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Int J Hematol 2021 Mar 8. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Biology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, 113-8519, Japan.

We have recently reported a new method for detecting T-cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), CD3CD4EVs,CD3CD8EVs, and CD3HLA-DREVs. In our previous study, CD3HLA-DREVs were released profusely by CD8T cells, only moderately by T helper1 (Th1) CD4T cells, and very little from Th2 CD4T cells in vitro. EVs were measured sequentially in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and their relationship to GVHD was investigated in comparison with other conventional biomarkers. Read More

Anticancer Res 2021 Feb;41(2):1021-1026

Division of Medical Oncology/Hematology, Department of Medicine, Kobe University Hospital and Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

Background/aim: Biomarkers for immune-related adverse events (irAEs) induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are required. We encountered a patient whose skin irAE fluctuated in parallel with serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R).

Patients And Methods: We examined 15 patients with cancer who received ICIs. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020 30;11:575469. Epub 2020 Oct 30.

Center for Diabetes Research, Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is largely considered an autoimmune disease leading to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells. Further, patients with T1D have 3-4-fold increased risk of developing micro- and macrovascular complications. However, the contribution of immune-related factors contributing to these diabetes complications are poorly understood. Read More

Neth J Med 2020 09;78(5):220-231

Department of Immunology, Laboratory Medical Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

A soluble form of the interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) is secreted upon T-cell activation. Increased blood levels of sIL-2R occur in a variety of immunological diseases. Although the biological function of sIL-2R is incompletely understood, both in health and disease, sIL-2R serum measurements are commonly conducted in clinical practice as it may help to facilitate diagnosis of specific immune-mediated diseases, such as haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and sarcoidosis. Read More

Clin Chim Acta 2020 Dec 24;511:67-74. Epub 2020 Sep 24.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, PR China. Electronic address:

Aims: The present study aimed to determine the prognostic significance of soluble Programmed Death-ligand 1 (sPD-L1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Methods: We treated 114 HCC patients with TACE from 2012 to 2013 and determined their sPD-L1 levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We evaluated prognosis according to mRESIST criteria and analyzed prognostic values by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Read More

PLoS One 2020 4;15(9):e0238877. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.

Background And Objective: A recent study identified progranulin as a candidate biomarker for frailty, based on gene expression databases. In the present study, we investigated associations between serum progranulin levels and frailty in a population-based sample of late middle-age and older adults.

Methods: We utilized a cohort study that included 358 African Americans (baseline ages 49-65). Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Aug;99(35):e21938

Department of Surgical Pathology, Hokkaido University Hospital.

Rationale: Aggressive variant of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (AV-SMZL) is a very rare disease that is often associated with TP53 mutations and has a poor prognosis. On the other hand, recent advances in genome sequencing techniques enable us to understand the molecular characteristics of rare cancers such as AV-SMZL. Here we present a case of AV-SMZL analyzed using a genetic test. Read More

Int J Obes (Lond) 2020 09 16;44(9):1838-1850. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Department of Immunology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Background: The relation between low-grade inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in obesity is not fully explored.

Objective: To evaluate immune parameters in the obese state and after a lifestyle intervention program.

Methods: Patients with obesity (n = 87) from an academic obesity clinic were compared with controls with regard to macrophage and T-cell activation (reflected by serum levels of soluble CD163 (sCD163) and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R), respectively), and an array of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Read More

J Immunol Res 2020 21;2020:8074183. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.

Background: Immune parameters (IP) have been extensively studied to distinguish between latent tuberculosis (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB).

Objective: To determine the IP associated with LTBI, compared to active TB and individuals not infected by published in literature.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search using Google Scholar and PubMed databases, combining the MeSH terms latent tuberculosis, , cytokines, and biological markers, with the free terms, biomarkers and cytokines. Read More

Lab Invest 2020 06 27;100(6):794-800. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, 130041, Changchun, Jilin, People's Republic of China.

Timely analysis of the laboratory characteristics associated with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) can assist with clinical diagnosis and prognosis. This study is a collection of clinical data from 54 hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Zhongfa Xincheng district of China at Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 28, 2020 to February 11, 2020. The average age of the patients was 61. Read More

Cancer Med 2020 06 20;9(12):4114-4125. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Department of Neurosurgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

Tumor biopsy is essential for the definitive diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. However, the biopsy procedure carries the risk of complications such as bleeding, convulsions, and infection. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) β2-microglobulin (β2-MG), soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) are known to be useful diagnostic biomarkers for CNS lymphoma. Read More

J Clin Med 2020 Mar 11;9(3). Epub 2020 Mar 11.

Laboratory of Immunovirology, Infectious Diseases Department. Health Research Institute Ramon y Cajal (IRyCIS), Ramon y Cajal University Hospital, 28034 Madrid, Spain.

The incidence of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) in the HIV-1 setting has increased 5-25-fold compared to that observed in the general population. This study aimed to determine whether selected micro RNAs (miRs) and other soluble biomarkers and cellular subsets are dysregulated in cHL and could be used as biomarkers. This was a retrospective and longitudinal matched case-control study of 111 Caucasian, HIV-1-infected adult individuals, including 37 individuals with cHL and 74 with no type of cancer. Read More

J Dermatol 2020 May 11;47(5):476-482. Epub 2020 Mar 11.

Department of Dermatology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, 791-0295, Japan.

Drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS)/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is a severe adverse drug reaction characteristically associated with sequential reactivation of herpesviruses, such as human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Since systemic corticosteroids are thought to result in viral reactivation due to their immunosuppressive effects, we clarified the influence of systemic corticosteroid therapy on viral reactivation in DIHS/DRESS. Viral DNA in peripheral whole blood and serum sIL-2R level were measured during the disease course in twenty DIHS/DRESS patients. Read More

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2020 07 12;35(7):728-736. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Obesity, aging, and pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) may collectively contribute to the gray matter loss in brain regions of SCZ. We attempted to examine the association between volumes of specific brain regions, body mass index (BMI), inflammatory markers, and clinical features in older SCZ patients.

Method: Clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) aged ≥50 years were recruited to undergo whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging. Read More

Mol Neurobiol 2020 Feb 31;57(2):778-797. Epub 2019 Aug 31.

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Several lines of evidence indicate that aberrations in immune-inflammatory pathways may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Here, we propose a novel theoretical framework that was previously developed for major depression and bipolar disorder, namely, the compensatory immune-regulatory reflex system (CIRS), as applied to the neuro-immune pathophysiology of schizophrenia and its phenotypes, including first-episode psychosis (FEP), acute relapses, chronic and treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), comorbid depression, and deficit schizophrenia. These schizophrenia phenotypes and manifestations are accompanied by increased production of positive acute-phase proteins, including haptoglobin and α2-macroglobulin, complement factors, and macrophagic M1 (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), T helper (Th)-1 (interferon-γ and IL-2R), Th-2 (IL-4, IL-5), Th-17 (IL-17), and T regulatory (Treg; IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1) cytokines, cytokine-induced activation of the tryptophan catabolite (TRYCAT) pathway, and chemokines, including CCL-11 (eotaxin), CCL-2, CCL-3, and CXCL-8. Read More

Tohoku J Exp Med 2019 07;248(3):209-216

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic joint inflammation and may manifest as interstitial pneumonia (IP). Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the main therapeutic drugs used for RA, but MTX could cause severe side effects, including Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) and IP. Owing to similar symptoms, it is sometimes difficult to discriminate MTX therapy-associated PCP (MTX-PCP) and MTX therapy-associated IP (MTX-IP). Read More

Int J Clin Oncol 2019 Sep 10;24(9):1151-1160. Epub 2019 Jun 10.

Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Background: Patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD) have an increased incidence of malignancy due to decreased immunity. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), as an immunomodulator, seemed to have an effect in the process of malignancy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of increased sIL-2R in the course of malignancy among HD patients. Read More

Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2019 Apr 30;59(4):200-204. Epub 2019 Mar 30.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Neurology, Hyogo College of Medicine.

A 73-year-old man was hospitalized with complaints of general malaise, limb muscle weakness and weight loss progressing in 6 months. Ca, ACE, lysozyme, sIL-2R, vitamin 1.25 D was high in the blood test. Read More

Hinyokika Kiyo 2018 Dec;64(12):509-513

The Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba.

A 78-year-old man presented with swelling of para-aortic and left iliac lymph nodes (LNs). He had undergone left high orchiectomy 10 years ago. He was diagnosed with stage I seminoma, and was managed with active surveillance. Read More

RMD Open 2019 11;5(1):e000772. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Objective: To explore the potential of salivary gland biopsy supernatants (the secretome) as a novel tool to aid in stratification of patients with sicca syndrome and to study local immunopathology in Sjögren's syndrome.

Methods: Labial salivary gland biopsies were incubated in saline for 1 hour. In these tissue supernatants from a discovery cohort (n=16) of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and non-Sjögren's sicca (nSS), 101 inflammatory mediators were measured by Luminex. Read More

Psychol Med 2019 07 28;49(10):1749-1757. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

NORMENT-KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research,University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital,Oslo,Norway.

Background: Inflammation and immune activation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of severe mental disorders and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite high level of comorbidity, many studies of the immune system in severe mental disorders have not systematically taken cardiometabolic risk factors into account.

Methods: We investigated if inflammatory markers were increased in schizophrenia (SCZ) and affective (AFF) disorders independently of comorbid CVD risk factors. Read More

Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi 2018 Dec;41(12):942-948

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University; Institute of Respiratory Diseases, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, China.

To investigate the characteristics of respiratory viral infections, and correlation between inflammatory cytokines and respiratory virus infections in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A prospective cohort of patients with acute exacerbations of COPD was enrolled. The sputum of all patients were collected, and 15 respiratory viruses were detected using multi-channel real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Read More

J Dermatol 2018 Dec 5;45(12):1440-1443. Epub 2018 Oct 5.

Department of Dermatology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase protein, which activates immune cells and induces cytokines and chemokine. SAA levels in blood have been reported to be elevated in case of inflammation, infections, neoplasia and tissue injury. In this study, we examined SAA levels in the blood of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Read More

Oncol Lett 2018 Jul 21;16(1):849-852. Epub 2018 May 21.

Department of Stomatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University/The First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, P.R. China.

Effect of allogeneic blood transfusion on the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in peripheral blood of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was investigated. A total of 91 ALL children admitted to Nanfang Hospital from June 2014 to January 2017 were selected as the study group. Patients were randomly divided into allogeneic blood transfusion group (n=38) and non-transfusion group (n=53). Read More

BMC Cancer 2018 May 29;18(1):604. Epub 2018 May 29.

Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.

Background: Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is considered to be a large challenge for clinicians due to the variable overlaps of symptoms with other severe diseases and a high rate of mortality. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are crucial to avoid a fatal outcome. However, very limited reports have focused on HLH during chemotherapy (Ch-HLH) due to a low incidence and insufficient knowledge. Read More

Cancer Med 2018 May 11. Epub 2018 May 11.

Department of Obstetrics, The Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, 264000, P.R., China.

Cervical cancer is known as the possible outcome of genital infection, while the molecular mechanisms of initiation, development, and metastasis of cervical cancer have not yet been fully elucidated. Our study aims to investigate the effects of microRNA-92a (miR-92a) on tumor growth and immune function by targeting PTEN via the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in tumor-bearing mice. C57BL/6 female mice were used for tumor-bearing mouse models and their tumor and adjacent normal tissues were collected, and normal cervical tissues were obtained from normal mice. Read More

Mol Neurobiol 2018 Dec 2;55(12):8885-8903. Epub 2018 Apr 2.

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Here, we review a novel concept namely the compensatory immune-regulatory reflex system (CIRS) as applied to the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). There is evidence that a substantial subset of individuals with MDD and BD exhibit an activation of the immune-inflammatory response system (IRS), as indicated by an increased production of macrophagic M1 and T helper (Th)-1 pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6 trans-signaling, positive acute phase proteins (APPs), and complement factors. These immune aberrations appear to be evident during the course of major affective episodes of either depressive or (hypo) manic polarity. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2018 Mar 14;19:292-295. Epub 2018 Mar 14.

Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.

BACKGROUND Primary cardiac lymphoma is rare and can be an aggressive disease, depending on the grade. A case is reported of low-grade primary cardiac lymphoma associated with a pericardial effusion. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) imaging was useful in the diagnosis and in evaluating the disease activity in this case. Read More

Cytokine 2018 05 17;105:57-62. Epub 2018 Feb 17.

Okainawa Health Promotor Foundation, Japan.

Low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) have been reported in patients with hematological malignancies. However, the proof of decreased HDL-C in hematological malignancies and its association with clinical outcomes remain unclear. We analyzed 140 Japanese patients with malignant lymphoma (ML) and adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL). Read More

Neurotox Res 2018 02 4;33(2):448-460. Epub 2017 Nov 4.

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

To examine immune-inflammatory and oxidative (I&O) biomarkers in major depression (MDD) and its related phenotypes, we recruited 114 well-phenotyped depressed patients and 50 healthy controls and measured serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1α, soluble IL-1 receptor antagonist (sIL-1RA), soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 60 and 80 kDa (sTNF-R1/R2), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Obtained results indicate that MDD is characterized by increased sIL-1RA, sTNF-R1, and TBARS concentrations. Melancholic depression is associated with increased sIL-6R but lowered IL-1α levels. Read More