Dennis Verhaegh, Leo A. B. Joosten, Marije Oosting

European Cytokine Network, Vol.28, No.2, pp. 70-84, 2017, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2017.0396

Abstract Lyme disease is a zoonosis caused by infection with bacteria belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi species after the bite of an infected tick. Even though an infection by this bacterium can be effectively treated with antibiotics, when the infection stays unnoticed B. burgdorferi can persist and chronic post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome is able to develop. Although a cellular and humoral response is observed after an infection with theBorrelia bacteria, these pathogens are still capable to stay alive. Several immune evasive mechanisms have been revealed and explained and much work has been put into the understanding of the… More >

Huijie Jia^*†1, Tiesuo Zhao^‡§1, Di Zou^¶, Xiaolong Jia^§, Ji Gao^#, Xiangfeng Song^‡§

Oncology Research, Vol.23, No.6, pp. 321-326, 2015, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14570992647041

Abstract Synthetic CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), as TLR9 agonists, have been found to play a possible role in antitumor effect. In order to determine the effect of YW002, known as a C-type CpG ODN, on the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is one of the most aggressive carcinomas, we chose to inject YW002 at the doses of 12.5 μg and 25 μg per mouse 7 days post-tumor challenge. The survival rate of mice was recorded every day. On day 14 postinjection, five mice in each group were bled and randomly sacrificed. The level of IFN-γ or… More >

Ozbey G¹, Gorczynski R², Erin N¹

European Cytokine Network, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 30-34, 2014, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2014.0353

Abstract Measurements of cytokines in cell culture supernatants are widely used to evaluate the immune response. Cytokine levels in secretomes are usually quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), which have easy, sensitive, specific, rapid, cost-effective, and reproducible protocols. To our knowledge, the stability of cytokines in secretomes has not been hitherto investigated. We present data that involve; time-dependent changes during storage at +4℃, and the effects of freeze-thaw cycles in samples frozen at -80℃, instant freezing of samples with liquid nitrogen, and addition of protease inhibitors on the stability of certain cytokines (TNF-α, MIP-2, IFN-γ, IL-6, More >

Jörg-Matthias Brand, Christoph Frohn, Katharina Cziupka, Christian Brockmann, Holger Kirchner, Jürgen Luhm

European Cytokine Network, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 99-104, 2004

Abstract The peptide hormone prolactin (PRL) is produced by specialized cells in the anterior pituitary gland and in a number of sites outside the pituitary. Its biological actions consist of various roles in reproduction, lactation, and of a number of homeostatic biological activities that also include immune functions. Elevated serum PRL concentrations often correlate with abnormalities in immune responses. To determine the influence of PRL on human immune cells, human whole blood cultures were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), supple-mented with various concentrations of human recombinant PRL. We found that PRL, at concentrations achievable during pregnancy, anesthesia… More >