As evidenced by outbreak investigations, the cutaneous commensal flora of the patient or health care workers is the usual source of the infecting organism.1,11,56,58 Apart from contamination during insertion or following administration of a contaminated parenteral solution, catheters may become infected by migration of organism from the exit site along the outer catheter wall or from the hub through the lumen of the catheter, adherence of the organism to the catheter material

with biofilm production, resulting in local replication and shedding of the organism in the blood.71,73–77 Microbial check details and host factors may play a role in localising the organisms to the catheter or in progression to fungaemia and clinical sepsis.62,78 However, even if host defences are able to clear the organism from the blood, the infection may not be resolved until the catheter is removed. Similar to catheter-related candidaemia, catheter-related Malassezia fungaemia has been associated with administration of parenteral lipid emulsions. While the exact mechanisms of this association remain unclear, it is conceivable that lipids administered through the catheter may provide a growth advantage for Selleckchem Autophagy inhibitor Malassezia.56,58,76,79

On the other hand, parenterally administered lipids may negatively affect host immunity by blocking the reticuloendothelial system, reducing the generation of reactive oxygen species and decreasing phagocytosis by neutrophils in vitro and thereby contribute to clinical disease.73 The clinical signs and symptoms of Malassezia fungaemia and sepsis are generally non-specific. Depending on the severity of the infection, the most commonly reported symptoms in critically ill, premature infants have been fever and respiratory distress; other less frequent symptoms include lethargy,

bradycardia, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, seizures and cyanosis.22,58,80 Respiratory distress may result in pneumonia or bronchopneumonia with an interstitial appearance on radiography. The main laboratory findings in this setting are leucocytosis or leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Affected patients usually are premature, low birth weight infants with multiple co-morbidities, extended hospitalisation, central venous catheters and parenteral nutrition including lipid emulsions.10,21,54,56,81,82 Catheter-associated Malassezia fungaemia is sporadic in immunocompromised RG7420 ic50 children and in adults and therefore clinical manifestations are not as well described as in infants. Fever appears to be universal;71 other symptoms and findings may include chills and rigours, myalgia, nausea and vomiting, respiratory distress with or without apnea, pneumonia, leucopenia, thrombocytosisis and less frequently, leucocytosis; signs of exit site inflammation are uncommon.2,12,59,71 Similar to the neonatal setting, the most common patient profile includes prolonged hospitalisation, the presence of central venous catheters and the use of intravenous fat emulsions.

After 4 hr the numbers of cells migrated to the bottom wells or not were determined by flow cytometric analysis of the content of the bottom wells and the inserts, respectively, on a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences). The migration rate was calculated by division of the number of cells in the bottom well by the total number of cells present in the insert and in the bottom well. As a control, the number of cells added to the inserts was determined by flow cytometric analysis on

a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences). 5 × 106 BMDCs d8 were loaded with 2 µM fluo-3 AM with an excitation maximum at 506 nm and an emission maximum at 526 nm (Molecular Probes, Leiden, R788 in vitro the Netherlands) in supplemented RPMI 1640 medium for 20 min. After washing for two times with fresh medium in supplemented RPMI 1640 medium were seeded at a density

of 1 × 106 BMDCs in uncoated six-well plates and stimulated or not with 500 ng/mL LPS up GSK 3 inhibitor to 4 hr. At the indicated time points 1.25 × 105 cells were harvested and 2000 cells each were analyzed for the mean Ca2+-dependent fluo-3 AM fluorescence intensity (excitation wave length 488 nm, detection wave length 530 nm) on an LSRFortessa™ cytometer using FACSDiva™ software version 6.1.3 (both from BD Biosciences). 1 × 106 BMDCs d8 in supplemented RPMI 1640 medium were seeded in uncoated 24-well plates (Greiner Bio-One) and stimulated or not with 500 ng/mL LPS (Calbiochem) for 4 hr. Thereafter, cells were harvested, centrifuged (400g, 5 min), and the pellet was resuspended in 50 µL PBS. After addition of 0.5 µg biotin-conjugated anti-mouse CCR7 clone 4B12 (eBioscience,

Frankfurt, Germany) and 0.2 µg APC-labeled anti-mouse CD11c (HL3) (BD Pharmingen 550261, Heidelberg, Germany) antibodies cells were incubated for 30 min on ice. After washing with PBS cells were resuspended in 50 µL PBS and incubated with 0.5 µg Streptavidin-PE antibodies (BD Pharmingen 554061) for 30 min on ice to detect binding of the biotin-conjugated CCR7 antibodies. After washing with PBS cells were analyzed by an LSRFortessa™ cytometer using FACSDiva™ software version 6.1.3. The expression CCR7 on BMDCs was determined by gating on double-positive (CD11c+/CCR7+) cells. The unpaired two-tailed Ureohydrolase Student’s t-test was used to evaluate differences in means between two groups. P-values were considered statistically significant if *P < 0.05, **P <0.01, or ***P < 0.001. LPS signaling can induce maturation and migration of DCs [7]. Additionally, it has been described that cell swelling is essential for N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)-induced migration of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes [12]. Additionally, swelling of DCs has been observed after treatment with LPS for 4 hr [13]. Hence, in order to analyze the role of TLR4 signaling in LPS-induced cell volume changes, we analyzed cell volume changes of immature WT and TLR4−/− BMDCs at different time points after addition of LPS.

Intradialytic changes in protein concentrations were assessed using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the association serum https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Bortezomib.html Fet-A or serum RR and other baseline variables. Two-tailed P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. All analyses were

performed with spss version 20 (IBM Corporation, Chicago, IL, USA). One hundred and seven participants were recruited to the study, comprising 11 patients with pre-dialysis CKD (CKD group), 18 undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD group), 36 prevalent haemodialysis patients (HD group), six patients with CUA on HD, 13 with chronic inflammatory disease but normal renal function (CID group) and 24 healthy adults (control group). Group characteristics are summarized in Table 1. Medication use at recruitment is shown in Table S1. Mean dialysis vintage was significantly longer in HD patients (68 ± 8 months) compared with PD patients (12 ± 3 months) (P < 0.001). Serum Fet-A RR remained below the limit of quantification (<4.7%) for all subjects in the healthy control group. Conversely, serum Fet-A RR levels were detectable in all patients in CKD, PD and HD groups and majority of patients with CID (11 of 13). As shown in Figure 1A, serum Fet-A RR were higher in the HD group compared with PD, CKD and CID groups.

Fet-A RR were also higher in PD patients compared with CKD and CID groups. CKD and CID groups, on the other hand, did not differ significantly in terms of Fet-A RR. The six patients with CUA had the highest mean Fet-A RR of 69% compared with only 37% in those on dialysis but without CUA (P < 0.001). Compared with the control group, serum total Fet-A

c-Met inhibitor concentrations were lower in CKD, PD and HD groups, as well as in the CID group. CID, CKD, PD and HD groups did not differ significantly with respect to serum total Fet-A concentrations (Fig. 1B). Serum CRP concentrations were significantly higher in CID, PD and Adenosine triphosphate HD groups compared with healthy controls. The CKD group had lower CRP concentrations than CID, PD and HD groups (Fig. 1C). Pre- and post-HD samples were available in 15 patients. Post-HD serum Fet-A and CRP concentrations were corrected for haemoconcentration according to changes in BW. During dialysis, median BW decreased from 76.2 kg (58.8–88.5) to 74.1 kg (57.0–85.5) after HD (P = 0.007). Figure 2 depicts the intradialytic changes in serum CPP, Fet-A and CRP concentrations. Post-HD serum Fet-A RR were significantly lower than pre-HD levels (P < 0.001). Serum total Fet-A and CRP concentrations also reduced during dialysis, but proportionately less than serum Fet-A RR. Uncorrected intradialytic changes in serum Fet-A and CRP concentrations are presented in Table S2. Correlational analysis of serum total Fet-A concentrations and Fet-A RR in combined CID, CKD, PD and HD groups (n = 83) is shown in Table 2. Serum Fet-A concentrations were inversely correlated with serum Fet-A RR (r = −0.242, P = 0.

Hybridization to Affymetrix Human Gene 1·0 ST arrays MLN0128 mouse (764 885 probe sets, representing 28 869 annotated genes), staining, washing and scanning (Scanner 3000) procedures were performed as described by Affymetrix and performed by the Erasmus MC Center for Biomics. Probe set summarization, array QC and annotations

of the probe sets were performed using Affymetrix ‘Gene Expression Consolle’ (Affymetrix). All the different QC metrics analysed met the standards required by Affymetrix and showed an overall comparability of the signal distribution obtained from the different arrays. Principal component analysis was used to assess the underlying structure of the data set and define correlation relationships among samples (Partek Inc., St Louis, MO USA). Probe sets expressed differentially among conditions were identified using the class comparison tool implemented in BRB ArrayTools (National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA). Briefly, we identified genes that were expressed differentially among the two classes using a random-variance t-test. The random-variance t-test is an improvement over the standard separate t-test as it permits

sharing information among genes about within-class variation without assuming that all genes NVP-BEZ235 have the same variance. Genes were considered statistically significant if their P-value was less than 0·0001. A stringent significance threshold was used to limit the number of false positive findings. A ‘per gene’ estimate of the false discovery rates among genes passing the test was also computed. The false discovery rate associated with a row of the table is an estimate of the proportion of the genes with univariate P-values less than or equal to the one in that row that represent false positives. The Benjamini–Hochberg method for false discovery rate control was used for this estimation [32,33]. Genes passing the test threshold were clustered and displayed as a heatmap using Spotfire (Spotfire Inc., Somerville, MA, USA). The change in gene expression of a number of genes (IDO, IL-6, IL-8, CXCL10) as measured by microarray was confirmed

by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase chain reaction (RT–PCR). In brief, ASC were precultured under control, MLR (in transwell culture systems) or cytokine conditions and trypsinized at day 7. Total RNA was isolated and cDNA synthesized as described previously [34]. Quantitative gene expression was determined using TaqMan Universal PCR Master Mix and assays-on-demand for IDO (Hs 00158027.m1), IL-6 (Hs 00174131.m1), IL-8 (Hs00174114.m1) and CXCL10 (Hs 00171042.m1) (all Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) on a StepOnePlus (Applied Biosystems). Data were analysed using paired t-test or Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test depending on the distribution of the data as tested with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normality.

Thus, local synthesis of 1α25VitD3 in tissues may influence Treg frequency, although what constitutes “physiological” levels of 1α25VitD3 generated locally in tissues, and how these reflect observations from in vitro studies is as yet difficult to ascertain. Production of 1 × 10−9–6 × 10−8 M 1α25VitD3 by antigen presenting cells has been reported [39, 42], which is not that dissimilar to what is used in the present study. In summary, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is increasing being Sorafenib price associated with a wide

range of immune-mediated pathologies [22, 43]. In a translational setting, these data suggest that 1α25VitD3, over a broad concentration range, is likely to be safe and effective in enhancing the frequency of both Foxp3+ and IL-10+ Treg cell populations in patients. We believe, Selleck BAY 80-6946 supported by our data and others, that vitamin D delivered either through supplementation or pharmacologically, including novel derivatives that lack the side effect of hypercalcaemia,

could prove candidates for increasing the frequency of Treg cell populations in patients. This type of approach may be particularly amenable in patients where individually tailored therapies are impractical. Wild-type C57BL/6 and genetically modified Foxp3GFP C57BL/6 [44] and TCR transgenic (TCR7) mice on a Rag1–/– background specific for hen egg lysozyme [45] crossed to Foxp3GFP C57BL/6 (Foxp3GFP TCR7 Rag1−/−) mice [46] were bred and maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions at NIMR according to the Home Office UK Animals (Scientific

Procedures) Act 1986 Edoxaban and used at 8–12 weeks of age. PBMCs were obtained from normal healthy individuals in the majority of experiments. The Ethics Committee at Guy’s Hospital approved the study and all donors provided informed consent. Twelve pediatric patients with severe therapy-resistant asthma were also studied (Supporting Information Table 1). Severe therapy-resistant asthma was defined as persistent chronic symptoms of airway obstruction, despite treatment with high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and trials of add on drugs, and/or recurrent severe asthma exacerbations. All children had been through a detailed protocol to optimize adherence and other aspects of basic management, as far as possible [47, 21]. Bronchoscopies in the pediatric subjects were performed as previously described [48]. The Royal Brompton Hospital Ethics Committee approved the study; written age-appropriate informed consent was obtained from parents and children. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured using a two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography system–tandem mass spectrometry. Human PBMCs were isolated as previously described [12]. CD4+ T cells were purified by positive selection using Dynabeads (Invitrogen; typical purity 98.5%) or cell sorting (typical purity 99.

Work comparing CVID patients with a cohort of healthy controls showed only minor differences in CD20+CD27+CD43lo–int cell numbers when existing CD27+ B cell deficiencies were taken into account. Further work including absolute cell count measurements and functional assays is required with CVID patients to ascertain what role, if any, this B cell subset plays

in the pathogenesis of this disease. We would like to thank the patients and controls for their time and generosity. We would also like to thank staff members ABT263 of the Clinical Immunology Laboratory for their help in this study. There are no disclosures associated with this work. “
“Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic disease, with early activation of the immune system. The aim of our work was to address how SSc–mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), although senescent, might preserve specific immunomodulatory abilities during SSc. MSCs were obtained from 10 SSc

patients and 10 healthy controls (HC). Senescence LDK378 research buy was evaluated by assessing cell cycle, β-galactosidase (β-Gal) activity, p21 and p53 expression; doxorubicin was used as acute senescence stimulus to evaluate their ability to react in stressed conditions. Immunomodulatory abilities were studied co-culturing MSCs with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and CD4+ cells, in order to establish both their ability to block proliferation in mixed lymphocyte reaction and in regulatory T cells (Tregs) induction. SSc–MSC showed an increase of senescence biomarkers. Eighty per cent of MSCs were in G0–G1 phase, without significant differences between SSc and HC. SSc–MSCs showed an increased positive β-Gal staining and higher p21 transcript level compared to HC cells. After doxorubicin, β-Gal staining increased significantly in SSc–MSCs. On the contrary, doxorubicin abolished

p21 activation and elicited p53 induction both in SSc– and HC–MSCs. Interleukin (IL)-6 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-related transcripts and their protein levels were significantly higher in SSc–MSCs. The latter maintained their immunosuppressive effect on lymphocyte proliferation and induced a functionally regulatory phenotype on T cells, Protein kinase N1 increasing surface expression of CD69 and restoring the regulatory function which is impaired in SSc. Increased activation of the IL-6 pathway observed in our cells might represent an adaptive mechanism to senescence, but preserving some specific cellular functions, including immunosuppression. Several studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent an attractive option for new therapeutic biological approaches of autoimmune diseases, due to their plasticity, multi-differentiative potential and immunosuppressive function [1-3].

The abundantly sporulating strains CBS 330.53 (arrhizus) and CBS 390.34 (delemar) were used for illustrations. Observations were done using both light microscope Nikon Eclipse 80i, equipped with differential interference contrast (DIC). Branching patterns were observed with a Nikon SMZ1500 stereomicroscope. The fungal material for microscopic slide preparation was mounted in water. Photos were made by means

of a Nikon camera (Digital Sight 5M114780, Nikon, Japan). Fourty strains (Table 1) representing both varieties equally were selected to test their enzymatic activities. Tests for gelatin liquefaction and the presence of urease, siderophores, lipase, amylase, cellulase, laccase, and tyrosinase were performed. A detailed description of these tests is given in

Pexidartinib price Dolatabadi et al. [23] Briefly, all strains were incubated at 30 °C, with incubation times varying with the test. The basal medium described by Maas et al. [24] was used for lipase, amylase, cellulase test and as negative control for these test. To test the presence of lipase, 0.1 g CaCl2 and 1% olive oil were added to the basal medium.[24] Colony diameters were measured after 2 and 3 days. For the amylase test, the basal medium was amended with 1% starch. Hydrolysis was detected by using iodine (10%). The diameter of the hydrolytic zone determined the level of activity. For the detection of cellulase (endoglucanase or CMCase) the basal medium was supplemented with carboxy-methylcellulose (1% CMC, Sigma, Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands).[25] GSK-3 inhibitor Plates were incubated for 10 days. An aqueous solution of Congo red was used for 15 min to visualize the zone of hydrolysis. Then the plate was flooded 15 min with 1 M NaCl, followed by stabilization with 1 M HCl.[26] For the tyrosinase (cresolase) spot test, the indicator p-cresol (0.1 M) was used.[27]

For this test the fungal isolates were grown on 2.5% MEA for 2 days. The laccase test was based on the green halo around the colony CYTH4 in reaction on 0.3% 2-2′-azino-di-3-ethylbenzthiazolinsulfonate (ABTS). Gelatin liquefaction was tested using indicator solution described in Dolatabadi et al. [23] Positive result was reported by presence of a halo after 10 min. For siderophores, the strains were grown on siderophore medium[28] and a red color change of the colony after 2 days was measured. The presence of urease was performed on Christensen′s agar (1 g peptone, 1 g glucose, 5 g NaCl, 2 g KH2PO4, 0.012 g phenol red as indicator in 1 L distilled water, pH = 6.8, 20% urea; filter-sterilized) that shows a pink to red color change after 3 days incubation in case of a positive reaction. With incubation longer than 3 days color changes were due to oxidation and were discarded as false results. Cryptococcus neoformans CBS 7926 and uninoculated medium were used as positive and negative controls.

[20] Death with functioning graft due to infections is the most common cause of patient loss in our transplant scenario. KPD is safe, cost-effective. KPD is just like any other conventional transplant but it entails: (i) eligible pair availability; (ii) state legislative permission which would take a long time;

(iii) a large pool of recipients and donors to choose from; and most importantly (iv) more than one transplant team. High donor-recipient age difference should not be a major barrier for KPD, particularly when the size of donor pool is small. KTx recipients of live related and unrelated donors have similar graft and patient survival even when the donor is up to 30 years older than the recipient. Thus, LD, who are up to 30

years older than their recipients, selleck chemicals provide kidneys of excellent quality. These findings are of relevance when considering KPD because the chance of finding a suitable match should not be unnecessarily limited by unjustified restrictions on the perceived disadvantage of high donor-recipient age difference.[21, 22] Comparatively short waiting time in KPD will save the cost of maintenance dialysis and selleck chemical associated morbidity and mortality.[23] Our study comparing outcomes of KPD (n = 34) versus LDKTx (n = 190) showed similar graft survival, patient survival and rejection rates over 2 years post-transplantation. not The effect of HLA mismatches on adverse graft survival in KPD group was diminished by

using thymoglobulin and maintenance immunosuppression with prednisolone, tacrolimus and mycophenolate.[19] Prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) does not result in an inferior outcome in any group with >2 h CIT compared with the 0–2 h CIT. Comparable long-term outcome for these grafts suggests that transport of LD organs may be feasible instead of transporting the donor where CIT < 8 h. KPD can be extended from single-centre two-way ‘swaps’ to multicentre KPD chains in which LD organs could be shipped without compromising outcome.[24] End stage kidney disease patients with compatible, but fully HLA mismatched donors over 45 years of age should be approached for inclusion in KPD programs, especially O blood group donors.[25] The participation of compatible pairs nearly doubles the match rate for incompatible pairs.[26, 27] We should identify as many compatible pairs as possible, to maximize the number of matched pairs, and ensure that we address the needs of specific populations, including children and highly sensitized candidates.

It has been demonstrated that ERK1/2 pathway plays a vital role in EMT. An ancient formula named QiFu Decoction (QFD) has been used to treat CON in China for many years. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms in vivo remain unknown. In this research, we investigated the effects of the combination of astragaloside and aconitine, two effective ingredients extracted from QFD in CON rats, and the related-mechanism of ameliorating RTIF by modulating ERK1/2 pathway. Methods: Sprague-Dawley

(SD) rats were given adenine (150 mg/kg/d) for 2 weeks and unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) operation at the end of week 2 to produce CON. Some BAY 73-4506 CON rats were given the combination of astragaloside and aconitine (0.4 g/kg/d), while some others were given enalapril

(0.02 g/kg/d) for 3 weeks. Age and weight-matched rats were used as normal controls. Renal function, urinary beta2-MG and NAG, as well as tubulointerstitial histopathological changes were detected, respectively. The protein expressions of phenotype of EMT in renal tissue including E-cadherin and alpha-SMA, profibrotic cytokines containing TGF-beta1 and CTGF, as well as phosphorylated-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2), the key molecule in ERK 1/2 pathway, were observed by Western blots, respectively. Results: Adenine and UUO operation learn more successfully induced CON models, which performed significant abnormal renal function, mass low-molecular Calpain weight proteinuria, and extracellular matrix deposition in tubulointerstitial district. After orally given the combination therapy for 3 weeks, low-molecular weight proteinuria and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis were reduced. In addition, the E-cadherin protein

expression was up-regulated, while alpha-SMA, TGF-beta1, CTGF, and p-ERK1/2 protein expressions were down-regulated. However, the renal dysfunction cannot be improved by the combination therapy. Abnormalities in urinary parameters and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis could also be attenuated by enalapril. Conclusion: RTIF can be ameliorated in CON rats by the combination of astragaloside and aconitine treatment via regulating E-cadherin, alpha-SMA, TGF-beta1, and CTGF protein expressions, as well as inhibiting ERK1/2 pathway. HAGIWARA MASAHIRO, HIWATASHI AKIRA, KAI HIRAYASU, USUI JOICHI, MORITO NAOKI, SAITO CHIE, YOH KEIGYO, YAMAGATA KUNIHIRO Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba Introduction: Podocalyxin (PCX), the major sialoprotein of glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) is expressed on apical membrane, and helps maintain the architecture of the foot process and the patency of the filtration slits.

, 2010), different sequences of the groESL operon were found in two genetic lineages. A much lower diversity of sequences of groESL operon has been detected in samples from dogs and wild boar (Sus scrofa) from Slovenia. In dogs, two genetic variants and in wild boar one genetic variant, genetic variant of A. phagocytophilum have been established (Strašek Smrdel et al., 2008a, b). These sequences clustered in one genetic

lineage, together with red deer sequences. Despite the fact that great diversity of groESL operon sequences in ticks and deer in Slovenia has been detected (Petrovec et al., 2002; Strašek Smrdel et al., 2010), only one genetic variant was present among all tested (27) human patients from this study, as well as in wild boar samples from previous study (Strašek Smrdel et al., 2008b). An identical

variant of CX-4945 the groESL operon has previously been found also in ticks I. ricinus (Petrovec et al., 1999; Strašek Smrdel et al., 2010), dog samples (Strašek Smrdel et al., 2008a), and a human patient (Petrovec et al., 1999) in Slovenia, but not in roe deer and red deer samples (Petrovec et al., 2002). Results from this and previous studies of wild boar, deer, tick, human, and dog samples from Slovenia might suggest that wild boar could represent a reservoir for a variant of the groESL operon of A. phagocytophilum that causes human Galunisertib mouse anaplasmosis in human patients and dogs from Slovenia. On the other hand, only this variant might be competent enough to replicate in wild boar, dogs, and humans, but not in deer. In contrast to our results, in the neighboring country Austria, two genotypes of groEL gene in two human

patients have been found recently. They differ in a single A/G polymorphism (Haschke-Becher et al., 2010). After all, although Slovenia has the largest number of PCR detected and sequenced human samples of A. phagocytophilum so far, it might also be a country too small to detect greater genetic diversity among human samples of anaplasmosis. This is the first report of the PCR-confirmed human cases of anaplasmosis in Slovenia. No variability in the groESL operon among human patients in IKBKE Slovenia has been found. The same genotype of the groESL operon was found in human and wild boar samples. Is it possible that wild boar might serve as a reservoir for this variant of A. phagocytophilum in Slovenia? Or is this variant competent enough to replicate only in boar and humans? Other genetic markers need to be analyzed from multiple strains to draw a final conclusion. “
“Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA In species other than mouse, little is known about the origin and development of marginal zone (MZ) B cells. Using cross-reactive antibodies, we identified and characterized splenic MZ B cells in rabbits as CD27+CD23−.