Search results for "Immune Defense"
showing 8 items of 18 documents
On the Age of Leprosy
2014
Leprosy is a chronic infection of the skin and nerves caused by Mycobacterium leprae and the newly discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Human leprosy has been documented for millennia in ancient cultures. Recent genomic studies of worldwide M. leprae strains have further traced it along global human dispersals during the past ∼ 100,000 years. Because leprosy bacilli are strictly intracellular, we wonder how long humans have been affected by this disease-causing parasite. Based on recently published data on M. leprae genomes, M. lepromatosis discovery, leprosy bacilli evolution, and human evolution, it is most likely that the leprosy bacilli started parasitic evolution in humans or early h…
LPS challenge regulates gene expression and tissue localization of a Ciona intestinalis gene through an alternative polyadenylation mechanism.
2013
A subtractive hybridization strategy for the identification of differentially expressed genes was performed between LPS-challenged and naive Ciona intestinalis. This strategy allowed the characterization of two transcripts (Ci8short and Ci8long) generated by the use of two Alternative Polyadenylation sites. The Ci8long transcript contains a protein domain with relevant homology to several components of the Receptor Transporting Protein (RTP) family not present in the Ci8short mRNA. By means of Real Time PCR and Northern Blot, the Ci8short and Ci8long transcripts showed a different pattern of gene expression with the Ci8short mRNA being strongly activated after LPS injection in the pharynx. …
Candida albicans Yeast and Hyphae are Discriminated by MAPK Signaling in Vaginal Epithelial Cells
2011
We previously reported that a bi-phasic innate immune MAPK response, constituting activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase MKP1 and c-Fos transcription factor, discriminates between the yeast and hyphal forms of Candida albicans in oral epithelial cells (ECs). Since the vast majority of mucosal Candida infections are vaginal, we sought to determine whether a similar bi-phasic MAPK-based immune response was activated by C. albicans in vaginal ECs. Here, we demonstrate that vaginal ECs orchestrate an innate response to C. albicans via NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. However, unlike in oral ECs, the first MAPK response, defined by c-Jun transcription factor acti…
Increase in gut microbiota after immune suppression in baculovirus-infected larvae.
2013
Spodoptera exigua microarray was used to determine genes differentially expressed in S. exigua cells challenged with the species-specific baculovirus SeMNPV as well as with a generalist baculovirus, AcMNPV. Microarray results revealed that, in contrast to the host transcriptional shut-off that is expected during baculovirus infection, S. exigua cells showed a balanced number of up- and down-regulated genes during the first 36 hours following the infection. Many immune-related genes, including pattern recognition proteins, genes involved in signalling and immune pathways as well as immune effectors and genes coding for proteins involved in the melanization cascade were found to be down-regul…
The IFN-γ-Inducible GTPase, Irga6, Protects Mice against Toxoplasma gondii but Not against Plasmodium berghei and Some Other Intracellular Pathogens
2011
Clearance of infection with intracellular pathogens in mice involves interferon-regulated GTPases of the IRG protein family. Experiments with mice genetically deficient in members of this family such as Irgm1(LRG-47), Irgm3(IGTP), and Irgd(IRG-47) has revealed a critical role in microbial clearance, especially for Toxoplasma gondii. The in vivo role of another member of this family, Irga6 (IIGP, IIGP1) has been studied in less detail. We investigated the susceptibility of two independently generated mouse strains deficient in Irga6 to in vivo infection with T. gondii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania mexicana, L. major, Listeria monocytogenes, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Plasmodium …
Maternal effects in vulnerability to eye-parasites and correlations between behavior and parasitism in juvenile Arctic charr
2017
Hatchery-reared fish show high mortalities after release to the wild environment. Explanations for this include potentially predetermined genetics, behavioral, and physiological acclimation to fish farm environments, and increased vulnerability to predation and parasitism in the wild. We studied vulnerability to Diplostomum spp. parasites (load of eye flukes in the lenses), immune defense (relative spleen size) and antipredator behaviors (approaches toward predator odor, freezing, and swimming activity) in hatchery-reared juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) using a nested mating design. Fish were exposed to eye-fluke larvae via the incoming water at the hatchery. Fish size was positi…
In vivo modulation of Bacillus thuringiensis (commercial form) on Holothuria tubulosa immune defense mechanisms
2010
In invertebrates, cellular and humoral components are evolved to maintain their homeostais and integrity. Both these components respond to different non-self such as microorganisms, vertebrate erythrocytes and foreign proteins. The aim of this research was to study the possible modulating effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in a commercial and vegetative form on the immune response of the echinoderm, sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa. Bt is one of the most used biopesticides worldwide, covering the 90% of the organic market. Sicily is a region vocated to biological control and agricultural area are often closed to the coastal area. Investigate the effect of biopesticides on other non targ…
The role of maternal effects in host-parasite interactions: examination of the development of the immune defense in a colonial seabird, the black-leg…
2004
One of the main aims of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act. Maternal effects occur when a mother's phenotype or her environment influence her offspring's phenotype. Despite the importance of such effects for the ecology of host-parasite interactions, their role has been relatively neglected to date. In this thesis, we examined how mothers influence the immune defense of their young in an environment that varies in space and time. This work has primarily focused on a colonial seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Using this model, we have first shown that specific maternal antibodi…