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Biomedical subjects

C Hauser

Publications and source records attributed to C Hauser.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Lake Geneva Region guidelines on management of adult asthma].

Asthma is a major cause of chronic morbidity throughout the world. In Switzerland, 6.9% of the adult population is suffering from asthma. The standards of treatment are unfortunately not met in most western countries, as well as in Switzerland. We put forward a complete guideline on management of adult asthma, inspired from GINA and BTS guidelines, and adapted to the specific needs of general practitioners working in french part of Switzerland. This guideline reflects a consensus between allergy, lung and emergency specialists, working in the 2 university hospitals of the Lake Geneva Region (HUG and CHUV).

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Ragweed (Ambrosia) progression and its health risks: will Switzerland resist this invasion?

The purpose of this article is to alert physicians for the environmental and health threats of Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) in Switzerland. Switzerland borders several heavily ragweed colonised areas. Up to 12% of the population suffers from allergies (hay fever, asthma) to ragweed pollen in these areas. Switzerland is beginning to be invaded by this plant. Currently, the ragweed pollen counts are still low but can reach local peaks that induce symptoms in allergic individuals. Ragweed allergy, however, is still rare in Switzerland. Because the amount of ragweed pollen was increasing in the last few years, identification and surveillance of ragweed plant foci was started. Colonisation is currently systematically monitored in Geneva and southern Tessin. Major accumulation of ragweed foci have been detected in the canton of Geneva, the western shore of the lake of Geneva belonging to the canton of Vaud, and in the southern part of the canton of Tessin, aside from minor foci registered all over Switzerland. The routes of ragweed invasion are presented and discussed. Current measures of ragweed containment and needs for the future are presented. The urge for these measures at an early stage of ragweed spread is underlined by the impracticability of eradication in highly colonised areas. The costs of preventing ragweed spread in Switzerland are likely to be several magnitudes lower than the treatment of a significant percentage of the Swiss population for ragweed pollen allergy. Because areas can change from low to heavy ragweed colonisation within a few years, the current window of opportunity to prevent further colonisation by ragweed should not be missed.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2005

[Anaphylaxis: initial management].

Anaphylaxis is an immediate systemic reaction caused by an external agent. Its initial management depends on the severity of the reaction. In case of benign to moderate reaction, anti-histamine and steroid treatment are sufficient to control the process, and management is ambulatory. A severe reaction (hypotension, dyspnea) can be life threatening and adrenalin administration by the intramuscular route is indicated. In this case, it is advocated to observe the evolution for 24 hours in the hospital and the patient should be prescribed adrenaline auto-injectors. It is recommended that individuals who have experienced anaphylaxis should receive consultation from an allergist regarding diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed2003

[Enhanced liposomal transfection through the application of sex steroids in gynecological cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: Liposomal transfection in gene therapeutic application against gynecological malignoma does not reach satisfying efficacy. A desirable goal would be the specific intensification of transfection in these kind of cells. Steroids have successfully been used in other systems to increase liposomal transfection and hopefully there might be a specific impact of sexual steroids in cells from high sex steroid receptor expressing malignoma, like some mamma- and endometrium cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The mamma carcinoma cell line T-47D was transfected with the transfection agent DOTAP and cyclodextrin solubilized steroids and cholesterol were co-applied. The efficiency of transfection was followed by luciferase activity resulting from the transfected reporter gene. RESULTS: Like cholesterol, which is already established as transfection co-agent, also the steroids progesterone, estrogen, testosterone and hydrocortisone provoked a clear increase in transfection efficiency shown in a dose dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the usefulness of steroids as additives for liposomal transfection procedures in gene therapeutic application. As sexual steroid receptors migrate into the nucleus of a cell after binding its specific ligand a targeted enhancement of transfection is supposable in malignoma overexpressing steroid receptors. There is evidence that plasmid DNA can be co-transported with nuclear proteins into the nucleus.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2002

Transcriptional regulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in keratinocytes mediated by interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is an inflammatory skin reaction in which cytokines are thought to play a crucial role. In particular, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has been implicated in the mechanism of this reaction. We report that interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) that has been reported up-regulated in many inflammatory skin conditions is capable of increasing TNF-alpha mRNA and protein expression in murine keratinocytes. Furthermore, we show that TNF-alpha is capable of up-regulating itself in keratinocytes most likely in an autocrine manner. The signalling mechanisms involved in both IL-1beta- and TNF-alpha-mediated regulation of TNF-alpha are critically dependent upon protein kinase C (PKC), as demonstrated by blocking studies using protein kinase inhibitors. Furthermore, the increase in TNF-alpha mRNA expression seen after stimulation with rTNF-alpha and rIL-1beta involved increased transcription of TNF-alpha mRNA. This was demonstrated in a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) assay using a CAT-construct containing the full-length TNF-alpha promoter. These observations support the notion of keratinocytes functioning as an amplifier of pro-inflammatory cytokine generation in the epidermis during ICD and other inflammatory skin conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

In vivo functional proteomics: mammalian genome annotation using CD-tagging.

A self-inactivating CD-tagging retroviral vector was used to introduce epitope and GFP tags into genes and proteins in NIH 3T3 cells. Several hundred cell clones, each expressing GFP fluorescence in a distinctive pattern, were isolated. Molecular analysis showed that a wide variety of genes and proteins, some known and some newly discovered, had been tagged. The analysis also revealed that, in the great majority of instances, the abundance and cellular location of the tagged protein mirrored that of its untagged counterpart. This approach provides a systematic means for the functional annotation of mammalian genomes and proteomes in living cells.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2001

Maturation of dendritic cells is accompanied by rapid transcriptional silencing of class II transactivator (CIITA) expression.

Cell surface expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules is increased during the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). This enhances their ability to present antigen and activate naive CD4(+) T cells. In contrast to increased cell surface MHCII expression, de novo biosynthesis of MHCII mRNA is turned off during DC maturation. We show here that this is due to a remarkably rapid reduction in the synthesis of class II transactivator (CIITA) mRNA and protein. This reduction in CIITA expression occurs in human monocyte-derived DCs and mouse bone marrow-derived DCs, and is triggered by a variety of different maturation stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide, tumor necrosis factor alpha, CD40 ligand, interferon alpha, and infection with Salmonella typhimurium or Sendai virus. It is also observed in vivo in splenic DCs in acute myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein induced experimental autoimmune encephalitis. The arrest in CIITA expression is the result of a transcriptional inactivation of the MHC2TA gene. This is mediated by a global repression mechanism implicating histone deacetylation over a large domain spanning the entire MHC2TA regulatory region.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Hypothalamic amnesia with spontaneous confabulations: a clinicopathologic study.

Previous studies demonstrated that patients producing spontaneous confabulations fail to suppress currently irrelevant memory traces and have anterior limbic lesions, particularly involving the orbitofrontal cortex or the basal forebrain. Here, a woman is described who had sarcoidosis damaging the medial hypothalamus and endocrine dysfunction, and a severe memory failure characterized by spontaneous confabulation, disorientation, and severely impaired free recall with preserved recognition. Isolated hypothalamic damage may produce the same type of memory disorder as orbitofrontal damage.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

A critical role for p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in the maturation of human blood-derived dendritic cells induced by lipopolysaccharide, TNF-alpha, and contact sensitizers.

We investigated the involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in the maturation of CD83(-) dendritic cells (DC) derived from human blood monocytes. Maturating agents such as LPS and TNF-alpha induced the phosphorylation of members of the three families of MAPK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase l/2, p46/54 c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38 MAPK). SB203580, an inhibitor of the p38 MAPK, but not the extracellular signal-regulated kinase l/2 pathway blocker PD98059, inhibited the up-regulation of CD1a, CD40, CD80, CD86, HLA-DR, and the DC maturation marker CD83 induced by LPS and TNF-alpha. In addition, SB203580 inhibited the enhancement of the allostimulatory capacity and partially prevented the down-regulation of FITC-dextran uptake induced by LPS and TNF-alpha. Likewise, SB203580 partially prevented the up-regulation of IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-lRa, and TNF-alpha mRNA upon stimulation with LPS and TNF-alpha, as well as the release of bioactive TNF-alpha induced by LPS. DC maturation induced by the contact sensitizers 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene and NiSO(4), as seen by the up-regulation of CD80, CD86, and CD83, was also coupled to the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, and was inhibited by SB203580. The irritants SDS and benzalkonium chloride that do not induce DC maturation did not trigger p38 MAPK phosphorylation. Together, these data indicate that phosphorylation of p38 MAPK is critical for the maturation of immature DC. These results also suggest that p38 MAPK phosphorylation in DC may become useful for the identification of potential skin contact sensitizers.

Allergens↗
PubMed2001

CD34(+) cord blood cells expressing cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen are enriched in granulocyte-macrophage progenitors and support extensive amplification of dendritic cell progenitors.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the frequency of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) in CD34(+)CLA(+) (cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen) and CD34(+)CLA(-) cord blood cells, and followed cellular growth and HPC production during cultures in Flt3 ligand, thrombopoietin, and stem cell factor (FTS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunomagnetic bead-purified CD34(+) cells were sorted into CD34(+)CLA(+) or CD34(+)CLA(-) cells. HPC frequency was assessed by clonal assays in methylcellulose either ex vivo or after, 7, 14, or 21 days of culture with FTS. Dendritic cell (DC) progenitors were evaluated after induction of FTS-amplified cells into DC using secondary cultures containing granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4. RESULTS: Ex vivo, granulocyte-macrophage progenitors were more frequent and erythroid progenitors were less frequent in the CLA(+) fraction. In FTS culture, CD34(+)CLA(+) cells produced greater absolute numbers of CD34(+) cells, granulocyte-macrophage-, erythroid-, and DC (including Langerhans cell-related) progenitors compared to CD34(+)CLA(-) cells. In CD34(+)CLA(+) cultures, CLA(+) cells steadily decreased with time, and CD34(+)CLA(-) cells appeared. In CD34(+)CLA(-) cultures, CLA(+) cells were generated, increased up to day 7, and decreased thereafter. CLA was expressed only on CD34(-) cells in these cultures. Ex vivo, CD34(+)CLA(+) cells could be subdivided further into CD38(low) and CD38(high) cells. Cord blood and growth factor-mobilized CD34(+) cells contained more CLA(+)CD38(low) cells than nonmobilized peripheral blood CD34(+) cells and proliferated more extensively with FTS than the latter cells. CONCLUSIONS: CD34(+)CLA(+) cells contain a rather immature progenitor capable of high proliferation and extensive amplification of HPC in vitro. This progenitor may be localized in the CD34(+)CLA(+)CD38(low) fraction. In addition, cultures of CD34(+)CLA(+) cells from cord blood produced CD34(+)CLA(-) cells, suggesting that these cells may derive directly from CD34(+)CLA(+) cells in vivo.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed2001

Soy anaphylaxis.

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Adult↗