Potential of Toll-like receptor 9 agonists in combined anticancer immunotherapy strategies: synergy of PAMPs and DAMPs?

β-glucan enriched bath directly stimulates the wound healing process in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Wound healing is a complex and well-organized process in which physiological factors and immune mechanisms are involved. A number of different immune modulators have been found to enhance the non-specific defence system in vertebrates, among which β-glucans are the most powerful and extensively investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the biological impact of two different commercially available β glucan containing products on the wound healing process in carp. Throughout a two week experiment fish were kept either untreated (control), or in water supplemented with the two different types of β-glucans. The wound healing process was monitored using a multispectral visualisation system. The correlation between wound closure and immune response was investigated by measuring the gene expression patterns of IL-1β, IL-6 family member M17, IL-8 and Muc5b, and measurement of production of radical oxygen species. PAMPs/DAMPs stimulation caused by the wounding and or β-glucans resulted in an inflammatory response by activating IL-1β, IL-6 family member M17 and IL-8 and differences in the expression pattern were seen depending on stimuli. IL-1β, IL-6 family member M17 and IL-8 were activated in all wounds regardless of treatment. Expression of all three interleukins was highly up regulated in control wounded muscle already at day 1 post-wounding and decreased at subsequent time-points. The reverse was the case with control wounded skin, where expression increased from day 1 through day 14. The results for the β-glucan treated wounds were more complex. The images showed significantly faster wound contraction in both treated groups compared to the control. The obtained results clearly demonstrated that a β glucan enriched bath promotes the closure of wounds in common carp and induce a local change in cytokine expression.

Pattern recognition receptors: sentinels in innate immunity and targets of new vaccine adjuvants

The innate immune system plays an essential role in the host's first line of defense against microbial invasion, and involves the recognition of distinct pathogen-associated molecular patterns by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Activation of PRRs triggers cell signaling leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and Type 1 interferons, and the induction of antimicrobial and inflammatory responses. These innate responses are also responsible for instructing the development of an appropriate pathogen-specific adaptive immune response. In this review, the focus is on different classes of PRRs that have been identified, including Toll-like receptors, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors, and the retinoic acid-inducible gene-I-like receptors, and their importance in host defense against infection. The role of PRR cooperation in generating optimal immune responses required for protective immunity and the potential of targeting PRRs in the development of a new generation of vaccine adjuvants is also discussed.