SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004 - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

T U M O R I M M U N O L O G Y P R O G R A M
• Currently studying the expression of IL-12
receptor in the T cells from tumor bearers, in
order to determine if the decreased levels of
IFN-gamma observed in T cells from tumor
bearers might also be explained in part because
of a low level of expression of this receptor, in
addition to low levels of IL-12. IL-12 is known
to stimulate the production of interferongamma
(IFN-γ) in naïve T cells.
VLADIMIR VINCEK, M.D., PH.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology
DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH
Progress in the understanding of molecular
events involved in the development and progression
of human disease is revolutionizing the
way diseases are diagnosed and treated. Physicians
and scientists now are harnessing the power of
molecular techniques to diagnose and prognosticate
pathologic disorders. Furthermore, it is now
possible to direct therapeutic agents to specific
products expressed by diseased cells without affecting
normal tissues. On the other hand, while
standard histopathologic methods maintain tissue
architecture for morphologic assessment, they do
not preserve macromolecules. The extraction of
nucleic acids from formaldehyde-fixed, paraffinembedded
tissue, the most widely available material
for clinical studies, is a notoriously unreliable
and irreproducible process. Therefore, macromolecules
usually are extracted from fresh or snapfrozen
tissue specimens. Fresh or frozen tissue
specimens, however, have limited value for the
assessment of histomorphology and cannot be
utilized for long-term retrospective studies. Similarly,
currently available tissue preservatives that
protect nucleic acids cause considerable damage
to the cell and tissue architecture and render
them unsuitable for histomorphologic evaluation.
Current studies in this laboratory show that
it is feasible to simultaneously protect histomorphology
and the integrity of macromolecules
in fixed and processed tissue. The UMFIX
reagent, developed in collaboration with other
members of the Department of Pathology, seems
to provide enormous advantage over the conventional
fixation methods in allowing diagnosis,
prognostication, and identification of treatment
targets in patient samples.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2002
Malek, TR, Yu, A, Vincek, V, Scibelli, P, and
Kong, L. CD4 regulatory T cells prevent lethal
autoimmunity in IL-2Rbeta-deficient mice. Implications
for the nonredundant function of IL-2.
Immunity 17:167-78, 2002.
Morales, A, Essenfeld, H, Dubane, C, Vincek, V,
and Nadji, M. Continuous-specimen flow, highthroughput,
1-hour tissue processing. Archives of
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine 126:584-90,
2002.
2003
Vincek, V, Knowles, J, and Nassiri, M. p63
mRNA expression in normal human tissue. Anticancer
Research 23:3945-48, 2003.
Jacob, SE, Nassiri, M, Kerdel, FA, and Vincek, V.
Rapid measurement of multiple cytokines in psoriasis
patients and correlation with disease severity.
Mediators of Inflammation 12:309-13, 2003.
Adkins, B, Bu, Y, Vincek, V, and Guevara, P. The
primary responses of murine neonatal lymph
node CD4 + cells are Th2-skewed and are sufficient
for the development of Th2-biased memory.
Clinical & Developmental Immunology 10:43-
51, 2003.
Vincek, V, Nassiri, M, Nadji, M, and Morales,
AR. A novel tissue preservative that protects macromolecules
(DNA, RNA, protein) and histomorphology
in clinical samples. Laboratory
Investigation 83:1-9, 2003.
UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Report 2004 127