-In this summary, we consider bi-directional communication between a transmitter and receiver communicating via a relay station. We present a novel communication method based on joint data packet encoding in conjunction with exploitation of a priori known information that enables reduced number of transmissions, whereby enhancing aggregate throughput.

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Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltrates resembling secondary lymphoid organs in salivary glands. In this study, we demonstrate the expression of the lymphoid tissue homing chemokine CXCL13 (BCA‐1/BLC), which has attracting properties for B cells and subsets of activated T cells, in salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. CXCL13 expression was primarily observed in epithelial cells in acini and ducts of inflamed glands while its receptor, CXCR5 (BLR‐1), was expressed on the infiltrating mononuclear cells. In addition, cells producing antibodies against one of the major autoantigens in Sjögren's syndrome, Ro 52, were identified at the periphery of the follicular infiltrates indicating that the ectopic lymphoid tissue is directly involved in the disease process. Identification of CXCL13 and CXCR5 in salivary glands suggests that the target organ plays an essential role in the inflammatory process by recruiting B and T cells. These results also provide a molecular mechanism by which lymphoid neogenesis and ectopic germinal centre formation might occur in the glands of these patients, which may be the key step in the development of the chronic inflammatory process in Sjögren's syndrome.

Interleukin (IL)4 has been shown to regulate the IgG subclasses and induce IgE production in splenic mouse B cells. Here we show that IL4 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induce, on a per cell basis, very high IgE secretion in purified human B cells by using a mouse thymoma (EL4) co-culture method. In addition, a marked increase in the number of IgG4-producing cells was also observed. Furthermore, IL2 could synergize with IL4 and PMA in the production of IgE. By using limiting dilution analysis, a considerable increase in the precursor frequency for IgE was found when IL4 and PMA were added to cultures as compared to cultures with PMA only. This indicates that IL4 induces an isotype switch in human B cells.