Idiotype vaccination strategies against a murine B-cell lymphoma: Dendritic cells loaded with idiotype and bispecific idiotype X anti-class II antibodies can protect against tumor growth

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

No distinct difference in the excretion of large particles of varying size in a wild ruminant, the banteng (Bos javanicus)

The forestomach of ruminants and camelids does not only allow a differential excretion of fluids and small particles, but also a differential excretion of small and large particles. The question whether larger particles of different size classes are also retained for different time periods, or whether simply a particle size threshold exists above which all particles of a size higher than this threshold are retained in an undifferentiated manner, has not been addressed so far. We determined the mean retention time (MRT) of different sized large particles (10 and 20 mm) in three banteng (Bos javanicus) on two forage only diets, grass and grass hay. We used cerium (Ce)-mordanted fibre (10 mm) and lanthanum (La)-mordanted fibre (20 mm) as particle markers, mixed in the food. Average total tract MRT for large and very large particles at the grass diet was 58 and 56 h, and at the grass hay diet 66 and 64 h, respectively. Very large particles moved slightly faster than large particles through the gut of the banteng. Three interpretations are possible: Very large particles are resubmitted to rumination sooner than large particles. Ingestive mastication of the particle markers could have reduced the difference in the size of the particle markers; alternatively, particle retention may be governed by a threshold, above which all particles of a size higher than this threshold are retained in an undifferentiated manner. In order to test these possibilities, experiments with fistulated animals would have to be performed

Functional analysis of tumor-specific Th cell responses detected in melanoma patients after dendritic cell-based immunotherapy.

Recently, we have demonstrated that tumor-specific CD4+ Th cell responses can be rapidly induced in advanced melanoma patients by vaccination with peptide-loaded monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Most patients showed a T cell reactivity against a melanoma Ag 3 (MAGE-3) peptide (MAGE-3(243-258)), which has been previously found to be presented by HLA-DP4 molecules. To analyze the functional and specificity profile of this in vivo T cell response in detail, peptide-specific CD4+ T cell clones were established from postvaccination blood samples of two HLA-DP4 patients. These T cell clones recognized not only peptide-loaded stimulator cells but also dendritic cells loaded with a recombinant MAGE-3 protein, demonstrating that these T cells were directed against a naturally processed MAGE-3 epitope. The isolated CD4+ Th cells showed a typical Th1 cytokine profile upon stimulation. From the first patient several CD4+ T cell clones recognizing the antigenic peptide used for vaccination in the context of HLA-DP4 were obtained, whereas we have isolated from the second patient CD4+ T cell clones which were restricted by HLA-DQB1*0604. Analyzing a panel of truncated peptides revealed that the CD4+ T cell clones recognized different core epitopes within the original peptide used for vaccination. Importantly, a DP4-restricted T cell clone was stimulated by dendritic cells loaded with apoptotic or necrotic tumor cells and even directly recognized HLA class II- and MAGE-3-expressing tumor cells. Moreover, these T cells exhibited cytolytic activity involving Fas-Fas ligand interactions. These findings support that vaccination-induced CD4+ Th cells might play an important functional role in antitumor immunity

Intake, selection, digesta retention, digestion and gut fill of two coprophageous species, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), on a hay-only diet

A colonic separation mechanism (CSM) is the prerequisite for the digestive strategy of coprophagy. Two different CSM are known in small herbivores, the ‘wash-back’ CSM of lagomorphs and the ‘mucous-trap’ CSM of rodents. Differences between these groups in their digestive pattern when fed exclusively hay were investigated in six rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and six guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Intake, digestibility (by total faecal collection), solute and particle mean retention times (MRT, using Co-EDTA and Cr-mordanted fibres) were measured. Rabbits selected less fibrous parts of the hay than guinea pigs, leaving orts with higher content of neutral detergent fibre [NDF; 721 ± 21 vs. 642 ± 31 g/kg dry matter (DM) in guinea pigs]. They also expressed a lower NDF digestibility (0.44 ± 0.10 vs. 0.55 ± 0.05 of total), a similar particle MRT (15 ± 3 vs. 18 ± 6 h), a longer solute MRT (51 ± 9 vs. 16 ± 4 h), and a lower calculated dry matter gut fill (19.6 ± 4.7 vs. 29.7 ± 4.1 g DM/kg body mass) than guinea pigs (p < 0.05 for each variable). These results support the assumption that the ‘wash-back’ CSM, exhibited in the rabbits, is more efficient in extracting bacterial matter from the colonic digesta plug than the ‘mucous-trap’ CSM found in the guinea pigs. Related to metabolic body mass, rabbits therefore need a less capacious colon for their CSM where a more efficient bacteria wash-out is reflected in the lower fibre digestibility. A lighter digestive tract could contribute to a peculiarity of lagomorphs: their ability to run faster than other similar-sized mammals

Vert Bruxelles !Architectures à suivre

Construire en meilleure intelligence avec l’environnement est nécessaire. De nombreuses solutions innovantes existent aujourd’hui sans être beaucoup plus chères que les standards traditionnels; quand elles le sont, elles participent à une économie globale qui, à l’usage, les rend rentables pour le portefeuille et bénéfiques pour la planète.Bruxelles Environnement a lancé un concours en 2007 et en 2008 pour identifier et soutenir les projets les plus éco-exemplaires à Bruxelles dans les secteurs du tertiaire, du logement collectif, du logement individuel et des équipements publics. Ouverts à tous, ces concours ont permis de récompenser 76 projets par plus de 13,4 millions d’euros. D'autres appels seront encore lancés en 2009, 2011, 2012 et 2013.Les lauréats – 22 particuliers, 25 promoteurs privés et 29 institutions publiques – ont déposé des projets très variés et parfois mixtes, dont 42 projets de logement, 17 projets tertiaires et 17 projets d’équipements publics. C’est leur histoire qui est racontée au fil de ces pages.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Retention of fluid and particles in captive tapirs (Tapirus sp.)

The retention of ingesta in the digestive tract is a major characteristic of herbivorous animals. We measured particle and fluid mean retention times (MRT) in 13 lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and 5 Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) from five zoological institutions on their usual zoo diet and 2 lowland and 4 Malayan tapirs additionally on roughage-only diets (total n of trials = 24) with cobalt-EDTA as fluid and chromium-mordanted fibre (<2mm) as particle markers. MRT for fluid and particles averaged 42 ± 16 h and 55 ± 18 h in lowland and 40 ± 13 h and 56 ± 14 h in Malayan tapirs. In a General Linerar Model, neither Tapir species, body mass nor diet (characteriszed by the proportion of roughage) was significantly related to MRT, but dry matter intake was, with a steep decline in MRT with higher intake levels. Compared to other hindgut fermenters, tapirs have a low defecation frequency, which might be linked to their comparatively low food intake. Their gastrointestinal capacity (in dry matter: 1.63 ± 0.63 % of body mass) is similar to that calculated for horses. A comparison of the difference in fluid and particle MRT in large hindgut fermenters (horses, rhinoceroses, elephants, and the tapirs of this study) show that longer absolute particle MRT are linked to shorter relative fluid MRT, possibly indicating a more thorough ‘washing’ of particulate ingesta with digestive fluids at longer particle MRT. The only outlier to this general pattern, with an exceptionally high difference between fluid and particle MRT, indicating a particularly efficient ingesta washing, is the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). If possible, results of this study should be compared to findings in tapirs on natural diets

Solute and particle retention in the digestive tract of the Phillip's dikdik (Madoqua saltiana phillipsi), a very small browsing ruminant: Biological and methodological implications

Morphological characteristics of the forestomach, as well as reports of a natural diet that mostly excludes monocots, suggest that dikdiks (Madoqua spp.), among smallest extant ruminants, should have a ‘moosetype’ forestomach physiology characterised by a low degree of selective particle retention. We tested this assumption in a series of feeding experiments with 12 adult Phillip's dikdiks (Madoqua saltiana phillipsi) on three different intake levels per animal, using cobalt-EDTA as a solute marker and a ‘conventional’ chromiummordanted fibre (b2 mm; mean particle size 0.63 mm) marker for the particle phase. Body mass had no influence on retention measurements, whereas food intake level clearly had. Drinking water intake was not related to the retention of the solute marker. In contrast to our expectations, the particle marker was retained distinctively longer than the solute marker. Comparisons with results in larger ruminants and with faecal particle sizes measured in dikdiks suggested that in these small animals, the chosen particle marker was above the critical size threshold, above which particle delay in the forestomach is not only due to selective particle retention (as compared to fluids), but additionally due to the ruminal particle sorting mechanism that retains particles above this threshold longer than particles below this threshold. A second study with a similar marker of a lower mean particle size (0.17 mm, which is below the faecal particle size reported for dikdiks) resulted in particle and fluid retention patterns similar to those documented in other ‘moose-type’ ruminants. Nevertheless, even this smaller particle marker yielded retention times that were longer than those predicted by allometric equations based on quarter-power scaling, providing further support for observations that small ruminants generally achieve longer retention times and higher digestive efficiencies than expected based on their body size