Immunosuppression is often identified in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate several immune parameters for patients with breast and lung cancer. Immunophenotyping analysis showed that the cancer patients investigated had significantly lower absolute numbers of peripheral blood lymphocytes than controls. The immunosuppression was more evident for the breast cancer subgroup. The most severe immune defect noticed was the marked impairment of IFN-gamma secretion. A shift toward the Th2 phenotype as revealed by assessment of intracellular level of IFN-gamma and IL-4 was also noticed. The secretion of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in whole blood cultures was not impaired. Although the proportion of activated cells was slightly lower than in the control group, our results showed that both peripheral T lymphocytes and NK cells of cancer patients could be induced to express early activation marker CD69 after ex vivo mitogen stimulation. In conclusion, our study revealed several immune defects in cancer patients. This suggests that an appropriate immunotherapeutical approach might be used to restore compromised immune functions with beneficial effects on both antitumor and general immunity.

The aim of our study was to investigate and characterize regulatory T cells (Treg) in peripheral blood of patients with connective tissue diseases (Systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren's syndrome, poly- and dermatomyositis) as compared with blood from healthy controls. Treg cells were quantified and phenotypically characterized by flow cytometry while the expression level of Foxp3 mRNA was evaluated by real time PCR. A reduced percentage of peripheral blood Treg cells was found in patients than in controls, irrespective of the type of connective tissue disease. Treg cells, especially those expressing one of the phenotypical markers, seemed to differ not only between patients and healthy controls but also among types of diseases. Additionally, the presence of autoantibodies as well as disease activity appeared to be correlated with particular Treg cell populations, especially those expressing one of the examined phenotypical markers. Correlations with therapy suggested that glucocorticoids plus antimalarial or other immunosuppressor drugs diminished the percentage of Treg cells, especially of those with memory phenotype. These findings indicated dysregulations at the level of Treg cells and suggested an involvement of these cells in the pathology of connective tissue diseases. Moreover, our data are in agreement with the suggestion that Treg cells could be therapeutic targets for some autoimmune diseases.

SummaryThe hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major etiologic agent for severe liver diseases (e.g. cirrhosis, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma). Approximately 140 million people have chronic HCV infections and about 500 000 die yearly from HCV‐related liver pathologies. To date, there is no licensed vaccine available to prevent HCV infection and production of a HCV vaccine remains a major challenge. Here, we report the successful production of the HCV E1E2 heterodimer, an important vaccine candidate, in an edible crop (lettuce, Lactuca sativa) using Agrobacterium‐mediated transient expression technology. The wild‐type dimer (E1E2) and a variant without an N‐glycosylation site in the E2 polypeptide (E1E2∆N6) were expressed, and appropriate N‐glycosylation pattern and functionality of the E1E2 dimers were demonstrated. The humoral immune response induced by the HCV proteins was investigated in mice following oral administration of lettuce antigens with or without previous intramuscular prime with the mammalian HEK293T cell‐expressed HCV dimer. Immunization by oral feeding only resulted in development of weak serum levels of anti‐HCV IgM for both antigens; however, the E1E2∆N6 proteins produced higher amounts of secretory IgA, suggesting improved immunogenic properties of the N‐glycosylation mutant. The mice group receiving the intramuscular injection followed by two oral boosts with the lettuce E1E2 dimer developed a systemic but also a mucosal immune response, as demonstrated by the presence of anti‐HCV secretory IgA in faeces extracts. In summary, our study demonstrates the feasibility of producing complex viral antigens in lettuce, using plant transient expression technology, with great potential for future low‐cost oral vaccine development.

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The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in many abnormalities described in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) are still unclear. Some of these abnormalities referred to the hyperactivation of T lymphocytes and the enhanced secretion of MMP-9 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Therefore, in this paper we investigated the potential role of CD147 molecule in these abnormalities. Our results demonstrated that CD147 molecule is overexpressed on CD3+T lymphocytes from SLE patients when compared with CD3+T lymphocytes from healthy donors. Monoclonal anti-CD147 antibodies, MEM-M6/1 clone, were able to inhibit protein tyrosine phosphorylation only in CD3 × CD28 costimulated T lymphocytes from SLE patients. However, this monoclonal antibody was unable to inhibit the enhanced activity of MMP-9 secreted by SLE PBMCs.