This patient has received 9 vaccines with peptides only in a randomized trial to receive immunizations either with I3 DC (DC generated with interferon-beta and interleukin-3) or with G4 DC (DC generated with GM-CSF and IL-4). Up to now, in Cycle 3, immunizations have been continued with peptide-only injections of all 9 peptides except Tyrosinase at 12 weeks intervals. For the continuation of the vaccinations the clinicians have decided to inject the patient at 6 months intervals. The patient who clinically showed Partial Response at the end of cycle 1 is curre...

These K/O mice were studied with regard to responses to viral infections. We used the mouse pox virus Ectromelia and MVA-BN. Coinfection with MVA-BN and Ectromilia protected the IFNalpha receptor -/- mice. The data show that MVA-BN can induce potent innate immune responses able to control viral replication to allow the specific immune response to eliminate Ectromelia in immune deficient mice.

IDO appears critical for the regulation of TNBS colitis upon CTLA-4 engagement, as the beneficial effect of anti-CTLA-4 treatment was lost in IDO-deficient mice. By contrast, the absence of IDO did not alter the course of inflammation in mice injected with TNBS only, an unexpected finding which suggests that IDO-dependent counter-regulation requires other factors/cells in addition to IDO production and T cell activation by TNBS.

We established “human hemato-lymphoid-system mice” by transplanting human CD34+ cord blood cells into irradiated newborn Rag2-/-gc-/- mice, leading to de novo development of human B, T, and dendritic cells.

The mice were infected with EBV and mount an immune response (i.e. cytotoxic T cell proliferation, some control of EBV driven B cell proliferation, perforine and granzyme expressing T cell infiltration in B cell infected areas in lymphoid organs in situ), however, specific T cells could not be detected directly ex vivo by looking at the most common EBV derived/presented epitopes (tetramer staining). Some animals developed EBV induced B cell lymphoproliferative disease.

These mice were infected with both CXCR4 as well as CCR5 tropic HIV-1 strains. HIV causes a disseminated infection and spreads in all newly generated lymphoid tissues, thus closely resembling HIV infection in humans. We are now aiming to improve the recipient mouse background by co-transplanting human mesenchymal stroma cells, and by adding human cytokines as well as human MHC. Furthermore, we use the mice to evaluate targeted therapies directed at human immune system cells as T cells, B cells, and dendritic cells.

The patients are immunized with autologous DC loaded with KLH, as immunological tracer, and an allogeneic peptidome (i.e. natural tumour peptides, NTPs), obtained from melanoma cell line SK-Mel24.

These patients undergo leukapheresis and later intradermal administration of the produced vaccine (V administrations of autologous dendritic cells generated from adherent peripheral blood monocytes and subject to quality controls - with eventual additional ones depending on clinical outcome).

Hu-SCID mice were used to study responses to EBV and HIV.

An HLA-A2 positive healthy donor underwent leukapheresis with the aim to generate monocyte derived DC under GMP conditions.

These patients undergo leukapheresis and later intradermal administration of the produced vaccine (V administrations of autologous dendritic cells generated from adherent peripheral blood monocytes and subject to quality controls - with eventual additional ones depending on clinical outcome).

The patients are immunized with autologous DC loaded with KLH, as immunological tracer, and an allogeneic peptidome (i.e. natural tumour peptides, NTPs), obtained from melanoma cell line SK-Mel24.

Blood samples and tumour biopsies will be taken from these newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients in order to carry out a preclinical study in which circulating tumour-specific CD8+ T-cells will be detected in their blood. In order to obtain the blood samples and tumour biopsies, a file has been submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Erasme Hospital and has been recently approved.

We found that the cooperation between IFNalpha,beta and Flt3L (FL) plays an important role in the defense against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in neonates. Treatment of neonatal mice with recombinant IFNalpha has a short-term, FL-independent and a long-term, FL-dependent protective effect against HSV-1. In mice lacking FL, neonatal resistance against HSV-1 is very low and DC numbers in the spleen are reduced. The treatment of these mice with rIFNalpha at day 6 resulted in an increased resistance against infection with HSV-1 at day 7. In C57BL/6 mice, tr...

DCs with blocked beta-glucan, mannan and chitin receptors were exposed to these fungi.

The mice were generated with the intention to elucidate in vivo DC developmental regions in steady state and inflammation in situ.

This patient has received 6 vaccines with peptide only in a randomized trial to receive immunizations either with I3 DC (DC generated with interferon-beta and interleukin-3) or with G4 DC (DC generated with GM-CSF and IL-4). The patient received a sequence of six immunizations every two weeks, consisting of autologous dendritic cells loaded with the 8 HLA-A2 restricted peptides and MAGE.3-DP4 in Cycle 1. In Cycle 2, the patient received a sequence of three immunizations every six weeks, consisting of autologous dendritic cells loaded with the 8 HLA-A2 restric...

These mice were generated with the intention to elucidate in vivo DC developmental regions in steady state and inflammation in situ.

We found a novel M-CSF dependent DC developmental pathway that is independent of Flt3L. These DC have unique characteristics and precursor origin. The cells can be found in vivo in Flt3L gene deleted (-/-) mice injected with recombinant M-CSF.

Three groups of end stage cervical cancer patients (in total N=35) were subcutaneously vaccinated with HPV16 E6 combined with or separated from HPV16 E7 overlapping long peptides in Montanide ISA-51 adjuvant, 4 times at three week intervals. Group 1 received 300 microgram per peptide at a single site, group 2 received 100 microgram per peptide of the E6 peptides in one limb, and 300 microgram per peptide of the E7 peptides in a second limb. Group 3 received separate injections of E6 and E7 peptides, each at a dose of 50 micrograms per peptide. The primary endpo...