OBJECTIVE Based on their role in T-cell homing into nonlymphoid tissue, we examined the role of the homeostatic chemokines CCL19 and CCL21 and their common receptor CCR7 in coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS We performed studies in patients with stable (n=40) and unstable (n=40) angina and healthy controls (n=20), in vitro studies in T-cells and macrophages, and studies in apo...

Sympathetic ophthalmia is a bilateral uveitis that develops after penetrating injury to one eye. This study aimed to identify the inflammatory cellular sub-phenotypes and expression of pertinent inflammatory cytokines/chemokines in sympathetic ophthalmia (SO). Dalen-Fuchs nodules (DFN), granulomas, and non-granulomatous foci of inflammation were micro-dissected from 15 cases. RNA was extracted,...

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) is an inflammatory mediator often used to increase CCR7 expression in the dendritic cells (DCs) used as cancer vaccines and to enhance their responsiveness to lymph node-associated chemokines. Here, we show that high surface expression of CCR7 on PGE(2)-matured DCs is associated with their suppressed production of the endogenous CCR7 ligand, CCL19, and is reversible ...

TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) receptor Fn14 is expressed by podocytes and Fn14 deficiency protects from experimental proteinuric kidney disease. However, the downstream effectors of TWEAK/Fn14 in podocytes are poorly characterized. We have explored TWEAK activation of non-canonical NFκB signaling in cultured podocytes. In cultured podocytes, TWEAK increased the expression of the ch...

Myeloid dendritic cells (mDC) are lost from blood in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection but the mechanism for this loss and its relationship to disease progression are not known. We studied the mDC response in blood and lymph nodes of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques with different disease outcomes. Early changes in blood mDC number were in...

We previously reported that mac25/angiomodulin (AGM), a 30-kDa secretory protein, is abundantly expressed in high endothelial venules (HEVs), which play a crucial role in lymphocyte trafficking to the lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. We report that mac25/AGM interacts preferentially with certain molecules that are expressed in or around HEVs. In particular, mac25/AGM interacted with not only th...

There is a substantial need for biomarkers to distinguish latent stage from active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections, for predicting disease progression. To induce the reactivation of tuberculosis, we present a new experimental animal model modified based on the previous model established by our group. In the new model, the reactivation of tuberculosis is induced without administration of i...

BACKGROUND It has been proven that CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) is closely related with the lymph node metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the mechanism of NSCLC metastasis is not very clear. The aim of this study is to investigate the expressions of CCR7 and MMP-9 in NSCLC and the relationship of their expressions, and to explore the mechanism of CCR7 promoting NSCLC metast...