OBJECTIVE: Abscopal effects have been reported predominantly in metastatic cancers, indicating a radiographic response in a lesion that has not been included in the radiotherapy target volume. The response is interpreted as a humoral immune response to radiotherapy-generated tumour-specific antigens. In this case study, we present the first histologically confirmed multifocal low-grade meningioma with spontaneous regression of all other lesions after conventionally fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (RT).
METHODS: Two localisations, right frontal and right spheno-orbital, were resected at the time of the initial diagnosis in a 66-year-old woman. RT was performed 1 year later to a progressive occipital lesion at the cerebral falx.
RESULTS: Regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed slightly decreasing tumour volume in untreated lesions 1 year after RT and continued during further follow-up. Up to > 7 years after treatment, MRI demonstrated an almost complete response of all initial lesions. Two prior reports with meningioma were published in one patient with an atypical meningioma after conventionally fractionated RT and another patient with an intracranial meningiomatosis after radiosurgery.
CONCLUSIONS: This case study supports the concepts of treating only progressive or symptomatic meningioma lesions locally and careful regular MRI surveillance for further assessment. Potential active interventions to trigger an abscopal effect are currently not known. Further research of this beneficial effect for our patients should be supported.

Aeromonas species cause a wide spectrum of human diseases, primarily gastroenteritis, septicemia, and wound infections. Several studies have shown that about 40% of these cases involve mixed or polymicrobial infections between Aeromonas spp. and bacteria from other genera. However, the immune response of macrophages in front of the bacteria present in the mixed infections, as well as their impact on antimicrobial therapy, have not been investigated. This study evaluated the cell damage and immune response of the mouse macrophage BALB/c cell line (J774A.1) after performing a single and a mixed infection with a strain of Aeromonas caviae and Yersinia enterocolitica, both recovered from the same fecal sample from a patient with diarrhea. Macrophage cell damage was measured by the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) while the immune response was evaluated studying the expression by RT-qPCR of six relevant immune-related genes. Additionally, the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the single and mixed strains in front of seventeen antibiotics was evaluated to determine the potential impact on the infection treatment. Macrophages infected with the mixture of the two strains showed a higher cell damage in comparison with the single infections and the immune-related genes, i.e., cytokines and chemokines genes (TNF-α, CCL20), and apoptotic and pyroptotic genes (TP53 and IL-1β) were overexpressed. After infection with the mixed cultures, an increase in the antimicrobial resistance was observed for ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and ertapenem. This study increased the knowledge about the synergetic effect of the bacteria involved in mixed infection and on their potential impact on the treatment and evolution of the infection.

Vaccinated convalescents do not develop severe COVID-19 after infection with new SARS-CoV-2 variants. We questioned how messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination of convalescents provides protection from emerging virus variants. From the cohort of 71 convalescent plasma donors, we identified a patient who developed immune response to infection with SARS-CoV-2 variant of 20A clade and who subsequently received mRNA vaccine encoding spike (S) protein of strain of 19A clade. We showed that vaccination increased the production of immune cells and anti-S antibodies in the serum. Serum antibodies neutralized not only 19A and 20A, but also 20B, 20H, 21J, and 21K virus variants. One of the serum antibodies (100F8) completely neutralized 20A, 21J, and partially 21K strains. 100F8 was structurally similar to published Ab188 antibody, which recognized non-conserved epitope on the S protein. We proposed that 100F8 and other serum antibodies of the patient which recognized non- and conserved epitopes of the S protein, could have additive or synergistic effects to neutralize various virus variants. Thus, mRNA vaccination could be beneficial for convalescents because it boosts production of neutralizing antibodies with broad-spectrum activity.

UNASSIGNED: With the expected increase in patients with heart failure and ischemic 15 cardiomyopathy, the development of myocardial regenerative medicine using cell transplantation as a novel treatment method is progressing. This first-in-human clinical trial aimed to confirm the safety of cardiomyocyte patch transplantation derived from allogeneic induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells based on the results of several preclinical studies.
UNASSIGNED: The inclusion criteria were left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less; heart failure symptoms of New York Heart Association class III or higher despite existing therapies such as revascularization; and a 1-year observation period that included a 3-month immunosuppressive drug administration period after transplantation of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte patches to evaluate adverse events, cardiac function, myocardial blood flow, heart failure symptoms, and immune response.
UNASSIGNED: In the first three cases of this trial, no transplanted cell-related adverse events were observed during the 1-year observation period, and improvement in heart failure symptoms was observed. In addition, improvements in left ventricular contractility and myocardial blood flow were observed in two of the three patients. Regarding immune response, an increase in transplant cell-specific antibody titer was observed in all three patients after immunosuppressive drug administration. In one patient with poor improvement in cardiac function and myocardial blood flow, an increase in antibody titer against HLA-DQ was observed even before cell transplantation.
UNASSIGNED: Our case findings demonstrate that the transplantation of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte patches for ischemic cardiomyopathy can be safely performed; however, further investigation of the therapeutic effect and its relationship with an immune response is needed by accumulating the number of patients through continued clinical trials.

Introduction: Although safety data demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination for all individuals over 6 months of age, including pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, optimal treatment courses for symptomatic pregnant and lactating individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 remain to be defined. Case Description: A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-vaccinated breastfeeding woman received anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody treatment casirivimab-imdevimab 5 days after diagnosis of a symptomatic breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results and Conclusions: The patient did not present with obvious defects in innate or adaptive cellular subsets, but compared with controls had minimal maternal antibody response to recommended pregnancy vaccinations including SARS-CoV-2 and tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (TDaP). The outcome of the monoclonal antibody infusion treatment was favorable as it transiently increased SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers in plasma and human milk compartments.

The high phenotypic plasticity developed by plants includes rapid responses and adaptations to aggressive or changing environments. To achieve this, they evolved extremely efficient mechanisms of signaling mediated by a wide range of molecules, including small signal molecules. Among them, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) has been largely ignored due to its toxic characteristics. However, not only is it present in living organisms, but it has been shown that it serves several functions in all kingdoms of life. Research using model plants has changed the traditional point of view, and it has been demonstrated that HCN plays a positive role in the plant response to pathogens independently of its toxicity. Indeed, HCN induces a response aimed at protecting the plant from pathogen attack, and the HCN is provided either exogenously (in vitro or by some cyanogenic bacteria species present in the rhizosphere) or endogenously (in reactions involving ethylene, camalexin, or other cyanide-containing compounds). The contribution of different mechanisms to HCN function, including a new post-translational modification of cysteines in proteins, namely S-cyanylation, is discussed here. This work opens up an expanding \'HCN field\' of research related to plants and other organisms.

UNASSIGNED: Intracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) are a relatively rare malignancy in clinical practice. Natural regression of this tumor is also uncommon. We describe a rare case of an intracranial GCT in the thalamus of an adult that showed spontaneous regression and recurrence after steroid therapy.
UNASSIGNED: A 38-year-old male patient\'s MRI of the head suggested space-occupying masses in the left thalamus and midbrain. MRI examination revealed demyelination or granulomatous lesions. After high dose steroid treatment, the symptoms improved. The lesions were significantly reduced on repeat MRI, and oral steroid therapy was continued after discharge. The patient\'s symptoms deteriorated 1 month prior to a re-examination with head MRI, which revealed that the mass within the intracranial space was larger than on the previous image. He revisited the Department of Neurosurgery of our hospital and underwent left thalamic/pontine mass resection on October 16, 2019, and the pathological results showed that the tumor was a GCT.
UNASSIGNED: Intracranial GCTs are rare in the adult thalamus but should be considered in the differential diagnosis. The intracranial GCT regression seen in this case may be a short-lived phenomenon arising from complex immune responses caused by the intervention.

This case series aimed to evaluate the peptide-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) response, clinical effectiveness, and the safety of a personalized peptide vaccine (PPV) in four children with refractory solid cancer. Although the pre-vaccination IgG responses were suppressed, IgG levels against the vaccinated peptides after 12 vaccinations were increased in all three cases who received at least 12 vaccinations. Vaccination-related adverse effects were grade 1 injection-site local skin lesions. One patient, whose diagnosis was relapsed rhabdomyosarcoma, remains in sustained remission after 37 months. Although the pre-vaccination immune response in this patient was low, IgG levels against 2 of the 4 peptide vaccines were increased after the sixth vaccination, followed by a strong increase at the eighteenth vaccination against all 4 peptides, with a >100-fold increase vs. 2 peptides. The remaining three patients exhibited progressive disease and eventually died of their original cancer. The results of the current case series suggest that in cases of childhood solid tumors, when the tumor is controlled at the time of entry PPV may have some consolidation effect. Therefore, PPV could be a new immunotherapy modality for refractory childhood solid tumors.

Colorectal cancers are one of the most prevalent tumour types worldwide and, despite the emergence of targeted and biologic therapies, have among the highest mortality rates. The Personalized OncoGenomics (POG) program at BC Cancer performs whole genome and transcriptome analysis (WGTA) to identify specific alterations in an individual\'s cancer that may be most effectively targeted. Informed using WGTA, a patient with advanced mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer was treated with the antihypertensive drug irbesartan and experienced a profound and durable response. We describe the subsequent relapse of this patient and potential mechanisms of response using WGTA and multiplex immunohistochemistry (m-IHC) profiling of biopsies before and after treatment from the same metastatic site of the L3 spine. We did not observe marked differences in the genomic landscape before and after treatment. Analyses revealed an increase in immune signalling and infiltrating immune cells, particularly CD8+ T cells, in the relapsed tumour. These results indicate that the observed anti-tumour response to irbesartan may have been due to an activated immune response. Determining whether there may be other cancer contexts in which irbesartan may be similarly valuable will require additional studies.

The diagnosis of the post-COVID condition is usually achieved by excluding other diseases; however, cognitive changes are often found in the post-COVID disorder. Therefore, monitoring and treating the recovery from the post-COVID condition is necessary to establish biomarkers to guide the diagnosis of symptoms, including cognitive impairment. Our study employs a prospected cohort and nested case-control design with mixed methods, including statistical analyses, interviews, and focus groups. Our main aim is to identify biomarkers (functional and structural neural changes, inflammatory and immune status, vascular and vestibular signs and symptoms) easily applied in primary care to detect cognitive changes in post-COVID cases. The results will open up a new line of research to inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions with special considerations for cognitive impairment in the post-COVID condition.