Introduction Pyogenic sterile Arthritis Pyoderma gangrenosum and Acne (PAPA) syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant inherited autoinflammatory disease caused by mutations in Proline-serine-threonine phosphatase-interacting protein 1 (PSTPIP1). In childhood, the syndrome is featured by recurrent sterile, erosive arthritis, potentially leading to joint destruction. By puberty, cutaneous symptoms b...

The tumour microenvironment has an important role in cancer progression and recent reports have proposed that stromal AKT is activated and regulates tumourigenesis and invasion. We have shown, by immuno-fluorescent analysis of oro-pharyngeal cancer biopsies, an increase in AKT activity in tumour associated stromal fibroblasts compared to normal stromal fibroblasts. Using organotypic raft co-cul...

DUSP1 is a dual-specificity phosphatase that regulates mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity. Studies have associated loss of DUSP1 expression with certain cancers, but there has been no report of a mechanism by which this supports tumor progression. In this study, we found DUSP1 mRNA and protein decreased in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared with adjacent n...

The innate immune cell sensor leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome controls the activation of caspase-1, and the release of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. The NLRP3 inflammasome is implicated in adipose tissue inflammation and the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that adipose tissue inflammat...

Activated macrophages are crucial for restriction of microbial infection but may also promote inflammatory pathology in a wide range of both infectious and sterile conditions. The pathways that regulate macrophage activation are therefore of great interest. Recent studies in silico have putatively identified key transcription factors that may control macrophage activation, but experimental vali...

Advances in microsurgical techniques and immunosuppressive medication have rendered transplantation of vascularized composite allografts possible, when autologous tissue is neither available nor sufficient for reconstruction. However, skin rejection and side effects of long-term immunosuppression still remain a major hurdle for wide adoption of this excellent reconstructive technique. Histopath...

BACKGROUND Postoperative sepsis is one of the main causes of death after major abdominal surgery; however, the immunologic factors contributing to the development of sepsis are not completely understood. In this study, we evaluated gene expression in patients who developed postoperative sepsis and in patients with an uncomplicated postoperative course. METHODS We enrolled 220 patients in a re...

BACKGROUND Although important improvements of downstream molecular in vitro diagnostics assays based on RNA from blood were made, the pre-analytical workflow is still poorly defined. METHODS We performed a multicenter study within the EU-granted SPIDIA project to investigate blood collection and shipping influence on the following RNA quality parameters: yield, purity, integrity, RT-qPCR inte...