Characterization of the Primo-Vascular System in the Abdominal Cavity of Lung Cancer Mouse Model and Its Differences from the Lymphatic System

Cancer growth and dissemination have been extensively studied for a long time. Nevertheless, many new observations on anatomy and histopathology of cancer events are still reported such as formation of a vasculogenic-like network inside aggressive tumors. In this research, new kinds of micro-conduits, named primo-vessels, were found inside the abdominal cavity of NCI-H460 lung cancer murine xenograft models. These vascular threads were largely distributed on the surfaces of various organs and were often connected to peritoneal tumor nodules. Histological and immunofluorescent investigations showed that the primo-vessels had characteristic features that were distinctively different from those of similar-looking lymphatic vessels. They had multiple channels surrounded with loose collageneous matrices, which is in contrast to the single-channel structure of other vascular systems. The rod-shaped nuclei aligned longitudinally along the channels were assumed to be the endothelial cells of the primo-vessels, but LYVE-1, a specific marker of lymphatics, was not expressed, which indicates a clear difference from lymphatic endothelial cells. Taken together these findings on and characterization of the novel threadlike vascular structures in cancer models may have important implications for cancer prognosis and for therapy

Overview of Aspergillus allergens

Fungi in general and, Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) in particular, are able to produce complex patterns of IgE-binding molecules. Robotics-based high throughput screening of A. fumigatus cDNA libraries displayed on phage surfaces revealed at last 81 different sequences encoding structures potentially able to bind to serum IgE of sensitised individuals suffering from A. fumigatus-related complications. Although not all of these allergens have been characterised in detail, A. fumigatus still represents the best investigated allergenic source. A total of 23 A. fumigatus allergens are recorded by the official allergen list of the International Union of Immunological Societies (http://www.allergen.org) and this is by far the longest allergen list reported for a single allergenic source. The IgE-binding molecules include species-specific as well as phylogenetically highly conserved cross-reactive structures and such with unknown function. A subset of cDNAs have been used to produce and characterise the corresponding recombinant allergens which have proven to be useful diagnostic reagents allowing specific detection of A. fumigatus sensitisation and differential diagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Structures highly conserved through different species like manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase, P2 acidic ribosomal protein, cyclophilins and thioredoxins induce, beyond sensitisation, IgE antibodies able to cross-react with the corresponding homologous self-antigens. The frequently observed cross-reactivity is traceable back to shared discontinuous B-cell epitopes as shown by detailed analyses of the crystal structures