BackgroundNatural killer (NK) cells are effective at killing tumors in a non-MHC restricted manner and are emerging targets for cancer therapy but their importance in bladder cancer (BC) is poorly defined. NK cells are commonly subdivided into populations based on relative surface expression of CD56. Two major subsets are CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells.MethodsThe prevalence of intratumoral lymphocytes was examined via flow cytometric analysis of bladder tissue from a local cohort of patients with non-invasive and invasive BC (n=28). The association of NK cell subsets with cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) was examined in 50 patients with BC using Cox regression. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) of intratumoral lymphocytes isolated CD56 NK cell subsets were used for examination of function, including cytokine production and in vitro cytotoxicity.ResultsNK cells predominated among bladder intratumoral lymphocytes. Intratumoral CD56bright NK cells showed increased cytokine production and cytotoxicity compared to their CD56dim counterparts and were associated with improved CSS and OS independent of pathologic tumor stage. On the other hand, CD56dim NK cells were not associated with improved outcomes but were associated with higher pathologic stage.ConclusionsNK cells are frequent among intratumoral lymphocytes in BC. Bladder intratumoral CD56bright NK cells are functional and prognostically relevant whereas CD56dim NK cells are dysfunctional and prevalent in higher stage tumors. Thus, CD56bright NK cells are promising targets in BC.

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Soilborne plant diseases are a major constraint to crop production worldwide. Effective and economical management of these diseases is dependent on the ability to accurately detect and diagnose their signs and/or symptoms prior to widespread development in a crop. Sensor-based technologies are promising tools for automated crop disease detection, but research is still needed to optimize and validate methods for the detection of specific plant diseases. The overarching goal of our research is to use the peanut-stem rot plant disease system to identify and evaluate sensor-based technologies that can be utilized for the detection of soilborne plant diseases. Here we summarize the current state of sensor-based technologies for plant disease detection and provide examples from our own research that illustrate the advantages and limitations of different sensor-based methods for detecting soilborne diseases. In addition, the potential to adapt different sensor-based technologies to practical use in the field is discussed.

Tendon 103Sare successfully treated with conservative treatment. If the symptoms persist, the surgical release of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist usually definitively solves the problems. Sometimes, we observe patients whose problems are not solved by the surgical treatment. Aim: Our aim was to analyze the failed surgically treated cases selecting those patients whose symptoms did not disappear after a surgical treatment and find out the reason for the failure. Patients and Methods: We analyzed the last 9 years looking for those patients who returned with the persistence or the reappearance of the same symptoms like before the operation. We analyzed the intraoperative findings of the first operation, the clinical examination, and the applied treatment. In case of second operation, we analyzed the results of this. Results: In the period of 2007-2015, we found a total of 42 patients with unsuccessful operations for the De Quervain tenosynovitis. Careful clinical examination demonstrated in 7 cases the presence of a Wartenberg syndrome. All these patients underwent a successful operation for this. In 4 cases, trapezo-metacarpal osteoarthritis caused the problems. They received conservative treatment with infiltration and splinting. Ten cases presented hyper sensibility of the operated area. Six cases were treated successfully by physiotherapy. Four cases underwent reoperation. In 3 cases, the lesion, and in 1 case, the compression of the superficial branch of the radial nerve was found. Nineteen patients of the remaining 21 accepted a second operation. In all these cases, we found an unreleased tendon in an additional compartment. Conclusion:We can conclude that the failure of an operation in the De Quervain tenosynovitis is due to anatomical variations, the involvement of the radial superficial nerve, and the ignoration of another syndrome in the proximity. Objective: The use of biodegradable materials as scaffold is essential for tendon engineering to repair tendon defects. However, poor mechanical property of in vitro engineered tendon is a major challenge for clinical application. This study aims to develop a composite scaffold by combining different types of polymer fibers with knitted technique and to test the long-term result of the engineered tendon using this new designed composite scaffold for repairing the monkey tendon defect. Materials and Methods: Four groups of knitted scaffolds were first prepared with different ratio of polyglycolide acid (PGA) to polylactic acid (PLA): (1) 100% PGA; (2) PGA/PLA, 4:2; (3) PGA/PLA, 2:4; and (4) 100% PLA, respectively. The hydrolysis and biocompatibility of these scaffolds were tested. Then by using these scaffolds, the in vitro engineered tendon with human dermal fibroblasts and in vivo monkey tendon defect repair were investigated. Results: The hydrolysis assay showed that group 1 scaffold degraded fastest with a significant mass loss and tensile strength decrease. Increase of PLA content led to a decrease of the mass loss rate and resulted in an enhancem...

Antitumor immune responses are largely mediated by cytotoxic lymphocytes that recognize tumor-associated antigens presented in the context of a major histocompatibility complex class I molecule (MHC I). However, many tumors downregulate MHC I expression as a means of immune escape. Under these conditions, additional effector lymphocytes, such as natural killer cells (NK cells) which mediate non-MHC restricted cytotoxicity, provide antitumor defenses. Using flow cytometric analysis, we discovered that NK cells predominate among lymphocytes infiltrating human and carcinogen-induced mouse bladder cancer (BC). Using transcriptomics and clinical outcomes from the TCGA dataset we found that the presence of intratumoral NK cells is associated with increased survival after cystectomy, especially in low MHC class I expressing tumors. We validated this finding using a local BC cohort and determined that functional NK cells decline with increasing patient age. Using in vitro assays, we found that intratumoral NK cells from bladder tumors exhibit MHC class I dependent cytotoxicity against BC cells. Importantly, intratumoral CD56dim NK cells increase with higher pathologic stage and are less functional (cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion) than CD56bright counterparts. The presence of intratumoral CD56brightNK cells predicts improved patient survival independent of tumor stage. We conclude that intratumoral NK cells are functional and prognostically relevant in BC, but their presence and function is diminished with aging or tumor MHC class I. Intratumoral CD56bright NK cells are associated with better clinical outcomes whereas CD56dim NK cells are dysfunctional and associated with advanced BC.