Search results for "Immune system"

Influence of aging on murine neutrophil and macrophage function against Candida albicans.

2008

Previous work by our group showed that aged C57BL/6 mice develop an altered innate and adaptive immune response to Candida albicans and are more susceptible to systemic primary candidiasis. In this work, we used young (2-3 months old) and aged (18-20 months old) C57BL/6 mice to study in vitro the influence of aging on (1) the fungicidal activity of neutrophils and macrophages, (2) the production of cytokines by resident peritoneal macrophages in response to C. albicans, and (3) cell surface Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 expression on resident peritoneal macrophages. Our results indicate that murine phagocytes have a fungicidal activity well preserved with aging. In vitro production of proinfla…

Replicating phages in the epidermal mucosa of the eel (Anguilla anguilla)

2015

In this work, we used the eel (Anguilla anguilla) as an animal model to test the hypothesis of Barr et al. (2013a,b) about the putative role of the epidermal mucosa as a phage enrichment layer. To this end, we analyzed the microbial content of the skin mucus of wild and farmed eels by using a metagenomic approach. We found a great abundance of replicating phage genomes (concatemers) in all the samples. They were assembled in four complete genomes of three Myovirus and one Podovirus. We also found evidences that ΦKZ and Podovirus phages could be part of the resident microbiota associated to the eel mucosal surface and persist on them over the time. Moreover, the viral abundance estimated by …

Generation of immune responses against hepatitis C virus by dendritic cells containing NS5 protein-coated microparticles.

2009

ABSTRACTDendritic cells (DCs) internalize and process antigens as well as activate cellular immune responses. The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of DCs that contain antigen-coated magnetic beads to induce immunity against the nonstructural hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigen 5 (NS5). Splenocytes derived from Fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor 3 (Flt3) ligand-pretreated BALB/c mice were incubated with magnetic beads coated with HCV NS5, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and/or anti-CD40; purified; and used for immunization. Cellular immunity was measured using cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) and T-cell proliferation assays, intracellular cytokine staining, and a syngeneic tumor challenge us…

2021

Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic disease caused by the pleomorphic bacteria of theBorrelia burgdorferi sensu latocomplex. The exact mechanisms for the infection to progress into a prolonged sequelae of the disease are currently unknown, although immune evasion and persistence of the bacteria in the host are thought to be major contributors. The current study investigatedB. burgdorferiinfection processes in two human cell lines, both non-immune and non-phagocytic, to further understand the mechanisms of infection of this bacterium. By utilizing light, confocal, helium ion, and transmission electron microscopy, borrelial infection of chondrosarcoma (SW1353) and dermal fibroblast (BJ) cells…

Efavirenz and the CNS: what we already know and questions that need to be answered

2015

The NNRTI efavirenz has long been one of the most frequently employed antiretroviral drugs in the multidrug regimens used to treat HIV infection, in accordance with its well-demonstrated antiretroviral efficacy and favourable pharmacokinetics. However, growing concern about its adverse effects has sometimes led to efavirenz being replaced by other drugs in the initial treatment selection or to switching of therapy to efavirenz-free regimens in experienced patients. Neurological and neuropsychiatric reactions are the manifestations most frequently experienced by efavirenz-treated patients and range from transitory effects, such as nightmares, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness and lack of conc…

Leucine aminopeptidase is an immunodominant antigen of Fasciola hepatica excretory and secretory products in human infections.

2007

ABSTRACT The liver fluke Fasciola hepatica parasitizes humans and ruminant livestock worldwide, and it is now being considered a reemerging zoonotic disease, especially in areas in which it is endemic, such as South America. This study investigates the immune response to excretory and secretory products produced by F. hepatica in a group of patients from the Peruvian Altiplano, where the disease is highly endemic. Using a proteomic approach and immunoblotting techniques, we have identified the enzymes leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase as immunodominant antigens recognized by sera from fasciolosis patients. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using …

T lymphocyte-stimulating microbial toxins as ?superantigens?

1991

Infectious pathogens generally have to cope with the host's adaptive immune system, i.e., T and B lymphocytes. Common evasion mechanisms in this complex interaction are antigenic variations, the escape to immunologically priviledged sites or the use of immunosuppressive mechanisms. Many bacteria and other microorganisms eleborate soluble factors or toxins that act suppressively on cells of the immune system, such as pore-forming molecules or proteins that interfere with the function of G proteins. Gram-positive cocci and a mycoplasma have developed an extremely potent mechanism of T cell stimulation by closely mimicking recognition of specific antigen. From the functional similarity to anti…

POSSIBLE RELATION BETWEEN GUT MICROFLORA COMPOSITION AND ONCOGENIC RISK: IS STIMULATION OF INFLAMMATION THE ONE RING OF CONNECTION?

2012

Human intestinalmicrobiotais characterizedby highpopulationdensity, wide diversity and complexity of interactions. Dysbiosis, both qualitative and quantitative, might have serious health consequences including an increase in the number and/or alteration of bacteria colonizing the gastrointestinal tract, which could be referred as gut microflora imbalance (GMI). GMI is frequently found in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome; this is the reason why some authors believe that IBS is secondary to GMI. Interestingly, GMI is also found in about 25% of Crohn’s disease patients. Stimulation of inflammation by the ‘dangerous bacteria’, through specific activation of the intestinal immune…

The Tsetse Fly Displays an Attenuated Immune Response to Its Secondary Symbiont, Sodalis glossinidius

2019

Sodalis glossinidius, a vertically transmitted facultative symbiont of the tsetse fly, is a bacterium in the early/intermediate state of its transition toward symbiosis, representing an important model for investigating how the insect host immune defense response is regulated to allow endosymbionts to establish a chronic infection within their hosts without being eliminated. In this study, we report on the establishment of a tsetse fly line devoid of S. glossinidius only, allowing us to experimentally investigate (i) the complex immunological interactions between a single bacterial species and its host, (ii) how the symbiont population is kept under control, and (iii) the impact of the symb…

Using evolutionary tools to refine the new hypervariable region 3 within the envelope 2 protein of hepatitis C virus

2007

Abstract The envelope 2 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) presents three hypervariable regions, named HVR1, HVR2 and HVR3, in which the presence of antigenic sites has been described. Genetic variability in these regions may reflect the generation of escape mutants as a consequence of the immune response. Therefore, these regions would tend to accumulate amino acid changes along the infection process, an effect that could be accelerated by antiviral treatments. In this study, we have analyzed the E1–E2 region of 23 HCV patients non-responders to antiviral treatment, 7 of which were infected with subtype 1a, 15 with subtype 1b, and 1 with a new HCV-1 subtype, before and after 6 and/or 12 mo…