7%) in the first trimester [44% (15/34) versus 80% (16/20); P = 0.01]. Of the 18 successful pregnancies with sequential Treg results, 85% (11/13) showed a T-regulatory-cell-level increase (mean Treg change 0.33 ± 0.32), while only 40% (2/5) of the failed pregnancies showed a Treg increase (mean Treg change −0.08 ± 0.28; P = 0.02). Conclusions  From these data, we propose that CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ T regulatory cells may serve as a superior pregnancy marker for assessing miscarriage risk in newly pregnant women. Larger follow-up studies are needed

for confirmation. “
“Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells specifically targeted during Plasmodium infection. Upon infection, DCs show impaired antigen presentation and T-cell activation abilities. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether cellular extracts OSI906 obtained from Plasmodium berghei-infected erythrocytes (PbX) modulate DCs phenotypically and functionally and the potential therapeutic usage of PbX-modulated DCs in the control of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE, the mouse model for human multiple sclerosis). We found that PbX-treated

DCs have impaired maturation check details and stimulated the generation of regulatory T cells when cultured with naive T lymphocytes in vitro. When adoptively transferred to C57BL/6 mice the EAE severity was reduced. Disease amelioration correlated with a diminished infiltration of cytokine-producing T cells in the central nervous system as well as the suppression of encephalitogenic T cells. Our study shows that extracts obtained from P. berghei-infected erythrocytes modulate DCs towards an immunosuppressive phenotype. In addition, the adoptive transfer of PbX-modulated DCs was able to ameliorate EAE development through the suppression of specific cellular immune responses towards neuro-antigens. To our knowledge, this is the first study to present evidence that DCs treated

with P. berghei extracts are able to control autoimmune Interleukin-3 receptor neuroinflammation. “
“It has previously been reported by these authors that cluster of differentiation (CD) 93 is co-expressed on naive T-lymphocytes (CD4+CD45RA+ cells) in neonatal umbilical cord blood cells (UCBCs) but not on normal adult peripheral blood cells (PBCs). In this study, expression of CD93 on other lymphocyte subsets and the concentration of soluble formed CD93 (sCD93) in serum or culture supernatants from neonatal umbilical cord blood (UCB) was examined. It was found that CD93 is also co-expressed on CD2+, CD16+, CD56+ or CD25+ cells in the lymphocyte population of neonatal UCBCs, but not on normal adult PBCs. The concentrations of sCD93 in serum and culture supernatants from neonatal UCB were significantly greater than those from normal adult peripheral blood.