Publications
2026
-
Dynamic Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin and Its Receptor Complex Expression on Skin Langerhans Cells in Response to MC903-induced Skin Inflammation
Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin (TSLP) regulates the skin microenvironment during type 2 inflammation. Epidermal APCs, Langerhans cells (LCs), might be the target of TSLP, but whether LCs express CD127 needed for TSLP signaling has been unclear. We found that LCs express both receptor chains needed by TSLP (CD127 and TSLPR) and upregulate the TSLPR upon Calcipotriol (MC903)-induced inflammation. -
Coxsackie B1 virus-like particle that lacks VP4 protein demonstrates improved vaccine scalability, stability and immunogenicity
CONCLUSIONS: VLPΔVP4 represents a promising next-generation CVB vaccine candidate with broad applicability against enteroviruses. Removal of VP4 may mitigate the risk for non-beneficial immune imprinting while enabling high purity, long-term stability, and improved manufacturing efficiency. -
Evaluation of a fully automated "sample-to-result" PCR-based diagnostic test for detecting A/C/G Streptococci from throat swab specimens
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) and group C/G Streptococcus (GCS/GGS) species cause bacterial pharyngitis in both adults and children. Occasionally, GAS can cause invasive and severe infections like septicemia, streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome, and necrotizing fasciitis. Throat culture has remained the gold standard method for diagnosing GAS or GCS/GGS pharyngitis. Methodologically, bacterial cultivation is laborious and time-consuming. For this, nucleic acid-based tests have been developed... -
Anti-Inflammatory Macrophages Are Recruited to the Keloids that Obtain Response to Intralesional Injection Therapies: Before and After Treatment Biopsies from a Double-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial
No abstract
2025
-
Evaluation of a fully automated "sample-to-result" PCR-based diagnostic test for detecting A/C/G Streptococci from throat swab specimens
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) and group C/G Streptococcus (GCS/GGS) species cause bacterial pharyngitis in both adults and children. Occasionally, GAS can cause invasive and severe infections like septicemia, streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome, and necrotizing fasciitis. Throat culture has remained the gold standard method for diagnosing GAS or GCS/GGS pharyngitis. Methodologically, bacterial cultivation is laborious and time-consuming. For this, nucleic acid-based tests have been developed... -
Inflammatory response in bacteremia survivors and non-survivors: a case-control study
Survival in bacteremia is influenced by host comorbidities, pathogen virulence, immune response, and the quality of medical care. A deeper understanding of host inflammatory responses may help identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve outcomes. In this study, we analyzed plasma samples from adult patients with bacteremia who presented to the emergency department. Patients who died within seven days (n = 44) were compared to matched survivors (n = 44) who lived at least 90 days,... -
Anti-Inflammatory Macrophages Are Recruited to the Keloids that Obtain Response to Intralesional Injection Therapies: Before and After Treatment Biopsies from a Double-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial
No abstract -
Poor Effect of Empiric Antibiotic Treatment of Gram-Negative Bacteria on <em>Myroides</em> spp.: A Case Report and Literature Review
CONCLUSIONS: Myroides spp. are widely resistant opportunistic pathogens to acknowledge to be out of reach for first-line empiric antibiotic treatment. Myroides cases reported earlier have suggested soil exposure or pig bite as potential sources of infection. In the case described here, one possible source of Myroides might be cat scratches or cat licks. -
Coxsackie B1 virus-like particle vaccine modified to exclude a highly conserved immunoreactive region from the capsid induces potent neutralizing antibodies and protects against infection in mice
CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that with targeted structural modification of the CVB1-VLP capsid, immunodominant antibody responses against the conserved PALXAXETG motif can be avoided. We demonstrate that structural modification of CVB1-VLP is a viable strategy. Since the deleted epitope is known to be non-neutralizing, its deletion may help focus the immune response on more protective targets and thereby improve vaccine efficacy. The modified VLPs, particularly when adjuvanted, offer a promising... -
Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in a patient on immunomodulatory drug: A case report
CONCLUSIONS: Our case underlines the importance of active diagnostic measures such as cerebrospinal fluid analysis in patients under fingolimod treatment with central nervous symptoms. While multiple sclerosis may cause headache and vision impairment, similar symptoms may be caused by central nervous system infections. It has been suggested that fingolimod may subject one to infections and this may occur even years after initiation of the treatment. For our case patient Cerebrospinal fluid... -
Clinical performance of two commercially available rapid antigen tests for influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics
Rapid antigen tests (RATs) might provide rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-perform choice to nucleic-acid amplification methods (NAAT) in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics of respiratory infections. The clinical performance of two commercial combo-RATs for influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) POC diagnostics, was assessed. RAT and real-time-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis were performed on 620 patients admitted to the emergency... -
Biological aging of different blood cell types
Biological age (BA) captures detrimental age-related changes. The best-known and most-used BA indicators include DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks and telomere length (TL). The most common biological sample material for epidemiological aging studies, whole blood, is composed of different cell types. We aimed to compare differences in BAs between blood cell types and assessed the BA indicators' cell type-specific associations with chronological age (CA). An analysis of DNA methylation-based...
2024
-
Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in a patient on immunomodulatory drug: A case report
CONCLUSIONS: Our case underlines the importance of active diagnostic measures such as cerebrospinal fluid analysis in patients under fingolimod treatment with central nervous symptoms. While multiple sclerosis may cause headache and vision impairment, similar symptoms may be caused by central nervous system infections. It has been suggested that fingolimod may subject one to infections and this may occur even years after initiation of the treatment. For our case patient Cerebrospinal fluid... -
Clinical performance of two commercially available rapid antigen tests for influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics
Rapid antigen tests (RATs) might provide rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-perform choice to nucleic-acid amplification methods (NAAT) in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics of respiratory infections. The clinical performance of two commercial combo-RATs for influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) POC diagnostics, was assessed. RAT and real-time-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis were performed on 620 patients admitted to the emergency... -
Biological aging of different blood cell types
Biological age (BA) captures detrimental age-related changes. The best-known and most-used BA indicators include DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks and telomere length (TL). The most common biological sample material for epidemiological aging studies, whole blood, is composed of different cell types. We aimed to compare differences in BAs between blood cell types and assessed the BA indicators' cell type-specific associations with chronological age (CA). An analysis of DNA methylation-based...
2023
-
Coxsackie B1 virus-like particle vaccine modified to exclude a highly conserved immunoreactive region from the capsid induces potent neutralizing antibodies and protects against infection in mice
CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that with targeted structural modification of the CVB1-VLP capsid, immunodominant antibody responses against the conserved PALXAXETG motif can be avoided. We demonstrate that structural modification of CVB1-VLP is a viable strategy. Since the deleted epitope is known to be non-neutralizing, its deletion may help focus the immune response on more protective targets and thereby improve vaccine efficacy. The modified VLPs, particularly when adjuvanted, offer a promising... -
Positive Francisella tularensis meningitis outcome despite delayed identification: a case report
Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacteria, that may cause a zoonotic disease, tularemia. Here, we describe a patient case, where a previously healthy young woman in Northern Finland contacted health care because of fever and headache. Due to the symptoms and lack of further diagnostic tools in primary health care, she was transferred to University Hospital (UH) where ampicillin and ceftriaxone was given empirically. A cerebrospinal fluid sample (CSF) was drawn showing small... -
Comparison of the effect of autoclaved and non-autoclaved live soil exposure on the mouse immune system : Effect of soil exposure on immune system
CONCLUSIONS: . Our results indicate that exposure to the live and autoclaved soil powders is not toxic for mice. Exposure to live soil powder slightly skews the immune system towards type 1 direction which might be beneficial for inhibiting type 2-related inflammation. Further studies are warranted to quantify the impact of this exposure in experimental type 2 inflammation. -
Low IL-13Rα1 expression on mast cells tunes them unresponsive to IL-13
Cytokine-mediated mast cell regulation enables precise optimization of their own proinflammatory cytokine production. During allergic inflammation, interleukin (IL)-4 regulates mast cell functions, tissue homing, and proliferation, but the direct role of closely related IL-13 for mast cell activation remains unclear. Previous work has shown that mast cells are potent IL-13 producers, but here we show that mouse mast cells do not directly respond to IL-13 by Stat6 activation, as they do not... -
The RNA-binding protein Snd1/Tudor-SN regulates hypoxia-responsive gene expression
Snd1 is an evolutionarily conserved RNA-binding protein implicated in several regulatory processes in gene expression including activation of transcription, mRNA splicing, and microRNA decay. Here, we have investigated the outcome of Snd1 gene deletion in the mouse. The knockout mice are viable showing no gross abnormalities apart from decreased fertility, organ and body size, and decreased number of myeloid cells concomitant with decreased expression of granule protein genes. Deletion of Snd1... -
FURIN regulates cytotoxic T-lymphocyte effector function and memory cell transition in mice
The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexins (PCSKs) regulate biological actions by cleaving immature substrate proteins. The archetype PCSK, FURIN, promotes the pathogenicity of viruses by proteolytically processing viral proteins. FURIN has also important regulatory functions in both innate and adaptive immune responses but its role in the CD8^(+) CTLs remains enigmatic. We used a T-cell-specific FURIN deletion in vivo to demonstrate that FURIN promotes host response against the CTL-dependent... -
Immunomodulatory Functions of Adipose Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cell Derived From Donors With Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity on CD4 T Cells
For adipose stromal/stem cell (ASCs)-based immunomodulatory therapies, it is important to study how donor characteristics, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), influence ASCs efficacy. Here, ASCs were obtained from 2 groups, donors with T2D and obesity (dASCs) or nondiabetic donors with normal-weight (ndASCs), and then cultured with anti-CD3/CD28-stimulated allogeneic CD4 T cells. ASCs were studied for the expression of the immunomodulators CD54, CD274, and indoleamine 2, 3 dioxygenase 1... -
IL-4, IL-13 and IFN-γ -induced genes in highly purified human neutrophils
Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are related cytokines with well-known specific roles in type 2 immune response. However, their effects on neutrophils are not completely understood. For this, we studied human primary neutrophil responses to IL-4 and IL-13. Neutrophils are dose-dependently responsive to both IL-4 and IL-13 as indicated by signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) phosphorylation upon stimulation, with IL-4 being more potent inducer of STAT6. IL-4-, IL-13- and... -
TRPA1 Mediates Contact Hypersensitivity Induced by 2,4-Dinitrochlorobenzene
No abstract
2022
-
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Northern Finland in 2019 to 2022
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic led to major restrictions in daily life and social contacts in Finland in March 2020. The effect of these restrictions on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and positive rates of sexually transmitted infections in Northern Finland between 2020 and 2021 and compare these with the years prior to the pandemic. Numbers of positive Chlamydia trachomatis, HIV and hepatitis C samples were... -
Effect of inactivated nature-derived microbial composition on mouse immune system
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide insights on the effect of biodiversity on murine immune system in sterile environment. Subjecting mice to soil-based plant and microbe structures appears to elicit immune response that could be beneficial, for example, in type 2 inflammation-related diseases, that is, allergic diseases. -
IL-13Rα1 Suppresses Tumor Progression in Two-Stage Skin Carcinogenesis Model by Regulating Regulatory T Cells
Type 2 inflammation‒related cytokine IL-13 plays a protective role in experimental papilloma induction in mice. To understand the mechanisms by which IL-13 contributes to papilloma formation, we utilized Il13rα1-knockout (KO) mice in a widely used 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene/12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate two-stage skin carcinogenesis protocol that mimics the development of squamous cell carcinoma. KO mice developed more papillomas and significantly faster than wild-type mice....
2021
-
Coxsackie B1 virus-like particle that lacks VP4 protein demonstrates improved vaccine scalability, stability and immunogenicity
CONCLUSIONS: VLPΔVP4 represents a promising next-generation CVB vaccine candidate with broad applicability against enteroviruses. Removal of VP4 may mitigate the risk for non-beneficial immune imprinting while enabling high purity, long-term stability, and improved manufacturing efficiency. -
Coxsackie B1 virus-like particle vaccine modified to exclude a highly conserved immunoreactive region from the capsid induces potent neutralizing antibodies and protects against infection in mice
CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that with targeted structural modification of the CVB1-VLP capsid, immunodominant antibody responses against the conserved PALXAXETG motif can be avoided. We demonstrate that structural modification of CVB1-VLP is a viable strategy. Since the deleted epitope is known to be non-neutralizing, its deletion may help focus the immune response on more protective targets and thereby improve vaccine efficacy. The modified VLPs, particularly when adjuvanted, offer a promising... -
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Northern Finland in 2019 to 2022
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic led to major restrictions in daily life and social contacts in Finland in March 2020. The effect of these restrictions on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and positive rates of sexually transmitted infections in Northern Finland between 2020 and 2021 and compare these with the years prior to the pandemic. Numbers of positive Chlamydia trachomatis, HIV and hepatitis C samples were... -
Effect of inactivated nature-derived microbial composition on mouse immune system
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide insights on the effect of biodiversity on murine immune system in sterile environment. Subjecting mice to soil-based plant and microbe structures appears to elicit immune response that could be beneficial, for example, in type 2 inflammation-related diseases, that is, allergic diseases. -
IFNγ suppresses the expression of GFI1 and thereby inhibits Th2 cell proliferation
While IFNγ is a well-known cytokine that actively promotes the type I immune response, it is also known to suppress the type II response by inhibiting the differentiation and proliferation of Th2 cells. However, the mechanism by which IFNγ suppresses Th2 cell proliferation is still not fully understood. We found that IFNγ decreases the expression of growth factor independent-1 transcriptional repressor (GFI1) in Th2 cells, resulting in the inhibition of Th2 cell proliferation. The deletion of... -
IL-13Rα1 Suppresses Tumor Progression in Two-Stage Skin Carcinogenesis Model by Regulating Regulatory T Cells
Type 2 inflammation‒related cytokine IL-13 plays a protective role in experimental papilloma induction in mice. To understand the mechanisms by which IL-13 contributes to papilloma formation, we utilized Il13rα1-knockout (KO) mice in a widely used 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene/12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate two-stage skin carcinogenesis protocol that mimics the development of squamous cell carcinoma. KO mice developed more papillomas and significantly faster than wild-type mice....
2020
-
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Northern Finland in 2019 to 2022
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic led to major restrictions in daily life and social contacts in Finland in March 2020. The effect of these restrictions on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and positive rates of sexually transmitted infections in Northern Finland between 2020 and 2021 and compare these with the years prior to the pandemic. Numbers of positive Chlamydia trachomatis, HIV and hepatitis C samples were...
2019
-
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Northern Finland in 2019 to 2022
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic led to major restrictions in daily life and social contacts in Finland in March 2020. The effect of these restrictions on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and positive rates of sexually transmitted infections in Northern Finland between 2020 and 2021 and compare these with the years prior to the pandemic. Numbers of positive Chlamydia trachomatis, HIV and hepatitis C samples were... -
Chemical-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis Model Using Dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene and 12-O-Tetradecanoyl Phorbol-13-Acetate (DMBA-TPA)
Cancer is one of the most devastating human diseases. Experimental cancer models are important to gain insight into the complex interplay of different cell types and genes in promoting tumor progression and to provide a platform for testing the efficacy of different therapeutic approaches. One of the most commonly used experimental inflammatory cancer models is the DMBA-TPA two-stage skin carcinogenesis model. Tumor formation is induced in this model by the topical application of two different... -
CD27- IgD- B cell memory subset associates with inflammation and frailty in elderly individuals but only in males
CONCLUSIONS: These data show that the CD27- IgD- B cell subset demonstrates a strong pro-inflammatory effect in nonagenarians, which significantly associates with the decline of the bodily functions. However, this phenomenon is only observed in males.
2018
-
Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the General Aviation Increased for One-Year Period after 11 September 2001 Attack in the United States
Pilot aircraft-assisted suicides (AAS) are rare, and there is limited understanding of copycat phenomenon among aviators. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effect the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks had on pilot AASs in the U.S. Fatal aviation accidents in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database were searched using the following search words: "suicide", "murder-suicide" and "homicide-suicide". The timeline between 11 September 1996, and 11 September 2004,... -
Challenges in investigation of diabetes-related aviation fatalities-an analysis of 1491 subsequent aviation fatalities in USA during 2011-2016
Diabetes mellitus (DM) could cause pilot incapacitation and result in aviation fatalities. The mechanisms could be directly as a consequence of acute hypoglycemia/subacute diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or indirectly as an acute cardiovascular event by contributing to the development of atherosclerosis in coronary or carotid and cerebral arteries. In this study, DM-related fatal flight accidents in the US National Transport Bureau's database between years 2011-2016 were analyzed with special... -
NKG2D gene variation and susceptibility to viral bronchiolitis in childhood
BACKGROUND: Genetic factors associated with bronchiolitis are inadequately characterized. We therefore inspected a selected subpopulation of our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) of bronchiolitis for overlap with known quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to identify susceptibility loci that potentially affect mRNA and protein levels. -
Tuning the Cytokine Responses: An Update on Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 Receptor Complexes
Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are related cytokines that regulate many aspects of allergic inflammation. They play important roles in regulating the responses of lymphocytes, myeloid cells, and non-hematopoietic cells. In T-cells, IL-4 induces the differentiation of naïve CD4 T cells into Th2 cells, in B cells, IL-4 drives the immunoglobulin (Ig) class switch to IgG1 and IgE, and in macrophages, IL-4 and IL-13 induce alternative macrophage activation. This review gives a short insight into the... -
Mental health assessment in rehabilitation: a descriptive study through an international internet survey
This cross-sectional study assessed international rehabilitation practitioners' views of mental health assessment (MHA), related specifically to assessment tools and needs in the field. We delivered an anonymous web-based survey capturing rehabilitation practioners' perspectives on MHA practices, assessment tools, and needs through the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine in the USA and through national rehabilitation networks in Finland and Norway. Altogether, 355 rehabilitation... -
Duty of Notification and Aviation Safety-A Study of Fatal Aviation Accidents in the United States in 2015
After the Germanwings accident, the French Safety Investigation Authority (BEA) recommended that the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Community (EC) develop clear rules for the duty of notification process. Aeromedical practitioners (AMEs) face a dilemma when considering the duty of notification and conflicts between pilot privacy and public and third-party safety. When balancing accountability, knowledge of the duty of notification process, legislation and the clarification of a... -
Subjective and objective measures of function and return to work: an observational study with a clinical psychiatric cohort
CONCLUSIONS: When assigning the ability to work, both subjective and objective measures of function predict RTW.