Search results for " Immune system"
showing 10 items of 893 documents
Protective effect of adenylate deaminase (from Penicillium lanoso-viride) against acute infections in mice
1996
We examined the effects of the immunomodulator-adenylate deaminase (E.C. 3.5.4.6) from Penicillium lanoso-viride on experimental mice infections. Prophylactic intraperitoneal administration of adenylate deaminase (ADA) increased survival time and numbers of survivors after infection with Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and influenza A (H3N2) virus. Protection against influenza virus after intranasal ADA application was also observed. The influence of ADA was time and dose dependent. The most pronounced protection was obtained by administration of 3 U ADA/mice 24 h prior to infection. ADA had no antibiotic effect against these bacterial strains. Protective effects of ADA were …
Low Grade Inflammation as a Common Pathogenetic Denominator in Age-Related Diseases: Novel Drug Targets for Anti-Ageing Strategies and Successful Age…
2010
Nowadays, people are living much longer than they used to do, however they are not free from ageing. Ageing, an inexorable intrinsic process that affects all cells, tissues, organs and individuals, is a post-maturational process that, due to a diminished homeostasis and increased organism frailty, causes a reduction of the response to environmental stimuli and, in general, is associated to an increased predisposition to illness and death. However, the high incidence of death due to infectious, cardiovascular and cancer diseases underlies a common feature in these pathologies that is represented by dysregulation of both instructive and innate immunity. Several studies show that a low-grade s…
Effect of Bacillus thuringiensis as vegetative form on hemocytes of Rhynchophorous ferrugineus (Coleoptera Curculionidae) larvae
2010
The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a pathogen of many insect species and is actively used in biocontrol. The vegetative form as been reported to be involved in insect septicemia process. Bt during the vegetative stage of growth, is known to secern a new family of insecticidal proteins. Moreover recently evidence has been provided, that B. thuringiensis can establish itself in replicative and vegetative form on the leaf surface. Little is known on the interaction of pathogens with the defense responses of phytophagous insects. Insect circulating hemocytes are primarily responsible for the immune defense against parasites and pathogens. We use as model Rhynchophorous ferrugineus Oli…
Immunity and Aging
2016
In the elderly, many alterations of innate and acquired immunity have been described and viewed as deleterious, hence the term immunosenescence. Immunosenescence is a complex process involving multiple reorganizational and developmentally regulated changes, rather than simple unidirectional decline of complete immune function. On the other hand, some immunological parameters are commonly notably reduced in the elderly, and reciprocally good function is tightly correlated to health status. Whereas innate immunity is relatively well preserved in elderly, acquired immunity is more susceptible due to both the functional decline associated with the passage of time, and to antigen burden to which…
From gut microflora imbalance to mycobacteria infection: is there a relationship with chronic intestinal inflammatory diseases?
2011
The gut of a healthy adult harbours a myriad of different microbial species. It is estimated that approximately 10 14 are present in total bacterial colony forming units (CFU). Each colony colonizes a specific intestinal tract. In healthy adult, the main control of intestinal bacterial colonization occurs through gastric acidity but also other factors can influence the intestinal microenvironment such as pH, temperature, competition among different bacterial strains, peristalsis, drugs, radiotherapy and much more. Impaired microbial homeostasis leads to an alteration of the permeability of tissue, together with the activation of the intestinal immune system MALT (mucosal associated lymphoid…
Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Hypertension-Brain-Induced Complications: Focus on Molecular Mediators.
2021
There is growing evidence that hypertension is the most important vascular risk factor for the development and progression of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The brain is an early target of hypertension-induced organ damage and may manifest as stroke, subclinical cerebrovascular abnormalities and cognitive decline. The pathophysiological mechanisms of these harmful effects remain to be completely clarified. Hypertension is well known to alter the structure and function of cerebral blood vessels not only through its haemodynamics effects but also for its relationships with endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation. In the last several years, new possible mechani…
Non-coding RNAs and other determinants of neuroinflammation and endothelial dysfunction: regulation of gene expression in the acute phase of ischemic…
2021
Ischemic stroke occurs under a variety of clinical conditions and has different pathogeneses, resulting in necrosis of brain parenchyma. Stroke pathogenesis is characterized by neuroinflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Some of the main processes triggered in the early stages of ischemic damage are the rapid activation of resident inflammatory cells (microglia, astrocytes and endothelial cells), inflammatory cytokines, and translocation of intercellular nuclear factors. Inflammation in stroke includes all the processes mentioned above, and it consists of either protective or detrimental effects concerning the “polarization” of these processes. This polarization comes out from the intera…
Diplopod hemocyanin sequence and the phylogenetic position of the Myriapoda
2001
Hemocyanins are copper-containing respiratory proteins of the Arthropoda that have so far been thoroughly investigated only in the Chelicerata and the Crustacea but have remained unstudied until now in the Myriapoda. Here we report the first sequence of a myriapod hemocyanin. The hemocyanin of Spirostreptus sp. (Diplopoda: Spirostreptidae) is composed of two distinct subunits that are arranged in a 6 x 6 native molecule. The cloned hemocyanin subunit cDNA codes of for a polypeptide of 653 amino acids (75.5 kDa) that includes a signal peptide of 18 amino acids. The sequence closely resembles that of the chelicerate hemocyanins. Molecular phylogenetic analyses reject with high statistical con…
The magnesium global network (MaGNet) to promote research on magnesium in diseases focusing on covid-19
2021
When the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began in early 2020, the global magnesium researcher community came together and noted the striking similarities between COVID-19 risk factors and conditions associated with magnesium deficit state in humans, reasoning that magnesium deficiency could worsen the course of COVID-19 [1-4]. This prompted establishment of a worldwide collaborative network with regular virtual meetings to brainstorm the associations between magnesium and COVID-19. We hypothesize that magnesium deficiency, a common but mostly unrecognized state in modern global societies, could be an important component of the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Consequently, restoring the …
Molecular Evolution of Defense Pathways in Sponges: Self–Self-recognition and Fight against the Nonself
2016
This article provides an overview of the immune system in poriferans at a tissue, cellular, and molecular level. Despite their simple organization, sponges have developed molecular mechanisms to recognize and resist foreign organisms. They are able to distinguish among food organisms, pathogens, and sponge-associated organisms. Although they lack specialized immune cells, sponges display molecular precursors, which are similar to molecular mediators involved in innate and adaptive immune systems, present in more evolutionarily advanced taxa, as outlined in succeeding articles in the Phylogeny section.