March 2019

In parenthesis is the % of HIV infected cells. (E,F) correspond to representative pictures of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of macrophages in control conditions (uninfected, UI) and HIV infected cells (HIV) to observe the distribution, numbers, and size of mitochondria. (Source: Castellano et al., 2019)

Targeting the metabolic profile of latently infected macrophages as a potential treatment for HIV

Castellano et al., demonstrated the importance of glutamine and glutamate to the survival of these latently-infected macrophages by showing that there was a decrease in the number of cells that survived...

ChelekaMarch 29, 2019

Development at 20 Weeks The baby weighs about 10 ounces and is a little more than 6 inches long. Your uterus should be at the level of your belly button. The baby can suck a thumb, yawn, stretch, and make faces. Soon -- if you haven't already -- you'll feel your baby move, which is called "quickening." Source: WebMD

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PD-1/PDL1 pathway in the maintenance of maternal-foetal immunotolerance

Meggyes et.al in this paper has highlighted the role of PD-1/PDL1 pathway during pregnancy. They recruited healthy women who underwent pregnancy termination for non-medical reasons in the first trimester...

ChelekaMarch 26, 2019

Comparison of the complement activation pathway of jawed and jawless vertebrates. In jawed vertebrates, the classical activation pathway of the complement system is triggered by antigen-antibody complex. The binding of complement C1 to the Fc region of the antibody initiates the complement activation pathway, and C4, C2 and C3 are then successively cleaved and activated. Finally, a subunit composition of C5b-C6-C7-C8-polyC9 forms the MAC that initiates the lysis of the target cells. In jawless vertebrates, the VLR-mediated complement pathway is triggered by antigen-VLR complex and C1q molecules. During this complement activation process, C3 is cleaved and activated. Finally, LPFP is recruited to form a pore complex on the membrane of target cells, resulting in the target cell lysis. Together, the two parallel complement pathways achieve similar cytotoxicity. (Source: Wu

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How does the complement cascade result in pore formation in Lampreys

Lampreys possess an alternate immune system that employs VLR recombination instead of VDJ recombination as seen in jawed vertebrates. Previous studies showed that lamprey pore formation...

ChelekaMarch 22, 2019

Diagram depicting the hypothesized differential progression of IR expression due to healthy aging vs. ART-suppressed HIV infection. (Source:Belkina et al., 2019 Fig 3D)

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HIV complications: inflamma-aging or increased activation ?

It has been suggested that “inflamm-aging” is due to immune exhaustion which is associated with reduced effector functions and increased expression of inhibitory receptors (IRs). Thus, Belkina et al.,

ChelekaMarch 20, 2019

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Does BCG improve de novo malaria immunity ?

There is limited research on the impact of BCG on malaria. Murine models have shown that BCG reduces parasitaemia in mice compared to controls. Researchers aimed to provide...

ChelekaMarch 15, 2019

CCR5 receptor (yellow, based on PDB 4MBS) in cell membrane (grey, modeled)(Source: Wikimedia, Author: Thomas Splettstoesser)

breaking news

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation cures HIV

Study by Gupta et al., reports for the second time, that HIV can be cured by using allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a donor that has a homozygous genetic deletion...

ChelekaMarch 12, 2019

Fig.1 Neutrophil depletion at the end of the first week p.i. (postinfection) enhances survival in aged mice. a Young mouse were administered a neutrophil-depleting monoclonal antibody just prior to inoculation with influenza virus and following infection (as described in Materials and methods) and survival was monitored. Compared to isotype control treated mice, neutrophil-depleted young mice exhibited a significant increase in mortality. *P < 0.05 (Log rank), n = 8–10 per group. b Aged mice were treated per a and survival postinfection was monitored. P value between neutrophil-depleted and control group, P=0.23 (Log-Rank). n=8–10 per group. c Young mice were administered a neutrophil-depleting antibody at day +6 p.i., then intermittently until day +12 p.i. (as described in Materials and methods) and compared to isotype control treated, young infected mice. *P = 0.10 (Log-rank), n = 8–10 per group. d Aged mice were treated according to c and survival was measured postinfection. Aged neutrophil-depleted mice exhibited a significant increased survival as compared to the control group. *P < 0.05 Log-rank, n = 8–10 per group

breaking news

Do neutrophils play a role in age-associated increase in flu mortality?

Influenza virus infection causes more mortality in elderly compared to younger people, and one of the main reasons could be aging of the immune system. Aging impairs both innate ...

ChelekaMarch 8, 2019

Farsakoglu et al., Graphical Abstract (Source: Farsakoglu et al., 2019 Cell Reports)

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Do NK cells play a role in vaccine induced humoral immunity ?

Natural killers cells (NKs) are one of the first responders and mediators of inflammation. However, their exact role in vaccine induced immunity is not adequately defined.

ChelekaMarch 6, 2019

Induction of Il10 in intestinal CD4 T cells independent of ICOS. (A) LI lamina propria CD4 T cells from 10BiT and 10BiT.Icos2/2 mice were examined for coexpression of Thy1.1 and Foxp3. (B and C) Graphs summarizing frequencies and mean fluorescence intensity, respectively, of Thy1.1+ cells among Foxp32, Foxp3+, and total CD4 T cells as shown in (A). (D) LI lamina propria Foxp3-gated CD4 T cells from 10BiT and 10BiT.Icos2/2 mice were examined for coexpression of Helios and Thy1.1. (E and F) Graphs summarizing frequencies and mean fluorescence intensity of Thy1.1+ cells among Helios2, Helios+, and total Foxp3+ T cells. (G) Schematic overview of thymocyte transfer experiment. CD4 single-positive Foxp32 thymocytes were FACS-sorted from congenically marked wild-type (CD45.1) and Icos2/2 (CD45.2) 10BiT.Foxp3 mice and transferred to Tcrbd2/2 recipients. After 3 wk, donor CD4+TCRb+ cells from the LI lamina propria were analyzed by FACS. (Source: Launduyt et al., 2019)

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ICOS: is it essential for Treg-IL10 expression in the colon?

anduyt et al., aimed to determine the role of ICOS signalling of Tregs and expression of IL-10 in the colons of mice. As expected ICOS knock out (KO) mice compared…

ChelekaMarch 1, 2019

Targeting the metabolic profile of latently infected macrophages as a potential treatment for HIV

PD-1/PDL1 pathway in the maintenance of maternal-foetal immunotolerance

How does the complement cascade result in pore formation in Lampreys

HIV complications: inflamma-aging or increased activation ?

Does BCG improve de novo malaria immunity ?

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation cures HIV

Do neutrophils play a role in age-associated increase in flu mortality?

Do NK cells play a role in vaccine induced humoral immunity ?

ICOS: is it essential for Treg-IL10 expression in the colon?

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