Search results for "Immune system"
showing 10 items of 2885 documents
Combined Therapy of Interferon Plus Ribavirin Promotes Multiple Adaptive Solutions in Hepatitis C Virus
2009
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) presents several regions involved potentially in evading antiviral treatment and host immune system. Two regions, known as PKR-BD and V3 domains, have been proposed to be involved in resistance to interferon. Additionally, hypervariable regions in the envelope E2 glycoprotein are also good candidates to participate in evasion from the immune system. In this study, we have used a cohort of 22 non-responder patients to combined therapy (interferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin) for which samples obtained just before initiation of therapy and after 6 or/and 12 months of treatment were available. A range of 25-100 clones per patient, genome region and time sample were obtained…
Melanocortins in Brain Inflammation: The Role of Melanocortin Receptor Subtypes
2010
The melanocortins (MC) are released from neurons and paracrine cells in the CNS where they are involved in important physiological functions, including regulation of body temperature and immune responses. MC bind to melanocortin receptors, a class of cell surface G-protein-coupled receptors. Of the five subtypes of MC receptors that have been cloned in mammals, the MC1, MC3, MC4 and MC5 receptors are expressed in brain tissues. Expression of MC receptors in both brain cells and cells of the immune system suggests direct involvement of MC in regulation of inflammatory processes in the brain. The binding of MC to MC receptors induces activation of adenylate cyclase, increase in intracellular …
Influence of the oncolytic parvovirus H-1, CTLA-4 antibody tremelimumab and cytostatic drugs on the human immune system in a human in vitro model of …
2013
Bernd Heinrich,* Katrin Goepfert,* Maike Delic, Peter R Galle, Markus MoehlerUniversity Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Langenbeckstrasse, Mainz, Germany *These authors contributed equally to this workIntroduction: Tumor-directed and immune-system-stimulating therapies are of special interest in cancer treatment. Here, we demonstrate the potential of parvovirus H-1 (H-1PV) to efficiently kill colorectal cancer cells and induce immunogenicity of colorectal tumors by inducing maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) alone and also in combination with cytostatic drugs in vitro. Using our cell culture model, we have additionally investi…
Lung myofibroblasts are characterized by down-regulated cyclooxygenase-2 and its main metabolite, prostaglandin E2.
2013
Background: Prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2)), the main metabolite of cyclooxygenase (COX), is a well-known anti-fibrotic agent. Moreover, myofibroblasts expressing alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), fibroblast expansion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are critical to the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Our aim was to investigate the expression of COX-2 and PGE(2) in human lung myofibroblasts and establish whether fibroblast-myofibroblast transition (FMT) and EMT are associated with COX-2 and PGE(2) down-regulation. Methods: Fibroblasts obtained from IPF patients (n = 6) and patients undergoing spontaneous pneumothorax (control, n = 6) and alveolar epithelial ce…
IL-22 is produced by innate lymphoid cells and limits inflammation in allergic airway disease
2011
Interleukin (IL)-22 is an effector cytokine, which acts primarily on epithelial cells in the skin, gut, liver and lung. Both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties have been reported for IL-22 depending on the tissue and disease model. In a murine model of allergic airway inflammation, we found that IL-22 is predominantly produced by innate lymphoid cells in the inflamed lungs, rather than TH cells. To determine the impact of IL-22 on airway inflammation, we used allergen-sensitized IL-22-deficient mice and found that they suffer from significantly higher airway hyperreactivity upon airway challenge. IL-22-deficiency led to increased eosinophil infiltration lymphocyte invasion and production…
Expression of C1q, a subcomponent of the rat complement system, is dramatically enhanced in brains of rats with either Borna disease or experimental …
1995
In situ hybridization, RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis as well immunohistochemistry were used to examine the expression of C1q, a subcomponent of the rat complement system, in brains of rats infected with Borna disease virus (BDV) and rats afflicted with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by the adoptive transfer of myelin basic protein specific T cells. C1q mRNA, which was not detected in normal brain, became clearly detectable using RT-PCR analysis by d14 post infection (p.i.) with BDV. Maximal levels of C1q mRNA were reached 21 days p.i. when inflammatory reactions in the brain were also at a peak. Similarly, C1q mRNA was elevated when the clinical symptoms of EAE be…
Helicobacter pylori and allergy: Update of research.
2015
Recently a lot of literature has been published about the possible preventive action of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) against allergy. The present review summarizes research data about the association between H. pylori and allergic diseases, as well as discusses possible hypotheses about the preventive action of H. pylori against atopy. There is evidence from observational studies to support a weak inverse association between prevalence of H. pylori infection and allergy. However, confounders like some unidentified socioeconomic factors, antibiotic use and others could bias the association. Although data from cohort studies point to a possible association of H. pylori with some of the all…
Pili Annulati Coincident with Alopecia Areata, Autoimmune Thyroid Disease, and Primary IgA Deficiency: Case Report and Considerations on the Literatu…
2012
Pili annulati is a rare autosomal dominant hair disorder clinically characterized by a pattern of alternating bright and dark bands of the hair, the bright bands appearing dark if observed by transmitted light. This pattern is due to the periodic occurrence of air-filled cavities along the hair cortex which scatter and reflect the light while precluding its transmission. A susceptibility region, including a possibly responsible Frizzled gene, has been mapped to the telomeric region of chromosome 12q, although a specific mutation has not been identified. The condition has sometimes been observed in concurrence with alopecia areata, and in this paper we report a case in whom the concomitant s…
Exploratory study on the effects of biodegradable nanoparticles with drugs on malignant B cells and on a human/mouse model of Burkitt lymphoma.
2010
The aim of this study was to determine if Rituximab coated Biodegradable Nanoparticles (BNPs) loaded with Chlorambucil and Hydroxychloroquine could induce apoptosis of B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (B-CLL), MEC-1 and BJAB cells in vitro and evaluate their toxic and therapeutic effects on a Human/Mouse Model of Burkitt Lymphoma at an exploratory, proof of concept scale. We found that Rituximab-Chlorambucil-Hydroxychloroquine BNPs induce a decrease in cell viability of malignant B cells in a dose-dependent manner. The mediated cytotoxicity resulted from apoptosis, and was confirmed by monitoring the B-CLL cells after Annexin V/propidium iodide staining. Additional data revealed that these BN…
Resolving lesions in human cutaneous leishmaniasis predominantly harbour chemokine receptor CXCR3-positive T helper 1/T cytotoxic type 1 cells
2009
Summary Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an epidemic disease affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Treatment options have several side-effects and a vaccine does not exist at present. Objectives To translate information about protection against CL from mice to man, we studied the local immune response in CL skin biopsies and correlated these findings with clinical information. Methods The frequency of inflammatory cells was determined in skin biopsies of 20 patients diagnosed with CL using immunohistochemistry. In addition, the nature of the resulting adaptive immune response was assessed by (double) immunostaining against CD4 and chemokine receptors CXCR3 (T helper 1, T…