This dissertation examines the practice of privately sponsored communal dining in the western half of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries AD. Combining quantitative and qualitative... Show moreThis dissertation examines the practice of privately sponsored communal dining in the western half of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries AD. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, it first investigates the benefactors who donated public dinners and the various groups of beneficiaries who were the recipients of their benefactions. The principal aim is to place the privately funded food benefactions of the first centuries of the Empire in their political and social contexts so as to reconstruct the motives of those who provided them. It is followed by an investigation of privately sponsored meals for various associations. Finally, an effort is made to delineate the geographical and long-term chronological distributions of this practice and an attempt is made to explain these patterns. This dissertation demonstrates that in the western half of the Roman Empire, the popularity of privately sponsored communal dining was a region-specific phenomenon which was rooted in specific social and political cultures in the communities of Italy, Baetica and Africa Proconsularis. The region-specific differences in political cultures and long-term changes in these region-specific cultures are key to understanding not only the long persistence of this practice but also its ultimate disappearance. Show less
Background and purpose. Vorinostat and romidepsin are histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDI), approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). However, the mechanism(s) by which these... Show moreBackground and purpose. Vorinostat and romidepsin are histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDI), approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). However, the mechanism(s) by which these drugs exert their anti-cancer effects are not fully understood. Since CTCL is associated with immune dysregulation, we investigated whether these HDI modulated cytokine expression in CTCL cells. Experimental approach. CTCL cell lines and primary CTCL cells were treated in vitro with vorinostat or romidepsin, or with STAT3 pathway inhibitors. Cell cycle parameters and apoptosis were analysed by propidium iodide and annexin V/propidium iodide staining, respectively. Cytokine expression was analysed using Q-RT-PCR and ELISA assays. STAT3 expression/phosphorylation and transcriptional activity were analysed using immunoblotting and transfection/reporter assays, respectively. Key results. Vorinostat and romidepsin strongly downregulated expression of the immunosuppressive cytokine, interleukin (IL)-10, frequently overexpressed in CTCL, at both the RNA and protein level in CTCL cell lines and at the RNA level in primary CTCL cells Vorinostat and romidepsin also increased expression of IFNG RNA and decreased expression of IL-2 and IL-4, although to a lesser extent compared to IL-10. Transient exposure to vorinostat was sufficient to suppress IL-10 secretion but was not sufficient to irreversibly commit cells to undergo cell death. STAT3 pathway inhibitors decreased production of IL-10 and vorinostat/romidepsin partially decreased STAT3-dependent transcription without effects on STAT3 expression or phosphorylation. Conclusions and implications. These results demonstrate that HDI modulate cytokine expression in CTCL cells, potentially via effects on STAT3. Immunomodulation may contribute to the clinical activity of HDI in this disease. Show less
