Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication associated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is widely used prior to allo-HCT for GVHD prevention, though evidence of its efficacy remains unclear. We therefore identified nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs), enrolling 1089 patients (554 in the ATG group and 535 in the non-A...

One hundred nine patients with hematologic malignancies, undergoing bone marrow transplants (BMT) from unrelated donors, were randomized in 2 consecutive trials to receive or not to receive antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in the conditioning regimen, as follows: (A) 54 patients (median age, 28 years; 39% with advanced disease) were randomized to no ATG (n = 25) versus 7.5 mg/kg rabbit ATG (Thymogl...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Angiotensin II (AngII) type 1 receptor (AT1R) could be activated by mechanical stress without the involvement of AngII during the development of cardiac hypertrophy. We aimed to identify sensing sites of AT1R for activation by mechanical stretch. METHODS We constructed several site-directed mutations of AT1R (AT1R(K199Q), AT1R(L212F), AT1R(Q257A) and AT1R(C289A)), transfected ...

BACKGROUND Graft-versus-host Disease (GvHD) prophylaxis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is an ongoing effort but relative effects of different policies are not systematically explored. METHODS We systematically reviewed 30-year evidence on GvHD prophylaxis and quantified the relative effect of different policies using a network meta-analysis. We searched PubMed...

Members of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family and AMBRA1 (activating molecule in beclin 1-regulated autophagy) interact with Beclin 1 and control autophagy. Bcl-2 is a negative regulator of autophagy whereas AMBRA1 stimulates autophagy. A paper in this issue of The EMBO Journal reveals an interaction between AMBRA1 and Bcl-2 at the mitochondrial outer membrane. In response to nutrient withdrawal, ...

The Arctium lappa L. plant, commonly known as burdock, has been used therapeutically for hundreds of years. Arctigenin (ATG) is an active ingredient in albeit at low quantities or mostly the form acrtiin (arctigenin-4-glucoside). ATG touted its anti-inflammatory properties many cell types and disease states; however, role skin melanin production not extensively studied. Our aims this study were...

Autophagy-related (ATG) proteins have increasingly demonstrated functions other than cellular self-eating. In this issue, Mauthe et al. (2016. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201602046) conduct an unbiased RNA interference screen of the ATG proteome to reveal numerous noncanonical roles for ATG proteins during viral infection.

The childhood bone marrow failure disorders are a heterogeneous group of diseases of which the commonest ones are acquired severe aplastic anemia (SAA) and myelodysplastic syndromes. SAA is characterized by the presence of pancytopenia with a hypocellular marrow in the absence of malignant infiltration or fibrosis. Myelodysplastic syndromes are characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, dyplas...

Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are anti-hypertensive drugs that competitively inhibit the binding of angiotensin II to its receptor, resulting in blood vessel dilation and the reduction of blood pressure. These antagonists are also known as sartans, and are a group of pharmaceuticals that possess tetrazole or imidazole groups. In the present study, the anticancer and antimetastatic eff...