The cytokine interleukin (IL)-15, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules and MHC class I chain-related proteins (MIC) A and B are involved in cellular immune responses to virus infections but their role in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection has not been studied. We aimed to determine how RSV infection modulates IL-15 production, MHC class I and MICA expression in resp...

Defined fabrication of organic thin films is highly desired in technological, as well as pharmaceutical, applications since morphology and crystal structure are directly linked to physical, electrical, and optical properties. Within this work, the directed growth of caffeine deposited by hot wall epitaxy (HWE) on muscovite mica is studied. Optical and atomic force microscopy measurements reveal...

The substrate effect of mica and hematite on the nucleation and crystallization of calcite was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) methods. On mica, we found, in the absence of Mg2+, the substrates’ (001) surfaces with hexagonal and pseudo-hexagonal two-dimensional (2-D) structure can affect the orientation ...

MICA and MICB (MHC-class-I-related chain A/B) are transmembrane proteins expressed in pathological conditions that are ligands for NKG2D, an activating receptor found on cytotoxic lymphocytes. The recognition on target cells of NKG2D ligands leads to the activation of lysis and cytokine secretion by NK cells and T cells. Besides being expressed at the cell surface, MICA/B can be released as sol...

In vitro pharmacodynamic model (PDM) simulation of serum antifungal concentrations may predict the value of combination antifungal regimens against Candida sp. endocarditis. We investigated the effects of combinations of flucytosine (5FC), micafungin (Mica), and voriconazole (Vor) against Candida-infected human platelet-fibrin clots, used as simulated endocardial vegetations (SEVs). Single clin...

BACKGROUND Overexpression of autologous proteins can lead to the formation of autoantibodies and autoimmune diseases. MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A (MICA) is highly expressed in the enterocytes of patients with celiac disease, which arises in response to gluten. The aim of this study was to investigate anti-MICA antibody formation in patients with celiac disease and its association...

We describe the Meta-Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA), the first professional scientific organization based exclusively in virtual worlds (VWs). The goals of MICA are to explore the utility of the emerging VR and VWs technologies for scientific and scholarly work in general, and to facilitate and accelerate their adoption by the scientific research community. MICA itself is an ex...

In a genome-wide association study, we have previously identified and performed the initial replication of three novel susceptibility loci for cervical cancer: rs9272143 upstream of HLA-DRB1, rs2516448 adjacent to MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A gene (MICA), and rs3117027 at HLA-DPB2. The risk allele T of rs2516448 is in perfect linkage disequilibrium with a frameshift mutation (A5.1...

-Mobility measurements were made for dry-ground mica particles dispersed in aqueous KC1, Cr(NO3)3, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solutions. In the latter solutions charge reversal occurred at about 2 x 10 -6 M and 3 x 10 -5 M, respectively. Negative zeta potentials in KC1 solutions calculated using the Smoluchowski equation are about one third of the corresponding values obtained fr...

OBJECTIVE Presence of anti-HLA antibodies has a well-known impact on kidney grafts survival; however their role in liver transplantation has not been fully elucidated. We conducted a 7-year prospective study to show correlation between presence of anti-HLA and anti-MICA antibodies and liver graft survival. METHODS Blood samples from 123 liver transplant recipients were collected during patien...