ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Skin is the largest organ in the body, and is directly exposed to extrinsic assaults. As such, the skin plays a central role in host defense and the cutaneous immune system is able to elicit specific local inflammatory and systemic immune responses against harmful stimuli. 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) can ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Influenza pandemic remains a serious threat to human health. Viruses of avian origin, H5N1, H7N7 and H9N2, have repeatedly crossed the species barrier to infect humans. Recently, a novel strain originated from swine has evolved to a pandemic. This study aims at improving our understanding on the pathogenic ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in various tumor cells, but does not affect normal cells or human leukemic cells, such as MOLT-4 and U937 cells, which are relatively resistant to TRAIL. Three flavonoids extracted from the rhizome of K. parviflora were 5,7-dimethoxyflavone (DMF), 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone (TMF) ...

Maladaptive changes in the carotid body (CB) induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) account for the pathogenesis of cardiovascular morbidity in patients with sleep-disordered breathing. We postulated that the proinflammatory cytokines, namely interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and cytokine receptors (IL-1r1, gp130 and TNFr1) locally expressed in ...

The immune system must overcome daily challenges from pathogens to protect the body from infection. The success of the immune response to infection relies on the ability to sense and evaluate microbial threats and organize their elimination, while limiting damage to host tissues. This delicate balance is achieved through coordinated ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression in the immune system. In a few short years, their mechanism of action has been described in various cell lineages within the immune system, targets have been defined and their unique contributions to immune cell function have been examined. Certain miRNAs serve ...

Growing lines of evidence suggests that high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) plays an important role for promoting inflammation and apoptosis in brain ischemia. Previously, we demonstrated that inducers of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) significantly reduce HMGB1 release in inflammatory conditions in vitro and in vivo. Thus, we tested our hypothesis that ...

Galectin-9 (Gal-9), a ligand for T cell Ig mucin-3 (Tim-3), induces apoptosis in cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4)(+) Tim-3(+) T helper 1 (T(H)1) cells via the Gal-9-Tim-3 pathway and negatively regulates T(H)1 immunity. In turn, Gal-9 activates dendritic cells (DC) to produce TNF-α, which promotes the T(H)1 response. We investigated ...

Resistance to the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects of steroids is an important clinical problem that complicates the treatment of approximately 30% of patients with conditions for which steroids are normally first-line therapy. Previous studies have shown that steroid-resistant (SR) patients have more severe disease and higher levels of inflammatory cytokine ...

Using a mouse model we show that self-complementary (sc) adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors pseudotyped with capsids of serotypes 2, 7 or 8 induce more potent transgene product-specific CD8(+) T cell and antibody responses compared to corresponding single-stranded (ss)AAV vectors. These data suggest that the higher and more rapidly appearing amounts ...

Background.  The immune system of the skin has a network of resident dendritic cells (DCs) consisting of epidermal Langerhans cells and various subsets of dermal DCs. We recently reported on a new population of dermal DCs, called slan (6-sulfoLacNAc+) DCs, which have a potent capacity to stimulate Th17/Th1 T-cell responses. ...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection is characterized by low-level or undetectable cellular immune response against HCV antigens. HCV proteins affect various intracellular events and modulate immune responses, although the mechanisms that mediate these effects are not fully understood. In this study, we examined the effect of HCV proteins on ...

CD169(+) macrophages have fascinated immunologists because of their unique distribution in secondary lymphoid organs, redistribution upon immune activation and, lately, because of their contribution to antigen handling. Their association with B cell follicles prompted early studies on their involvement in B cell activation, and recent work has unveiled an unexpected ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of thiazolidinediones on the regulation of inflammatory cytokines related to endometriosis in endometrial tissue and determine whether these effects occur via activation of the peroxisome proliferating activating receptor gamma (PPAR)-γ. DESIGN: In vitro study using eutopic endometrial tissue. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Premenopausal women undergoing laparoscopy ...

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), retinoic acid-inducible gene-I and melanoma differentiation-associated antigen-5 (RIG-I/MDA-5) helicases are known to sense double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus and initiate antiviral responses such as production of type I-interferons (IFNs). Recognition of dsRNA by TLR3 or RIG-I/MDA-5 is cell-type dependent and recent studies have shown a direct link ...

In the present study, the effects of the whole skin of Venenum bufonis on apoptotic and anti-invasive activity in A549 human lung cancer cells were investigated. Treatment with extract of the whole skin of V. bufonis (SVB) resulted in a significant decrease in cell growth of A549 cells, depending on ...

Milk fat globule epidermal growth factor-8 (MFG-E8) promotes phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells to maintain normal tissue homeostasis. However, its functions in intestinal inflammatory disorders are unknown. Since the pathogenesis of those disorders are due to abnormal interactions between intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and microbial pathogens, we analyzed the effects ...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer effect of quercetin (QC) in the human lung cancer cell line A-549 and further study the mechanism of apoptosis induction by QC. Low differentiation potential A-549 human lung cancer cells were treated with QC at different doses and for ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a major class of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) expressed in the cell surface or membrane compartments of immune and non-immune cells. TLRs are encoded by a multigene family and represent the first line of defense against pathogens by detecting foreigner microbial molecular motifs, the ...

Despite chlorogenic acid (CGA) being widely present in nature, particularly in the human diet, there is very little information regarding its pharmacological activities. The present investigation was carried out to investigate the antiarthritic activities of this compound in adjuvant induced-arthritis in male Wistar rats, and to explore the underlying mechanisms ...

Early transcriptional activation events that occur in bladder immediately following bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI) are not well defined. In this study, we describe the whole bladder transcriptome of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) cystitis in mice using genome-wide expression profiling to define the transcriptome of innate immune activation stemming from ...

The involvement of IL-4 in liver regeneration has not yet been recognized. In this article, we show that IL-4, produced by NKT cells that accumulate in regenerating livers after partial hepatectomy, contributes to this process by regulating the activation of complement after liver resection in mice. The mechanism of this ...

The bursa of Fabricius, the acknowledged central humoral immune organ, plays a vital role in B lymphocyte differentiation. However, there are few reports of the molecular basis of the mechanism on immune induction and potential antitumor activity of bursal-derived peptides. In this paper, a novel bursal-derived pentpeptide II (BPP-II, MTLTG) ...

Adenosine acts as anti-inflammatory mediator on the immune system and has been described in regulatory T cell (Treg)-mediated suppression. In the absence of adenosine deaminase (ADA), adenosine and other purine metabolites accumulate, leading to severe immunodeficiency with recurrent infections (ADA-SCID). Particularly ADA deficient patients with late-onset forms and after enzyme ...

Arsenic is a potent environmental pollutant and immunotoxic agent. Curcumin is a natural anti-oxidant used to treat a broad variety of diseases. Here, the effects were investigated of curcumin on sodium arsenite-induced apoptosis in murine splenocytes in vitro. Cells were exposed to sodium arsenite (NaAsO(2), 5 µM) with and without ...

Amino-bisphosphonates (N-BPs) are widely used to treat a great variety of clinical conditions involving altered calcium metabolism, as well as to prevent bone metastases. The use of N-BPs, however, display well-known side effects, including cellular toxicity, mainly at soft tissue and mucosal level, that arise from N-BPs ability to induce ...

Diurnal variation in inflammatory and immune function is evident in the physiology and pathology of humans and animals, but molecular mechanisms and mediating cell types that provide this gating remain unknown. By screening cytokine responses in mice to endotoxin challenge at different times of day, we reveal that the magnitude ...

Schizophrenia is associated with increased risk for multiple metabolic abnormalities, including altered glucose homeostasis, type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Some of the metabolic alterations can already exist in psychosis-prone subjects prior to the onset of chronic schizophrenic disease and pharmacotherapy, indicating that they may have a developmental origin. In ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this review is to provide an overview of significance of T helper 17 (Th17) immunity in acute, chronic and antibody-mediated allograft rejection. The role of Th17 immunity in development of de-novo autoimmunity following transplantation is outlined. It will also consider the impact of Th17 ...

Insects are a powerful tool for discovering and then dissecting interesting new immunology. Recent insect research has made productive forays into non-classical immune areas including tolerance, immune priming (trained immunity), and environmental effects on immunity. Environments which affect immunity not only include diet and metabolism, but also social interactions and ...

Although tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in various malignant cells, several cancers including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibit potent resistance to TRAIL-induced cell death. The aim of this study is to evaluate the anti-cancer potential of capsaicin in TRAIL-induced cancer cell death. As indicated by assays that ...

Our previous studies showed that an adenovirus (Ad) serotype 5 vector expressing Flt3 ligand (Ad-FL) as nasal adjuvant activates CD11c(+) dendritic cells (DCs) for the enhancement of antigen (Ag)-specific IgA antibody (Ab) responses. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism for activation of CD11c(+) DCs and their roles in ...

Mammalian Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) recognizes extracellular and intracellular viral dsRNA, and then initiate signaling cascades leading to NF-κB activation and interferon (IFN) production. To understand the roles of TLR3 in the fish immune system, TLR3 gene (JfTLR3) was identified from Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), which consisted of 4 exons ...

Persistent infection with high-risk HPV is the etiologic agent associated with the development of cervical cancer (CC) development. However, environmental, social, epidemiological, genetic, and host factors may have a joint influence on the risk of disease progression. Cervical lesions caused by HPV infection can be removed naturally by the host ...

Adenosine is a well described anti-inflammatory modulator of immune responses. The aim of the present study was to describe the role of common adenosine agonist 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA) in cytokine production by main porcine T cell subpopulations. TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 were detected by multicolor flow cytometry together with cell ...

PURPOSE: Epigenetic therapy has had a significant impact on the management of haematologic malignancies. The aim of this study was to assess whether 5-aza-CdR and TSA inhibit the growth of leukaemia cells and induce caspase-3-dependent apoptosis by upregulating RUNX3 expression. METHODS: K562 and Reh cells were treated with 5-aza-CdR, TSA ...

BACKGROUND: Eosinophils and lymphocytes are pathogenically important in allergic inflammation and sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Fas ligand (FasL) activity therefore should play a role in regulating the allergic immune response. We aimed to characterize the role of FasL expression in airway eosinophilia in Aspergillus fumigatus (Af)-induced sensitization and to determine ...

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), caused by Candida albicans, affects a significant number of women during their reproductive years. More than two decades of research have been focused on the mechanisms associated with susceptibility or resistance to symptomatic infection. Adaptive immunity by Th1-type CD4(+) T cells and downstream cytokine responses are considered ...

Antineoplastic chemotherapies are particularly efficient when they elicit immunogenic cell death, thus provoking an anticancer immune response. Here we demonstrate that autophagy, which is often disabled in cancer, is dispensable for chemotherapy-induced cell death but required for its immunogenicity. In response to chemotherapy, autophagy-competent, but not autophagy-deficient, cancers attracted dendritic ...

Apoptotic macrophages are removed by neighboring phagocytes (efferocytosis), which is an important event in advanced atherosclerosis. Recent reports have elucidated some key molecular regulators in efferocytosis including complement C1q, MFGE8, and MERTK. However, it remains unknown whether the long pentraxin 3 (PTX3), which is an important molecule that is involved ...

Objectives:  Curative properties of medicinal plants such as Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae) have often been indicated by epidemiological studies on populations in which these fruits are consumed daily. However, complete characterization of the active principles responsible for this ability has never been performed. Here, we have characterized P. guajava's anti-cancer ...

Allergic airway disease is characterized by a T helper type 2 cell-mediated airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. Little is known about the role of hypoxia-mediated signaling in the progression of the disease. To address this knowledge gap, a mouse model was created in which doxycycline exposure induces the functional deletion ...

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? The suppressor effect of probiotics on superficial bladder cancer is an observed phenomenon but the specific mechanism is poorly understood. The evidence strongly suggests natural killer (NK) cells are the anti-tumour effector cells involved and NK cell activity correlates ...

SLH proteins bear an S-layer homology motif comprised of three S-layer homology (SLH) domains. Several SLH proteins in Bacillus anthracis have been recognized as immunogenic in recent past. We hypothesized that the SLH motif, the most common moiety amongst all the SLH proteins could be responsible for their immunogenicity. To ...

Background. Sepsis is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired oxygen consumption, which may condition clinical outcome independent of tissue oxygenation. However, mitochondrial role in sepsis severity remains unknown. We aimed to characterize mitochondrial function in sepsis, establish its origin and cellular consequences, and determine its correlation with clinical symptoms and outcome.Methods. Different ...

Abstract Purpose: Immune-mediated diseases affect millions of people worldwide with an economic impact measured in the billions of dollars. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being investigated in the treatment of certain immune mediated diseases, but their application in the treatment of the majority of these disorders remains largely unexplored. Keratoconjunctivitis ...

Aging affects many aspects of the cellular function of macrophages. Macrophages play a critical role in innate immunity, acting as sentinels to fight pathogens, promoting wound healing, and orchestrating the development of the specific acquired immune response. However, little is known about how age influences the ability of macrophage to ...

Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) is emerging as a promising therapeutic target for treatment of various cancers. Although the role of Hsp27 in protection from stress-induced intrinsic cell death has been relatively well studied, its role in Fas (death domain containing member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily)-induced apoptosis ...

Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is a plant with known ethnomedicinal properties and its use in Ayurvedic medicine in India is well documented. The present investigation reports on immunomodulatory efficacy of aqueous-ethanol extracts of roots of three selected Withania chemotypes designated as NMITLI 101R, NMITLI 118R and NMITLI 128R. The chemotypes were ...

Behcet's Disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. Increasing studies find that a sophisticated interlacing cytokine network is closely implicated in the onset, evolution and even organ damages of the disease. Cytokines involved can be categorized as Th1 type, Th2 type, Th17 type, chemokines and other proinflammatory cytokines, ...