324 research outputs found

    Hepatic Interleukin-7 Expression Regulates T Cell Responses

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    SummarySystemic cytokine activity in response to Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling induces the expression of various proteins in the liver after infections. Here we show that Interleukin-7 (IL-7), the production of which was thought to occur at a constant rate in vivo, was a hepatically expressed protein that directly controled T cell responses. Depletion of IL-7 expression in the liver abrogated several TLR-mediated T cell events, including enhanced CD4+ T cell and CD8+ T cell survival, augmented CD8+ T cell cytotoxic activity, and the development of experimental autoimmune encephalitis, a Th17 cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Thus, T cell responses are regulated by hepatocyte-derived IL-7, which is expressed in response to TLR signaling in vivo. We suggested that TLR-induced IL-7 expression in the liver, which is an acute-phase response, may be a good diagnostic and therapeutic target for efficient vaccine developments and for conditions characterized by TLR-mediated T cell dysregulation, including autoimmune diseases

    Characterization of burdock mottle virus, a novel member of the genus Benyvirus, and the identification of benyvirus-related sequences in the plant and insect genomes.

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    The complete nucleotide sequence of the burdock mottle virus (BdMoV) isolated from an edible burdock plant (Arctium lappa) in Japan has been determined. BdMoV has a bipartite genome, whose organization is similar to RNA1 and RNA2 of benyviruses, beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), beet soil-borne mosaic virus (BSBMV), and rice stripe necrosis virus (RSNV). BdMoV RNA1 (7038 nt) contains a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 249-kDa polypeptide that consists of methyl-transferase, helicase, papain-like protease, AlkB-like, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domains. The AlkB-like domain sequence is not present in the proteins encoded by other known benyviruses, but is found in replication-associated proteins of viruses mainly belonging to the families Alfaflexiviridae and Betaflexiviridae. BdMoV RNA2 (4315 nt) contains six ORFs that are similar to those of benyviruses: these are coat protein (CP), CP readthrough, triple gene block movement and cysteine-rich proteins. Phylogenetic analyses showed that BdMoV is more closely related to BNYVV and BSBMV than to RSNV. Database searches showed that benyvirus replicase-related sequences are present in the chromosomes of a chickpea plant (Cicer arietinum) and a blood-sucking insect (Rhodnius prolixus). Some other benyvirus-related sequences are found in the transcriptome shotgun libraries of a few species of plants and a bark beetle. Our results show that BdMoV is a distinct species of the genus Benyvirus and that ancestral and extant benyviruses may have infected or currently infect a wide range of hosts, including plants and insects

    Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis -The ANSWER cohort study-

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    Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the retention rates and reasons for discontinuation for seven biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in a real-world setting of elderly patients (65 years of age or older) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods This multi-center, retrospective study assessed 1,098 treatment courses of 661 patients with bDMARDs from 2009 to 2018 (females, 80.7%; baseline age, 71.7 years; disease duration 10.5 years; rheumatoid factor positivity 81.3%; Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 4.6; concomitant prednisolone dose 2.8 mg/day (45.6%) and methotrexate dose 4.4 mg/week (56.4%); and 60.2% patients were bio-naïve). Treatment courses included abatacept (ABT; n = 272), tocilizumab (TCZ; n = 234), etanercept (ETN; n = 184), golimumab (GLM; n = 159), infliximab (IFX; n = 101), adalimumab (ADA; n = 97), and certolizumab pegol (CZP; n = 51). Drug retention rates and discontinuation reasons were estimated at 36 months using the Kaplan-Meier method and adjusted for potential clinical confounders (age, sex, disease duration, concomitant PSL and MTX, starting date and switched number of bDMARDs) by Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results A total of 51.2% of treatment courses were stopped, with 25.1% stopping due to lack of effectiveness, 11.8% due to toxic adverse events, 9.7% due to non-toxic reasons, and 4.6% due to remission. Drug retention rates for each discontinuation reason were as follows; lack of effectiveness [from 55.4% (ETN) to 81.6% (ABT); with significant differences between groups (Cox P<0.001)], toxic adverse events [from 79.3% (IFX) to 95.4% (ABT), Cox P = 0.043], and remission [from 94.2% (TCZ) to 100.0% (CZP), Cox P = 0.58]. Finally, overall retention rates excluding non-toxic reasons and remission for discontinuation ranged from 50.0% (ETN) to 78.1% (ABT) (Cox P<0.001).Ebina K., Hashimoto M., Yamamoto W., et al. (2019) Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis -The ANSWER cohort study-. PLoS ONE 14, e0216624. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216624
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