Search results for "Immune system"
showing 10 items of 2885 documents
MicroRNAs, the immune system and rheumatic disease.
2008
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatic disease and are, therefore, a potential target for drug development. This Review describes the well-established roles of miRNAs in hematopoiesis and the immune response, the molecular action of miRNAs in the simultaneous post-transcriptional regulation of multiple targets, and the evidence for roles of specific miRNAs in rheumatic disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNA molecules that modulate the expression of multiple target genes at the post-transcriptional level and are implicated in a wide array of cellular and developmental processes. In hematopoietic cells, miRNA levels are dynamically regulated duri…
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…
A case of visceral leishmaniasis and pulmonary tuberculosis in a post-partum woman
2015
AbstractVisceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum is a vector-borne zoonotic disease transmitted by sand fly bites endemic in rural or periurban areas of the Mediterranean basin. Pregnancy is accompanied by changes in immune response, mainly a decrease in cellular immunity and a proportional increase in humoral immunity. These physiological events result in increased risk of infection by pathogens whose immunity is based on a T-helper 1 predominant response. We describe a case of visceral leishmaniasis and pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed in a post-partum woman four days after delivery. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis should be considered in pregnant women with fever and haematologic…
Candida and Candidiasis: The Cell Wall as a Potential Molecular Target for Antifungal Therapy
2004
The fungal species Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Depending on the underlying host defect, C. albicans causes a variety of infections, ranging from superficial mucocutaneous candidiasis to life-threatening disseminated infections. Both the limited spectrum of antifungal drugs currently in clinical use and the emergence of resistances make necessary the development of new effective antifungal drugs with minimal side effects; however, such a research is limited by the small number of specific target sites identified to date. The cell wall is a fungal specific dynamic structure essential to a…
Serologic Response to Cell Wall Mannoproteins and Proteins of Candida albicans
1998
SUMMARY The cell wall of Candida albicans not only is the structure in which many biological functions essential for the fungal cells reside but also is a significant source of candidal antigens. The major cell wall components that elicit a response from the host immune system are proteins and glycoproteins, the latter being predominantly mannoproteins. Both the carbohydrate and protein moieties are able to trigger immune responses. Although cell-mediated immunity is often considered to be the most important line of defense against candidiasis, cell wall protein and glycoprotein components also elicit a potent humoral response from the host that may include some protective antibodies. Prot…
Antibody response toCandida albicanscell wall antigens
2003
The cell wall of Candida albicans is not only the structure where many essential biological functions reside but is also a significant source of candidal antigens. The major cell wall components that elicit a response from the host immune system are proteins and glycoproteins, the latter being predominantly mannoproteins. Both carbohydrate and protein moieties are able to trigger immune responses. Proteins and glycoproteins exposed at the most external layers of the wall structure are involved in several types of interactions of fungal cells with the exocellular environment. Thus, coating of fungal cells with host antibodies has the potential to profoundly influence the host-parasite intera…
Improved assessment of T-cell receptor (TCR) VB repertoire in clinical specimens: combination of TCR-CDR3 spectratyping with flow cytometry-based TCR…
2002
ABSTRACTAntigen-specific T-cell responses may be described by combining three categories: (i) the specificity and effector functions of a T-cell population, (ii) the quantity of T-cell responses (i.e., the number of responding T cells within the CD4/CD8 population), and (iii) the “quality” of T cells (defined by the T-cell receptor [TCR] structure). Several methods to measure T-cell responses are now available including evaluation of T-cell precursors using limiting dilution, the enzyme-linked immunospot assay, ex vivo TCR variable (v)-segment analysis determined by flow cytometry, and TCR-CDR3 length analysis (spectratyping), as well as identification of peptide-specific T cells using majo…
Effect of antiretroviral protease inhibitors alone, and in combination with paromomycin, on the excystation, invasion and in vitro development of Cry…
2003
With the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus in the early 1980s, cryptosporidiosis was regarded as an AIDS-defining disease. As an opportunistic pathogen, the intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium parvum became an important cause of chronic diarrhoea, leading to high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. To date, no effective chemotherapy is available. With the introduction of protease inhibitors (PIs) in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the incidence of cryptosporidiosis in AIDS patients has declined substantially in western countries. We have therefore tested the effect of five PIs used in HAART on the excystation, invasion and development of the parasit…
Normal interleukin-12 production in individuals with antibodies toHelicobacter pylori
1997
It is increasingly recognized that the inability of the immune system to clear H. pylori infection is caused by an inadequate immune response and is associated with chronic gastric inflammation. To further investigate the cellular immune response to H. pylori, we studied PBMC from 31 H. pylori antibody-negative and 16 H. pylori antibody-positive individuals for H. pylori-induced DNA synthesis, secretion of the Th1-type cytokine IFN-gamma and secretion of IL-12, a cytokine produced by bacteria-stimulated monocyte/macrophages and a potent inducer of antibacterial immune responses and Th1-type T cells. All experiments were performed using Y. enterocolitica 03 as control. Our results demonstrat…
Does Autoimmunity Play a Role in the Immunopathogenesis of Vasculitis Associated With Chronic Chagas Disease?
2021
Chagas disease (CD) is a chronic systemic vector-borne infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It has spread from Latin America through migration, becoming a global issue (Perez-Molina and Molina, 2018). Its prevalence is ∼7 million people worldwide, of whom 30-40% will develop severe chronic complications such as cardiomyopathy or megaviscerae, with a considerable impact on morbimortality (WHO, 2020; WHO, 2021). The parasite is transmitted after metacyclic trypomastigotes in the feces of a triatomine insect enter the host through the bite wound. They penetrate cells and transform into amastigotes, where they multiply by binary fission and differentiate again into circulating t…