Journal of leukocyte biology
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To further enhance chimerism, 229 primary allograft recipients have received perioperative intravenous infusion of a single dose of 3 to 6 X 10(8) unmodified donor bone marrow (BM) cells/kg body weight. In addition, 42 patients have been accrued in a concurrent protocol involving multiple (up to three) sequential perioperative infusions of 2 x 10(8) BM cells/kg/day from day 0-2 posttransplantation (PTx). Organ recipients (n = 133) for whom BM was not available were monitored as controls. ⋯ The incidence of obliterative bronchiolitis was also statistically lower in study lung recipients (3.8%) compared with the contemporaneously acquired controls (31%). The levels of donor cell chimerism were at least a log higher in the peripheral blood of majority of the study patients compared with that of controls. The incidence of donor-specific hyporeactivity, as determined by one-way mixed leukocyte reaction, was also higher in those BM-augmented liver, kidney, and lung recipients that could be evaluated compared to controls.
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Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE) is a new member of the TNF family emerging as a key regulator of the immune system and of bone development and homeostasis. TRANCE is expressed on activated T cells and activates mature dendritic cells (DC), suggesting that it plays a role in the T cell-DC interaction during an immune response. Furthermore, TRANCE is expressed on osteoblasts stimulated with vitamin D3, dexamethasone, and parathyroid hormone. ⋯ TRANCE mediates its effects via the TRANCE-receptor (TRANCE-R/RANK), whereas its activity can be inhibited by the soluble decoy receptor osteoprotegerin/osteoclast inhibitory factor (OPG/OCIF). OPG can be neutralized by another TNF-family member, the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), suggesting that TRANCE is part of a complex cytokine network that regulates a diverse set of functions. We will discuss the current literature describing TRANCE and its receptors and its role in controlling DC and osteoclast function.
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Neutrophil (PMN) migration into the peritoneal cavity in response to fecal peritonitis is an important mechanism of host defense against bacterial invasion. We show that the murine C-X-C (PMN-specific) chemokine, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), on intraperitoneal injection in mice, causes PMN migration into the peritoneum. MIP-2 mRNA and protein were expressed by peritoneal leukocytes after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice and neutralization of MIP-2 reduced peritoneal PMN migration. ⋯ In a subsequent experiment, mast cell-deficient mice and their normal controls were then injected intraperitoneally with MIP-2 or underwent CLP. Significantly fewer PMNs migrated into the peritoneal cavity in the mast cell-deficient mice after MIP-2 injection or CLP. Thus, our findings indicate that mast cells and MIP-2 are necessary for PMN migration into the peritoneum in response to intra-abdominal infection, and that MIP-2 appears to facilitate this through an increase in TNF-alpha release.
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The receptor for urokinase plasminogen activator (uPAR; CD87) is a 50- to 65-kDa glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoprotein expressed by leukocytes and tumor cells where it facilitates uPA-dependent, plasmin-mediated pericellular proteolysis during cellular invasion. Because uPAR is inducibly shed into culture supernatants and human body fluids, we tested the hypothesis that soluble uPAR (suPAR) can bind to the plasma membrane of hematopoietic cells where it might modulate their invasive phenotype. As measured by flow cytometry, recombinant biotinylated-suPAR (B-suPAR) bound in a specific fashion to THP-1 leukemia cells and blood PMNs and monocytes (but not to lymphocytes). ⋯ Pretreatment of PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells and unstimulated PMNs with soluble sugars, calcium chelators, and antibodies specific for integrins or extracellular matrix proteins failed to consistently block the binding of B-suPAR. Whereas the binding of suPAR did not measurably affect cell-associated plasmin activation, suPAR did competitively inhibit the binding of exogenous uPA to membrane-associated uPAR. These observations support the hypothesis that suPAR can bind specifically to trypsin-sensitive receptors expressed by certain normal and neoplastic hematopoietic cells where its binding is variably influenced by uPA ligand.
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We have shown previously that a calcium-binding protein complex, calprotectin, derived from polymorphonuclear leukocytes exerts a cytostatic and cytolytic effect against a very broad range of tumor cell lines. We also described that calprotectin is an apoptosis-inducing factor for certain tumor cells and that zinc ion attenuates the calprotectin activities. The titers of the factor in body fluids are known to increase greatly in various types of inflammation. ⋯ The activities were significantly abrogated by 10-50 microM Zn2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, or Fe2+, respectively, whereas the trivalent cations Al3+ and Fe3+ had no effect. The dose-response curves of the calprotectin effects were shifted to about 10-fold lower concentration ranges in the divalent metal ion-depleted medium. These results suggest that calprotectin extracellularly affects the inflammatory processes by modulating the growth and survival states of normal fibroblasts, and that the effects are physiologically controlled by several metal ions.