Killed Propionibacterium acnes enhances immunogenicity and tumor growth control of a dendritic-tumor cell hybrid vaccine in a murine melanoma model.

Hybrid vaccines have been investigated in clinical and experimental studies once expresses total antigens of a tumor cell combined with the ability of a dendritic cell (DC) to stimulate immune responses. However, the response triggered by these vaccines is often weak, requiring the use of adjuvants to increase vaccine immunogenicity. Killed Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) exerts immunomodulatory effects by increasing the phagocytic and tumoricidal activities of macrophages, promoting DC maturation, inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines production and increasing the humoral response to different antigens. Here, we evaluated the effect of P. acnes on a specific antitumor immune response elicited by a hybrid vaccine in a mouse melanoma model. Hybrid vaccine associated with P. acnes increased the absolute number of memory T cells, the IFN-γ secretion by these cells and the IgG-specific titers to B16F10 antigens, polarizing the immune response to a T helper 1 pattern. Furthermore, the addition of P. acnes to a hybrid vaccine increased the cytotoxic activity of splenocytes toward B16F10 in vitro and avoided late tumor progression in a pulmonary colonization model. These results revealed the adjuvant effect of a killed P. acnes suspension, as it improved specific humoral and cellular immune responses elicited by DC-tumor cell hybrid vaccines.

Maternal anxiety and fetal movement patterns in late pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether maternal anxiety affects fetal movement patterns in the third trimester of pregnancy. METHODS: The inclusion criteria were a state of good health and a singleton pregnancy between 36 and 40 weeks. Thirty healthy pregnant women were included. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BA) questionnaire with 21 self-reported items validated for the Brazilian population was applied. The women were asked to record the number of minutes taken to perceive 10 fetal movements once a day for one week. Anxiety symptoms were rated as moderate or severe according to the BAI total score. RESULTS: The mean BAI score was 20.8 (SD = 10.2) and the mean time to count 10 fetal movements was 24.3 min (SD = 6.6 min). The BAI items significantly associated with moderate or severe maternal anxiety were numbness or tingling, fear of the worst happening, terrified, feeling of choking, fear of losing control and fear of dying. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the total BAI score and the mean time of 10 perceived fetal movements (p < 0.0001; rho = -0.70; 95% CI for rho -0.84 to -0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal anxiety seems to affect fetal movement patterns in late pregnancy and is associated with the mother's increased perception of fetal activity.