Immunosuppression and reduced cytolytic function of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are major obstacles to creating effective therapies for patients. It is known that Galectin-3 (Gal3), a lectin family member, is expressed and secreted by numerous cancers and immune cell subsets. Serum Gal3 expression is higher in patients with metastatic versus non-metastatic disease, and is associated with red...

Mast cell degranulation is a hallmark of allergic reactions, but mast cells can also produce many cytokines that modulate immunity. Recently, CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been shown to inhibit mast cell degranulation and anaphylaxis, but their influence on cytokine production remained unknown. In this study, we show that, rather than inhibit, Tregs actually enhance mast cell producti...

Regulatory T (TREG) cells play an important role in maintaining immune tolerance and avoiding autoimmunity. We analyzed the expression of membrane molecules in TREG and effector T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). TREG and effector T cells were analyzed for the expression of CTLA-4, PD1, CD28, CD95, GITR, HLA-DR, OX40, CD40L, and CD45RO in 26 patients with active disease, 31 with ina...

BACKGROUND Leishmaniases are zoonoses considered a public health problem, representing a complex group of diseases with a broad clinical spectrum and epidemiological diversity. Leishmaniasis is caused by several species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania. The evolution of the pathology and the resolution of the leishmaniasis are dependent mainly on the Leishmania species involved, although the...

Totsuka, T., T. Kanai, K. Uraushihara, R. Iiyama, M. Yamazaki, H. Akiba, H. Yagita, K. Okumura, and M. Watanabe. Therapeutic effect of anti-OX40L and antiTNFMAbs in a murine model of chronic colitis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 284: G595–G603, 2003. First published January 10, 2003; 10.1152/ajpgi.00450. 2002.—Interaction of OX40 (CD134) on T cells with its ligand (OX40L) on antigen-...

A new World Health Organization classification was recently proposed. However, classification of peripheral T-cell lymphomas remains to be clarified. Particularly, unspecified type was considered as a heterogeneous category. Here we studied the expressions of chemokine receptors, Th1-associated CXCR3 and CCR5 and Th2-associated marker ST2(L), and activated T-cell receptor OX40/CD134 in 185 pati...