Downregulation of CD45RB and L-selectin by anti-CD45RB antibody treatment may play an important role in the mechanism of action these antibodies in transplantation and autoimmune animal models. We found that the metalloprotease TACE/ADAM17 is not involved. Therefore, anti-CD45RB may activate another protease to cause the shedding of L-selectin and possibly also CD45RB.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is characterized by a minority of neoplastic cells, the so-called Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells and a vast majority of reactive cells. RS cells produce chemokines that can attract subsets of peripheral blood cells into HL tissues. To gain insight in the chemokines involved in HL, 16 chemokines were selected based on their ability to recruit different subsets of cells. Five HL, 5 non-HL-derived cell lines, 22 HL, 5 non-HL and 3 control tissues were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Products for 13 of these...

Background: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) is characterized by a minority of neoplastic cells, the so-called Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells, and an admixture of reactive cells including lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophils and histiocytes. Cytokines produced in HL, either by RS or infiltrating cells, might explain the presence and maintenance of an impaired immune response, Chemokines (cytokines with chemoattractant properties) produced by RS cells play a major role in leukocyte trafficking. These molecules with specific receptor affinities contribute, for example by attracting TH2-like T cells, to the maintenance of a favorable environment...

In predisposed individuals, wound healing can lead to hypertrophic scar or keloid formation, characterized by an overabundant extracellular matrix. It has recently been shown that hypertrophic scars are accompanied by abnormal keratinocyte differentiation and proliferation, and significantly increased acanthosis, compared with normal scars. This study addressed the question of whether the development of normal and hypertrophic scars is regulated by differences in the growth factor profiles of both the epidermis and the dermis, The presence of interleukin-l alpha (IL-1 alpha), IL-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), platelet-derived growth...

Following hepatic injury, proliferation of anastomosing ductules can be observed. The origin of this ductular reaction is not completely clear, although there is considerable evidence for proliferation of a putative hepatic progenitor cell, reported to be located in the canals of Hering (CoH) and showing morphologic similarities with rat oval cells. In this study, we analyzed the immunophenotype of solitary oval cell-like cells (SOC), intralobular groups of cuboidal cells that might represent lining cells of CoH, bile ductular cells (BDC), bile duct epithelial cells (BEC), and hepatocytes. We...