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  • Carey Schultz posted an update 1 week, 5 days ago

    showed a decreased TLR4-induced TNF production and lower survival rates to LPS challenge than WT mice. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that mHtt expression causes an impaired production of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators triggered by TLR-4 receptor in MCs in vitro and in vivo, which could contribute to the aberrant immunophenotype observed in HD.INTRODUCTION Cancer Immunotherapy has recently emerged as a promising and effective modality to treat different malignancies. Antigenic profiling of cancer tissues and determination of any pre-existing immune responses to cancer antigens may help predict responses to immune intervention in cancer. NY-ESO-1, a cancer testis antigen is the most immunogenic antigen to date. The promise of NY-ESO-1 as a candidate for specific immune recognition of cancer comes from its restricted expression in normal adult tissue but frequent occurrence in multiple tumors including melanoma and carcinomas of lung, esophageal, liver, gastric, prostrate, ovarian, and bladder. MAIN BODY This review summarizes current knowledge of NY-ESO-1 as efficient biomarker and target of immunotherapy. It also addresses limitations and challenges preventing a robust immune response to NY-ESO-1 expressing cancers, and describes pre-clinical and clinical observations relevant to NY-ESO-1 immunity, holding potential therapeutic relevance for cancer treatment. CONCLUSION NY-ESO-1 induces strong immune responses in cancer patients but has limited objective clinical responses to NY-ESO-1 expressing tumors due to effect of competitive negative signaling from immune-checkpoints and immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. We propose that combination therapy to increase the efficacy of NY-ESO-1 specific immunotherapeutic interventions should be explored to unleash the immune response against NY-ESO-1 expressing tumors.BACKGROUND Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with kyphosis have an abnormal spinopelvic alignment and pelvic morphology. Most studies focus on the relationship of pelvic tilt (PT) or sacral slope (SS) and deformity, and relatively few studies have addressed the relationship between pelvic incidence (PI) and kyphosis in AS patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between pelvic incidence (PI) and the spinopelvic parameters describing local deformity or global sagittal balance in AS patients with thoracolumbar kyphosis. read more METHODS A total of 94 patients with AS (91 males and 3 females) and 30 controls (27 males and 3 females) were reviewed. The mean age was 36.8 years in AS patients and 34.4 years in controls. Gender ratios and mean age were similar in both group. Sagittal spinopelvic parameters, including PI, PT, SS, thoracic kyphosis (TK), thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK), lumbar lordosis (LL), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), the first thoracic vertebra pelvic angle (TPA), spinosacral angle deformity in AS patients with thoracolumbar kyphosis.BACKGROUND Owing to the increase in energy consumption, fossil fuel resources are gradually depleting which has led to the growing environmental concerns; therefore, scientists are being urged to produce sustainable and ecofriendly fuels. Thus, there is a growing interest in the generation of biofuels from renewable energy resources using microbial fermentation. MAIN TEXT Butanol is a promising biofuel that can substitute for gasoline; unfortunately, natural microorganisms pose challenges for the economical production of 1-butanol at an industrial scale. The availability of genetic and molecular tools to engineer existing native pathways or create synthetic pathways have made non-native hosts a good choice for the production of 1-butanol from renewable resources. Non-native hosts have several distinct advantages, including using of cost-efficient feedstock, solvent tolerant and reduction of contamination risk. Therefore, engineering non-native hosts to produce biofuels is a promising approach towards achieving sustainability. This paper reviews the currently employed strategies and synthetic biology approaches used to produce 1-butanol in non-native hosts over the past few years. In addition, current challenges faced in using non-native hosts and the possible solutions that can help improve 1-butanol production are also discussed. CONCLUSION Non-native organisms have the potential to realize commercial production of 1- butanol from renewable resources. Future research should focus on substrate utilization, cofactor imbalance, and promoter selection to boost 1-butanol production in non-native hosts. Moreover, the application of robust genetic engineering approaches is required for metabolic engineering of microorganisms to make them industrially feasible for 1-butanol production.BACKGROUND The arthroscopic method offers a less invasive technique of Bankart repair for traumatic anterior shoulder instability. The aim of the study is to determine the mid-/long-term functional outcome, failure rates and predictors of failure after primary arthroscopic Bankart repair for traumatic anterior shoulder instability. METHODS A total of 100 patients were primarily operated using arthroscopic Bankart repair after traumatic anterior shoulder instability. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed, and patients were assessed using postal questionnaire after a mean follow-up of 8.3 years [3-14]. Clinical assessment was performed using Constant score, Rowe score, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score. RESULTS The overall recurrence rate was 22%. The Kaplan-Meier failure-free survival estimates. were 80% at 5 years and 70% at 10 years. Nearly half (54.5%) of recurrences occurred at 2 years postoperative. Compared with normal shoulder, there were statistical differences in all 3 scores. Failure rate was significantly affected by age at the time of surgery with 86% of recurrence cases observed in patients aged 30 years or younger. Nevertheless, Younger age at the time of surgery (P = 0.007) as well age at the time of initial instability (P = 0.03) was found to correlate negatively with early recurrence within 2 years of surgery. Among those with recurrent instability, recurrence rate was found to be higher if there had been more than 5 instability episodes preoperatively (P = 0.01). Return to the preinjury sport and occupational level was possible in 41 and 78%, respectively. CONCLUSION Failure-free survival rates dropped dramatically over time. Alternative reconstruction techniques should be considered in those aged ≤30 years due to the high recurrence rate.