Aceruloplasminemia is an autosomal recessive disorder of iron metabolism. Affected individuals evidence iron accumulation in tissue parenchyma in association with absent serum ceruloplasmin. Genetic studies of such patients reveal inherited mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene.

Langerhans-cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease characterized by heterogeneous lesions containing CD207+ Langerhans cells and lymphocytes that can arise in almost any tissue and cause significant morbidity and mortality. After decades of research, the cause of LCH remains speculative. A prevailing model suggests that LCH arises from malignant transformation and metastasis of epidermal Langerhans cells. In this study, CD207+ cells and CD3+ T cells were isolated from LCH lesions to determine cell-specific gene expression. Compared to control epidermal CD207+ cells, the LCH CD207+ cells yielded 2113 differentially-expressed genes (FDR<0.01). Surprisingly, expression of many genes previously associated with LCH, including cell-cycle regulators, pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were not significantly different from control LCs in our study. However, several novel genes whose products activate and recruit T cells to sites of inflammation, including SPP1 (osteopontin), were highly over-expressed in LCH CD207+ cells. Furthermore, several genes associated with immature myeloid dendritic cells were over-expressed in LCH CD207+ cells. Compared to the peripheral CD3+ cells from LCH patients, the LCH lesion CD3+ cells yielded only 162 differentially-regulated genes (FDR<0.01), and the expression profile of the LCH lesion CD3+ cells was consistent with an activated regulatory T cell phenotype with increased expression of FOXP3, CTLA4 as well as SPP1. Results from this study support a model of LCH pathogenesis in which lesions do not arise from epidermal Langerhans cells, but from accumulation of bone-marrow derived immature myeloid dendritic cells that recruit activated lymphocytes.

UCAR T cells can overcome antigenic heterogeneity in GBM and lead to improved treatment outcomes.

Salmonella bacteriophage repressor Mnt belongs to the ribbon-helix-helix class of transcription factors. Previous SELEX results suggested that interactions of Mnt with positions 16 and 17 of the operator DNA are not independent. Using a newly developed high-throughput quantitative multiple fluorescence relative affinity (QuMFRA) assay, we directly quantified the relative equilibrium binding constants (K(ref)) of Mnt to operators carrying all the possible dinucleotide combinations at these two positions. Results show that Mnt prefers binding to C, instead of wild-type A, at position 16 when wild-type C at position 17 is changed to other bases. The measured K(ref) values of double mutants were also higher than the values predicted from single mutants, demonstrating the non-independence of these two positions. The ability to produce a large number of quantitative binding data simultaneously and the potential to scale up makes QuMFRA a valuable tool for the large-scale study of macromolecular interaction.