Acquired protective immune response in a fish-myxozoan model encompasses specific antibodies and inflammation resolution

The myxozoan parasite Enteromyxum leei causes chronic enteritis in gilthead sea bream (GSB, Sparus aurata) leading to intestinal dysfunction. Two trials were performed in which GSB that had survived a previous infection with E. leei (SUR), and naïve GSB (NAI), were exposed to water effluent containing parasite stages. Humoral factors (total IgM and IgT, specific anti-E. leei IgM, total serum peroxidases), histopathology and gene expression were analysed. Results showed that SUR maintained high levels of specific anti-E. leei IgM (up to 16 months), expressed high levels of immunoglobulins at the intestinal mucosa, particularly the soluble forms, and were resistant to re-infection. Their acquired-type response was complemented by other immune effectors locally and systemically, like cell cytotoxicity (high granzyme A expression), complement activity (high c3 and fucolectin expression), and serum peroxidases. In contrast to NAI, SUR displayed a post-inflammatory phenotype in the intestine and head kidney, characteristic of inflammation resolution (low il1β, high il10 and low hsp90α expression).

Staphylococcus aureus strategies to evade the host acquired immune response

Staphylococcus aureus poses a significant public-health problem. Infection caused by S. aureus can manifest as acute or long-lasting persistent diseases that are often refractory to antibiotic and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. To develop more effective strategies for preventing or treating these infections, it is crucial to understand why the immune response is incapable to eradicate the bacterium. When S. aureus first infect the host, there is a robust activation of the host innate immune responses. Generally, S. aureus can survive this initial interaction due to the expression of a wide array of virulence factors that interfere with the host innate immune defenses. After this initial interaction the acquired immune response is the arm of the host defenses that will try to clear the pathogen. However, S. aureus is capable of maintaining infection in the host even in the presence of a robust antigen-specific immune response. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying the ability of S. aureus to escape immune surveillance by the acquired immune response will help uncover potentially important targets for the development of immune-based adjunctive therapies and more efficient vaccines. There are several lines of evidence that lead us to believe that S. aureus can directly or indirectly disable the acquired immune response. This review will discuss the different immune evasion strategies used by S. aureus to modulate the different components of the acquired immune defenses.

Molecular characteristics of Illicium verum extractives to activate acquired immune response

Illicium verum, whose extractives can activate the demic acquired immune response, is an expensive medicinal plant. However, the rich extractives in I. verum biomass were seriously wasted for the inefficient extraction and separation processes. In order to further utilize the biomedical resources for the good acquired immune response, the four extractives were obtained by SJYB extraction, and then the immunology moleculars of SJYB extractives were identified and analyzed by GC-MS. The result showed that the first-stage extractives contained 108 components including anethole (40.27%), 4-methoxy-benzaldehyde (4.25%), etc.; the second-stage extractives had 5 components including anethole (84.82%), 2-hydroxy-2-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-n-methyl-acetamide (7.11%), etc.; the third-stage extractives contained one component namely anethole (100%); and the fourth-stage extractives contained 5 components including cyclohexyl-benzene (64.64%), 1-(1-methylethenyl)-3-(1-methylethyl)-benzene (17.17%), etc. The SJYB extractives of I. verum biomass had a main retention time between 10 and 20 min what's more, the SJYB extractives contained many biomedical moleculars, such as anethole, eucalyptol, [1S-(1α,4aα,10aβ)]-1,2,3,4,4a,9,10,10a-octahydro-1,4a-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethyl)-1-phenanthrenecarboxylic acid, stigmast-4-en-3-one, γ-sitosterol, and so on. So the functional analytical results suggested that the SJYB extractives of I. verum had a function in activating the acquired immune response and a huge potential in biomedicine.

Expression and function of micro-RNAs in immune cells during normal or disease state

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are 19-24 nucleotide long non-coding RNAs that posttranscriptionally modulate gene expression. They are found in almost all species: viruses, plants, nematodes, fly, fish, mouse, human, and are implicated in a wide array of cellular and developmental processes. Microarray-based miRNA profiling brought to the discovery of miRNAs specific to different hematopoietic lineages. Furthermore, the functional assays performed in tissue cultures to discover miRNAs involved in immune responses in combination with the reports of miRNA-transgenic or miRNA -knockout mouse models has helped elucidating the miRNA roles in the development and function of immune system. Abnormal patterns of hematopoietic-specific miRNAs have been found in different types of cancer and miRNA based gene therapy is being considered as a potential technology of choice in immunological disorders and cancer. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent findings related with the expression and function of miRNAs in hematopoietic lineages.