The effect of sdf1 on the migratory behaviour of mesechymal stem cells in 3D collagen gel

lntrodiiction: Human Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are gaining large attention in Tissue Engineering (TE) owing to their characteristics of selfrenewal and multipotentiality. In order to effectively use stem cells within a TE context novei strategies for controlling thieir behaviour are required. This of course needs a deeper understanding of what signals can trigger specific actions, the biological pinciples governing celi-sigiial interactions. Chemotaxis, for example, has been implicated in many physiological phenornena such as wound healing and morphogenesis. lndeed, one of the strategies of TE consists in recapitulating such phenomena. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to provide the correct bioactive signals in order to recruit specific cell types from the surroundings and instruct them to synthersize matrix according to a pre-deterrnined scheme. In this work we have designed an experimental set up in order io assess the role of stromal cell-derived Factor- I (SDF-I) on the migratory behaviour of MSC in a 3D environment

Simultaneous analysis of T cell clonality and cytokine production in rheumatoid arthritis using three-colour flow cytometry

In this study we examined the cytokine production by T cells and TCRV? subsets in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) from six RA patients and PB from 10 normal subjects, using three-colour flow cytometry. In two RA subjects we assessed T cell clonality by RT PCR using TCRBV family-specific primers and analysed the CDR3 (complementarity determining region 3) length by GeneScan analysis. A high percentage of IFN-?- and IL-2- producing cells was observed among the PB T cells in both the RA patients and normal controls and among the SF T cells in RA patients. In contrast, the percentage of T cells producing IL-4 and IL-5 was small among PB T cells in both RA patients and normal controls and among SF T cells in RA patients. There was no significant difference in the production of IFN-?, IL-2 and IL-5 between the two compartments (PB and SF); however, there were significantly more IL-4-producing cells in SF. Molecular analysis revealed clonal expansions of four TCRBV families in SF of two of the RA patients studied: TCRBV6·7, TCRBV13·1 and TCRBV22 in one and TCRBV6·7, TCRBV21·3 and TCRBV22 in the second. These expansions demonstrated cytokine expression profiles that differed from total CD3+ cells, implying that T cell subsets bearing various TCR-V? families may have the potential to modulate the immune response in RA patients

A comparison between nailfold capillaroscopy patterns in adulthood in juvenile and adult-onset systemic sclerosis: a EUSTAR exploratory study

Objective: Qualitative capillaroscopy patterns in juvenile- and adult-onset systemic sclerosis (SSc) were studied in adulthood using data from the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database. Methods: Data collected between June 2004 and April 2013 were examined with focus on capillaroscopy. In this retrospective exploratory study, series of patients with juvenile-onset SSc were matched with series of adult-onset SSc having the same gender and autoantibody profile. Results: 30 of 123 patientswith juvenile-onset and 2108 of 7133with adult-onset SSc had data on capillaroscopy. Juvenile-onset SSc showed scleroderma pattern more frequently than adult-onset SSc (93.3% and 88%). The OR was 2.44 and 95% CI 0.57–10.41. An active scleroderma pattern was present in 58% of juvenile- and 61% of adult-onset SSc. The OR was 0.91 and 95% CI 0.28–2.93. The late scleroderma pattern was present in 61% of juvenile- and 55.5% of adult-onset SSc. The OR was 1.06 and 95% CI 0.34–3.56. Conclusion: This is the first exploratory study on the comparison of capillaroscopy between juvenile- and adult-onset SSc in adulthood. Juvenile-onset SSc had an increase prevalence of scleroderma pattern, but a similar distribution of the three patterns was suggested. Further studies are needed to define this issue. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved