK is a membrane-anchored MMP inhibitor that is implicated in the coordinated regulation of extracellular matrix integrity and angiogenesis. In keeping with elevated RECK expression, active MMP9 protein levels were decreased in the hippocampus from cocaine abusers. Pathway analysis identified other genes regulated by cocaine that code for proteins involved in the remodeling of the cytomatrix and synaptic connections and the inhibition of blood vessel proliferation (PCDH8, LAMB1, ITGB6, CTGF and EphB4). The observed microarray phenotype in the human hippocampus identified RECK and other region-specific genes that may promote long-lasting structural changes with repeated cocaine abuse. Extracellular matrix remodeling in the hippocampus may be a persisting effect of chronic abuse that contributes to the compulsive and relapsing nature of cocaine addiction