German Red Cross

About: German Red Cross is a healthcare organization based out in Berlin, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Transplantation & Mesenchymal stem cell. The organization has 653 authors who have published 1146 publications receiving 40111 citations. The organization is also known as: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz & DRK.

Successful treatment of an infant with CDA type II by intrauterine transfusions and postnatal stem cell transplantation.

Abstract: Congenital dyserythropoietic anemias are rare hematological disorders leading to ineffective erythropoiesis with chronic anemia, complicated by iron overload Here we present a remarkable clinical course of an infant with CDA type II who first presented as a severe fetal hydrops, requiring serial intrauterine red cell transfusions While postnatal transfusion dependency persisted, the patient was successfully transplanted with a myeloablative conditioning regimen and peripheral blood stem cells of a matched donor We believe that allogeneic HSCT is a reasonable therapeutic approach for patients with very severe CDA, even if only a matched unrelated donor is available

Virus inactivation of fresh plasma.

Abstract: The progress which has been made in donor selection and serological testing together with the advent of PCR testing has considerably improved the viral safety of blood and blood products. In fact, they have never been safer than today [ 11. But current testing programs cannot detect all viruses which might contaminate blood. This justifies the need for an active measure to further enhance the viral safety of therapeutically-used cellular blood components and fresh plasma, i.e. the integration of a virus inactivation procedure into the manufacturing process of the respective product. At present, there are two alternatives for virus inactivation of therapeutic fresh plasma: treatment either by the solventldetergent ( S D ) method, which is in wide use for purified plasma protein preparations, [2, 31 or with the phenothiazine dye methylene blue (MB) in combination with visible light [4, 51. A pasteurization procedure is still under development [6, 71. The S/D and MB/light methods were both introduced in Germany in the early 90s and today are being used in a number of European countries. S/D treatment is conducted with pools of several hundred units of plasma derived from blood donations or from plasmapheresis, while in the case of MB/light single units are processed. The S/D procedure has the potential advantage that plasma pooling offsets the individual variations among single plasma units, i.e. that the final product is more standardized. In addition, because extraction, chromatographic and filtration steps are integrated into the manufacturing process, the final product is \"cleaner\" than conventional fresh frozen or MB/light treated plasma. This, however, does not mean that it is also \"better\": in a clinical trial in which S/D plasma was compared with MB/light treated plasma, both products were equally safe and effective. The differences in the physicochemical principles of either procedure are obvious: S/D treatment disrupts the lipid containing structures of enveloped viruses, which as a consequence lose their infectivity [8]. This has been proven for a number of different viruses including the blood-borne human immune deficiency virus and the hepatitis B and C viruses, respectively. Enveloped viruses are not affected by S/D treatment. MB/light treatment, on the other hand, has different target structures: due to its cationic nature it has a high affinity for nucleic acids, especially for guanine residues [9]. It binds, however, also to viral core proteins. Illumination leads to the on-site formation of singlet oxygen, which is the active principle in the photooxidative inactivation process [ 10, 113. This makes it reasonable that MB/light treatment not only inactivates enveloped but also a number of nonenveloped viruses. The latter was demonstrated for adeno, calici and re0 viruses and also for SV40 [5]. The probably more relevant hepatitis A virus WAV) is resistant, and it is unclear at present whether parvovirus B 19 can be inactivated [ 121. It is stated for SD treated plasma that because of the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the plasma pools which are processed, the nonenveloped HAV as well as parvovirus B19 are inactivated as well. There is, however, concern about the potential risk of contaminating a whole plasma pool with a single unit containing a nonenveloped virus or another infective agent which cannot be inactivated by the procedure used and to which no neutralizing antibodies exist. Both S/D and MBAight treatment not only inactivate viruses but also influence some plasma proteins. In the latter case, the activities of fibrinogen and other coagulation factors are reduced by approximately 30 % [4]. In S/D treated plasma the activities of the inhibitors protein C and alpha 2-antiplasmin are diminished by up to 50 % [5]. But

B-CLL cells acquire APC- and CTL-like phenotypic characteristics after stimulation with CpG ODN and IL-21

Abstract: CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG) and IL-21 are two promising agents for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). Recently, we reported that the combination of CpG and IL-21 (CpG/IL-21) can induce granzyme B (GrB)-dependent apoptosis in B-CLL cells. Here, we demonstrate that treatment of B-CLL cells with CpG and IL-21 results in the development of antigen-presenting cell (APC)-like cells with cytotoxic features. These properties eventually give rise to B-CLL cell apoptosis, independently of their cytogenetic phenotype, whereas normal B-cell survival is not negatively affected by CpG/IL-21. APC- and CTL-typical molecules found to be up-regulated in CpG/IL-21-stimulated B-CLL cells include GrB, perforin, T-bet, monokine-induced by IFN-γ and IFN-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), as well as molecules important for cell adhesion, antigen cross-presentation and costimulation. Also induced are molecules involved in GrB induction, trafficking and processing, whereas the GrB inhibitor Serpin B9 [formerly proteinase inhibitor-9 (PI-9)] is down-modulated by CpG/IL-21. In conclusion, CpG/IL-21-stimulated B-CLL cells acquire features that are reminiscent of killer dendritic cells, and which result in enhanced immunogenicity, cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Our results provide novel insights into the aberrant immune state of B-CLL cells and may establish a basis for the development of an innovative cellular vaccination approach in B-CLL.

Defective IL-23/IL-17 Axis Protects p47phox-/- Mice from Colon Cancer.

Abstract: In the colon a sophisticated balance between immune reaction and tolerance is absolutely required. Dysfunction may lead to pathologic phenotypes ranging from chronic inflammatory processes to cancer development. Two prominent modulators of colon inflammation are represented by the closely related cytokines IL-12 and IL-23 which initiate adaptive Th1 and Th17 immune responses, respectively. In this study, we investigated the impact of the NADPH oxidase protein p47phox, which negatively regulates IL-12 in dendritic cells, on colon cancer development in a colitis-associated colon cancer model. Initially, we found that IL-12-/- mice developed less severe colitis, but are highly susceptible to colon cancer. In contrast, p47phox-/- mice showed lower tumor scores and fewer high grade tumors than WT littermates. Treatment with Toll-like receptor 9 ligand CpG2216 significantly enhanced colitis in p47phox-/- mice, whereas tumor growth was simultaneously reduced. In tumor tissue of p47phox-/- mice the IL-23/IL-17 axis was crucially hampered. IL-23p19 protein expression in tumor tissue correlated with tumor stage. Reconstitution of WT mice with IL-23p19-/- bone marrow protected these mice from colon cancer, whereas transplantation of WT hematopoiesis into IL-23p19-/- mice increased the susceptibility to tumor growth. Our study strengthens the divergent role of IL-12 and IL-23 in colon cancer development. With the characterization of p47phox as a novel modulator of both cytokines our investigation introduces a promising new target for anti-tumor strategies.

Prevalence and risk factors of secondary traumatic stress in emergency call-takers and dispatchers - a cross-sectional study.

Abstract: Background: Emergency call-takers and dispatchers (ECDs) field emergency calls and dispatch the appropriate emergency services. Exposure to the callers’ traumatic experiences can lead to psychologi...