Akihito Todate

A Validation and Potential Modification of the Pneumonia Severity Index in Elderly Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the discriminatory power of the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) in elderly patients with community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) and to improve its performance.

Clinicopathological features of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Objective: Only limited information exists concerning the clinical and pathological features of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) in Japan and elsewhere. We present data on clinicopathological features of chronic HP obtained through a Japanese nationwide survey.

Muramyl dipeptide-Lys stimulates the function of human dendritic cells.

Muramyl dipeptide (MDP)‐Lys (L18), a synthetic MDP analogue derived from bacterial cell walls, has been reported to be a potent immunoadjuvant that enhances protective immunity against pathogens and tumors by stimulating immune‐competent cells, such as monocytes and macrophages. However, it is not known whether MDP‐Lys modulates the function of dendritic cells (DCs), which are the most potent antigen‐presenting cells and play a crucial role in initiating T cell‐mediated immunity. Therefore, we examined the effects of MDP‐Lys on the expression of surface molecules, cytokine production, and antigen‐presenting function of human DCs generated from peripheral blood cells in the presence of interleukin (IL)‐4 and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor. We found that MDP‐Lys markedly up‐regulated the expression of CD80, CD83, CD86, and CD40, but not human leukocyte antigen‐DR, and stimulated the production of tumor necrosis factor‐α, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, and IL‐12 (p40) by human DCs in a dose‐dependent manner. Furthermore, MDP‐Lys‐treated DCs showed enhanced antigen‐presenting function compared with untreated DCs, as assessed by an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction. These results suggested that the immunoadjuvant activity of MDP‐Lys in vivo is mediated, in part, by its stimulation of DC function.