The liver-specific F antigen, although not an autoimmunogen, can induce the production of autoantibodies in responder strains. The ability to respond is under the control of two genes, one linked to the H-2 locus of mice, the other not. Responders possessing both genes produce high anti-F titers, while the H-2-linked gene alone permits a significant but low antibody response. (Responder X nonre...

Progress in medical therapy wouldn’t be possible without the contribution of the scientific community. Several randomized controlled trials have led to our current guidelines. Specifically, COMPANION and CARE-HF trials involved a turning point for cardiac resynchronization therapy, which became well recognized for the treatment of heart failure patients with QRS 120 ms, ejection fraction 35%, a...

Results The group of 20 patients with expected growth (boys vs. girls: 10 vs. 10; etanercept vs. adalimumab: 16 vs. 4) was assessed. The mean age at anti-TNF treatment initiation was 12.03 years (SD ± 4.44). Median duration of disease was 3.25 years (range 0.89-10.23), 15 patients received corticosteroids in mean dose 0.273 mg/kg/day. All patients were identified as “responders” (ACR Paed 30) a...

Suppressor cells have been shown to be involved in the regulation of immune responses m genetic nonresponder animals (1, 2), as well as in those animals which have been tolerized to certain ant igens (3, 4). Cells exhibiting suppressor activity have been recently identified in the spleens of tumor-bearing hosts (5, 6). These cells were able to nonspecifically suppress a variety of immune respon...

Mice of the inbred strains, C57BL/6 and C57BL/10 (H-2b), are genetically incapable of developing IgE antibody responses to ragweed pollen extract (RE) or its dinitrophenylated derivative, DNP-RE. This nonresponsiveness has previously been thought to reflect the absence of a relevant H-2-linked Ir genes controlling responses of inbred mice to these antigens. However, pretreatment of H-2b mice wi...

The effect of insertion of plasma membrane components from lymphocytes responding to mitogens into the membranes of nonresponding cells using Sendai virus envelopes as vehicles was examined. T cells modified by B membranes were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to proliferate as well as to produce interleukin-2 activity. B cells modified by T membranes were stimulated by concanavalin A to ...

In the present studies we have confirmed that the random copolymer of L-glutamic acid50-L-tyrosine50 (GT) fails to induce an antibody response in a large number of inbred strains of mice. Nevertheless, GT complexed to methylated bovine serum albumin (MBSA) elicits a GT-specific IgG PFC response in vivo. Furthermore, injection of BALB/c mice with 10 to 100 mug of GT specifically decreases their ...

2407 More than 2 decades of research has established the role of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in medically refractory, mild to severe systolic heart failure (HF) with abnormal QRS duration and morphology. CRT confers a mortality benefit, reduces HF hospitalizations, and improves functional outcome in this population, but not all patients consistently demonstrate a positive CRT respon...

Purified C-reactive protein (CRP), the prototypical acute phase reactant of humans, activated inflammatory mouse macrophages to a tumoricidal state. The activation by CRP was not due to small amounts of contaminating lipopolysaccharide. CRP at 10 fig/ml induced significant tumoricidal capacity in resident macrophages; the mouse macrophage cell lines PUS 1.8, RAW 264.7, and J774; as well as elic...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an established adjunctive treatment for patients with systolic heart failure (HF) and ventricular dyssynchrony. The majority of recipients respond to CRT with improvements in quality of life, New York Heart Association functional class, 6-min walk test, and ventricular function. Management of HF after CRT may include up-titration of neurohormonal block...