BACKGROUND The introduction of molecularly targeted anticancer therapies presents new challenges, among which dermatologic adverse events are noteworthy. Alopecia in particular is frequently reported, but the true incidence is not known. PATIENTS AND METHODS We sought to ascertain the incidence and risk of developing alopecia during treatment with approved inhibitors of oncogenic pathways and...

The environmental pollutant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, dioxin) causes numerous and diverse toxic events via activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, including atrophy of the thymus. Exposure to TCDD induces acute thymocyte cell loss, which occurs concomitantly with proliferation arrest and premature emigration of triple negative (TN; CD4(-), CD8(-), CD3(-)) T cell progenitor...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Diffuse involvement of the meninges by remote granulomas in Wegener's granulomatosis is rare. This study reports the radiolabeled leucocyte imaging findings in five such patients. The diagnosis was made by MR imaging in five patients and confirmed in four by findings at meningeal biopsy. The potential role of serial radiolabeled leucocyte examinations in assessing treatme...

Measuring the binding kinetics of antibodies to intact membrane proteins by surface plasmon resonance has been challenging largely because of the inherent difficulties in capturing membrane proteins on chip surfaces while retaining their native conformation. Here we describe a method in which His-tagged CXCR5, a GPCR, was purified and captured on a Biacore chip surface via the affinity tag. The...

Current monoclonal antibody therapies for multiple myeloma have had limited success, perhaps due to narrow target specificity. We have previously described the ability of polyclonal rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) to induce caspase- and cathepsin-mediated apoptosis in human B and plasma cells. We now extend this observation to myeloma cells. Complement independent cell death was measured a...

T cell depleting strategies are an integral part of immunosuppressive regimens widely used in the hematological and solid organ transplant setting. Although it is known to induce lymphocytopenia, little is known about the effects of the polyclonal rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) or the monoclonal anti-CD52 antibody alemtuzumab on Natural Killer (NK) cells in detail. Here, we demonstrate th...

Apart from condoms and vasectomy, modern contraceptive methods for men are still not available. Besides hormonal approaches to stop testicular sperm production, the post-meiotic blockage of epididymal sperm maturation carries lots of promise. Microarray and proteomics techniques and libraries of expressed sequence tags, in combination with digital differential display tools and publicly availab...

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis results from T-cell-dependent inflammatory demyelination of the central nervous system. Our objective was long-term suppression of inflammation with short-term monoclonal antibody treatment. METHODS We depleted 95% of circulating lymphocytes in 27 patients with multiple sclerosis by means of a 5-day pulse of the humanised anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, Campath-1H...

INTRODUCTION Alemtuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets for the destruction CD52+ cells, particularly B and T cells. Alemtuzumab is approved in more than 50 countries around the world for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarize biological, clinical and safety data related to the use of alemtuzu...