NASH patients can have significant disease progression over a relatively short period of time and fibrosis might be irreversible without specific interventions.”
“Dendritic cell (DC) homing to the lymphatics and positioning within the lymph node is important for adaptive immunity, and is regulated by gradients of CCL19 and CCL21, ligands for CCR7. Despite the importance of DC chemotaxis, it is not well understood how DCs interpret gradients of these chemokines in a complex 3D microenvironment. this website Here, we use a microfluidic device that allows rapid establishment of stable gradients in 3D matrices to show that DC chemotaxis

in 3D can respond to CCR7 ligand gradients as small as 0.4%, which helps explain how DCs sense lymphatic vessels in an environment where broadcast distance for chemokine diffusion is hindered by convective flows into the vessel. Interestingly, DCs displayed similar sensitivities to both chemokines at small gradients (<= 60 nM/mm), but migrated more efficiently towards higher gradients of CCL21, which unlike CCL19 binds strongly to matrix proteoglycans and signals without the need for internalization. Furthermore, cells preferentially

migrated towards CCL21 when exposed to equal and opposite gradients of CCL21 and CCL19 simultaneously, even when matrix-binding of CCL21 was prevented. Although these ligands have similar binding affinity to CCR7, our results demonstrate that, in a 3D environment, CCL21 is a more potent directional cue for DC migration BI-D1870 than CCL19. These findings provide new quantitative insight into DC chemotaxis in a physiological 3D environment and suggest how CCL19 and CCL21 may signal differently to fine-tune DC homing and positioning within the lymphatic system. These results also have broad relevance to other systems of cell chemotaxis, which remain poorly understood

in the 3D context.”
“Giant FRAX597 ic50 congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) are considered to be premalignant with the highest risk for conversion to melanoma. Solid tumors within giant CMN presenting at birth are relatively unusual, and a variety of malignancies have been reported within these masses. However, the frequency of malignancy in these tumors is unknown. We report the unusual case of a female neonate who was born with 2 large, perianal masses within a giant CMN over her trunk. We resected the larger of the 2 masses because of discomfort and bleeding. The mass consisted of an outgrowth of melanocytes with benign characteristics. The smaller of the 2 masses was managed expectantly and has subsequently decreased in size. We propose that pathologically benign masses within giant CMNs may not require immediate resection. We will discuss the management and pathologic findings of this case and review the literature regarding management of CMN-associated neoplasms arising at birth. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.