Immune system

Three interconnected positions are advocated: (1) although serving as a useful model, the immune self does not exist as such; (2) instead of a self/nonself demarcation, the immune system 'sees' itself, i.e., it does not ignore the 'self' or attack the 'other;' but exhibits a spectrum of responses, which when viewed from outside the system appear as discrimination of 'self' and 'nonself' based on certain criteria of reactivity. When immune reactions are conceived in terms of normal physiology and open exchange with the environment, where borders dividing host and foreign are elusive and changing, host defense is only part of the immune system's functions, which actually comprise two basic tasks: protection, i.e., to preserve host integrity, and maintenance of organismic identity. And thus (3) if the spectrum of immunity is enlarged, differentiating low reactive 'autoimmune' reactions from activated immune responses against the '...

Objective. Analyze the leukogram of meat-type quail inoculated in ovo with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and lauric acid (LA) while exposed to a sanitary challenge. Material and methods. The drinking water was placed seven days before the arrival of the quails and it was only refilled throughout the experiment. The treatments were applied on 480 fertile eggs in the 7th day of incubation: Negative control: not perforated; positive control: injected with the diluent (corn oil; CO); CLA120: 120 mg CLA /CO; CLA240: 240 mg CLA /CO; LA60: 60 mg LA /CO and LA90: 90 mg LA /CO. A completely randomized design with four replications was used. Total leukocytes and the differential leukocyte count were evaluated at 21 and 36 days of age. Results. No statistically effects (p>0.05) of any inoculations were observed in the parameters evaluated. We observed an average of 10927.1±2933.6 cell/μl, 61.6 ± 7.31%, 32.0 ± 7.13% and 0.57 ± 0.21 for leukocyte count, lymphocyte, heterophile and heterophile/lymphocyte ratio, respectively, at 21 days. At 36 days, we observed an overall average of 13291.7 ± 3559.0 cell/μl, 65.0 ± 9.29%, 29.3 ± 9.93% and 0.50 ± 0.24, for those same variables, respectively. Conclusions. The in ovo inoculation levels of CLA and LA did not affect the leucogram of meat-type quails raised in sanitary challenge.

Unlike traditional biological research that focuses on a small set of components, systems biology studies the complex interactions among a large number of genes, proteins, and other elements of biological networks and systems. Host-pathogen systems biology examines the interactions between the components of two distinct organisms: a microbial or viral pathogen and its animal host. With the availability of complete genomic sequences of a variety of hosts and pathogens, together with breakthroughs in proteomics, metabolomics, and other experimental areas, the investigation of host-pathogen systems on a multitude of levels of detail has come within reach. This chapter introduces methods and approaches for the analysis of host-pathogen systems. We will particularly emphasize the role of biochemical networks for the study of complex relationships across species boundaries. Although the research area of host-pathogen systems biology spans multiple spatial and temporal scales, we will focus on the molecular and cellular aspects of pathogen-host interactions. We will cover the construction of biochemical networks, the identification of functional response sub-networks, and their comparative network analysis. These methods find application in the identification of host markers and drug targets for further drug development and therapeutic interventions. We will also provide a brief review of other modeling techniques and applications within host-pathogen systems biology, including rule-based modeling of signal transduction pathways, immune system models, and physiological top-down approaches.

Most cytotoxic drugs have gross effects on the immune system, such as neutropenia and lymphopenia. However, their effects on tumor-specific immune responses are unknown. Gemcitabine is a nucleoside analogue that is frequently used to treat non-small cell lung cancer. It is also active in other malignancies, either alone or in combination with cisplatin. Here, we investigate its effects on antigen-specific antitumor immunity using a murine tumor cell line transfected to express influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA). CD4(+), CD8(+), and B220(+) lymphocyte numbers all decreased during chemotherapy (120 microg/g, i.p., every third day for five doses), but B cells were selectively depleted. Gemcitabine induced a profound suppression of the IgG antibody response to HA, and this was unrelated to tumor size. In contrast, in vitro T-lymphocyte recall responses to the class I- and class II-restricted dominant peptide epitopes of HA were enhanced in tumor-bearing, gemcitabine-treated mice. We fou...

Ascorbic acid, widely known as vtamin C, is an essential nutrient for animals such as poultry. Ascorbic acid in poultry feed improves animal health and thus increases the growth performance of birds. Ascorbic acid can be used in the form of synthetic products or can be naturally obtained from fruits and plants. It is soluble in water and can be easily administered in drinking water and the diet. Poultry can synthesize ascorbic acid in the body. However, the performance of the animals can be improved by adding ascorbic acid to their diet. In addition, ascorbic acid is called an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. This increases their resistance to disease during the transition season. Ascorbic acid supplementation positively affects the stress response, especially during the dry season in tropical countries. Furthermore, supplementing ascorbic acid in the poultry's diet improves resistance to diseases, regulates stress, and helps in the body's oxidation process. Ultimately,...

Background Suppression of immune system in treated cancer patients may lead to secondary infections that obviate the need of antibiotics. In the present study, an attempt was made to understand the occurrence of secondary infections in immuno-suppressed patients along with herbal control of these infections with the following objectives to: (a) isolate the microbial species from the treated oral cancer patients along with the estimation of absolute neutrophile counts of patients (b) assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity medicinal plants against the above clinical isolates. Methods Blood and oral swab cultures were taken from 40 oral cancer patients undergoing treatment in the radiotherapy unit of Regional Cancer Institute, Pt. B.D.S. Health University, Rohtak, Haryana. Clinical isolates were identified by following general microbiological, staining and biochemical methods. The absolute neutrophile counts were done by following the standard methods. The medicinal plants selected...

Regenerative processes occurring under physiological (maintenance) and pathological (reparative) conditions are a fundamental part of life and vary greatly among different species, individuals, and tissues. Physiological regeneration occurs naturally as a consequence of normal cell erosion, or as an inevitable outcome of any biological process aiming at the restoration of homeostasis. Reparative regeneration occurs as a consequence of tissue damage. Although the central nervous system (CNS) has been considered for years as a “perennial” tissue, it has recently become clear that both physiological and reparative regeneration occur also within the CNS to sustain tissue homeostasis and repair. Proliferation and differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) residing within the healthy CNS, or surviving injury, are considered crucial in sustaining these processes. Thus a large number of experimental stem cell-based transplantation systems for CNS repair have recently been establ...

The non-neuronal cholinergic system is widely expressed in human airways. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and/or acetylcholine are demonstrated in more or less all epithelial surface cells (goblet cells, ciliated cells, basal cells), submucosal glands and airway smooth muscle fibres. Acetylcholine is also demonstrated in the effector cells of the immune system (lymphocytes, macrophages, mast cells). Epithelial, endothelial and immune cells express nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. Thus the cytomolecule acetylcholine can contribute to the regulation of basic cell functions via auto-/paracrine mechanisms (proliferation, differentiation, ciliary activity, secretion of water, ions and mucus, organization of the cytoskeleton, cell-cell contact). Acetylcholine also modulates immune functions (release of cytokines; proliferation, activation and inhibition of immune cells). Preliminary experimental evidence suggests that mucosal inflammation may be associated with raised acetylcholine le...

Al though the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unknown, the pathogenesis is gradually being unravelled, seeming to be the result of a combination of environmental, genetic, and immunological factors in which an uncontrolled immune response within the intestinal lumen leads to inflammation in genetically predisposed individuals. Multifactorial evidence suggests that a defect of innate immune response to microbial agents is involved in IBD. This editorial outlines the immunopathogenesis of IBD and their current and future therapy. We present IBD as a result of dysregulated mucosal response in the intestinal wall facilitated by defects in epithelial barrier function and the mucosal immune system with excessive production of cytokines growth factors, adhesion molecules, and reactive oxygen metabolites, resulting in tissue injury. Established and evolving therapies are discussed in the second part of this editorial and at the end of this section we review new therapi...

Pathogen recognition by the plant immune system is governed by structurally related, polymorphic products of disease resistance (R) genes. RAR1 and/or SGT1b mediate the function of many R proteins. RAR1 controls preactivation R protein accumulation by an unknown mechanism. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis SGT1b has two distinct, genetically separable functions in the plant immune system: SGT1b antagonizes RAR1 to negatively regulate R protein accumulation before infection, and SGT1b has a RAR1-independent function that regulates programmed cell death during infection. The balanced activities of RAR1 and SGT1, in concert with cytosolic HSP90, modulate preactivation R protein accumulation and signaling competence.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (LES) is one of the most common immune system disorders that primarily affects young women and the chan- ges in the functioning of the immune system during pregnancy can flare self reactions and the resulting signs (anaemia, thrombocytopenia, hypertension, nephropathy, rashes, arthritis). Furthermore, the presence of non specific antibodies (anticardiolipin and LAC) increases the risk of miscarriage,

Human milk provides infants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory agents that contribute to optimal immune system function. The act of breastfeeding allows important bacterial and hormonal interactions between the mother and baby and impacts the mouth, tongue, swallow, and eustachian tubes. Previous meta-analyses have shown that lack of breastfeeding and less intensive patterns of breastfeeding are associated with increased risk of acute otitis media, one of the most common infections of childhood. A review of epidemiologic studies indicates that the introduction of infant formula in the first 6 months of life is associated with increased incidence of acute otitis media in early-childhood. More recent research raises the issues of how long this increased risk persists, and whether lack of breastfeeding is associated with diagnosis of otitis media with effusion. However, many studies suffer from lack of study of younger populations and imprecise definitions of i...