While Chlamydia trachomatis infections are frequently asymptomatic, mechanisms that regulate host response to this intracellular Gram-negative bacterium remain undefined. This investigation thus used ...peripheral blood mononuclear cells and endometrial tissue from women with or without Chlamydia genital tract infection to better define this response. Initial genome-wide microarray analysis revealed highly elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 10 and other molecules characteristic of Type 2 immunity (e.g., fibrosis and wound repair) in Chlamydia-infected tissue. This result was corroborated in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry studies that showed extant upper genital tract Chlamydia infection was associated with increased co-expression of CD200 receptor and CD206 (markers of alternative macrophage activation) by endometrial macrophages as well as increased expression of GATA-3 (the transcription factor regulating TH2 differentiation) by endometrial CD4(+) T cells. Also among women with genital tract Chlamydia infection, peripheral CD3(+) CD4(+) and CD3(+) CD4(-) cells that proliferated in response to ex vivo stimulation with inactivated chlamydial antigen secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)-4 than tumor necrosis factor, interferon-γ, or IL-17; findings that repeated in T cells isolated from these same women 1 and 4 months after infection had been eradicated. Our results thus newly reveal that genital infection by an obligate intracellular bacterium induces polarization towards Type 2 immunity, including Chlamydia-specific TH2 development. Based on these findings, we now speculate that Type 2 immunity was selected by evolution as the host response to C. trachomatis in the human female genital tract to control infection and minimize immunopathological damage to vital reproductive structures.
B cells thwart antigenic aggressions by releasing immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, IgA, and IgE, which deploy well-understood effector functions. In contrast, the role of secreted IgD remains mysterious. ...We found that some B cells generated IgD-secreting plasma cells following early exposure to external soluble antigens such as food proteins. Secreted IgD targeted basophils by interacting with the CD44-binding protein galectin-9. When engaged by antigen, basophil-bound IgD increased basophil secretion of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, and IL-13, which facilitated the generation of T follicular helper type 2 cells expressing IL-4. These germinal center T cells enhanced IgG1 and IgE but not IgG2a and IgG2b responses to the antigen initially recognized by basophil-bound IgD. In addition, IgD ligation by antigen attenuated allergic basophil degranulation induced by IgE co-ligation. Thus, IgD may link B cells with basophils to optimize humoral T helper type 2-mediated immunity against common environmental soluble antigens.
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•IgD interacts with basophils through the CD44-binding protein galectin-9•IgD ligation by antigen elicits basophil release of Th2 cell-associated cytokines•IgD-activated basophils enhance B cell production of IgG1 and IgE•IgD interferes with IgE-mediated basophil degranulation
The function of IgD has been mysterious. Shan et al. find that IgD recognized food antigens and targeted basophils through galectin-9. IgD ligation by antigen induced basophil secretion of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, which amplified Th2 cell-mediated IgG1 and IgE production by B cells. IgD also constrained IgE-mediated basophil degranulation.
Neonatal herpes simplex virus infection Cherpes, Thomas L; Matthews, Dean B; Maryak, Samantha A
Clinical obstetrics and gynecology
55, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Neonatal herpes, seen roughly in 1 of 3000 live births in the United States, is the most serious manifestation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in the perinatal period. Although acyclovir ...therapy decreases infant mortality associated with perinatal HSV transmission, development of permanent neurological disabilities is not uncommon. Mother-to-neonate HSV transmission is most efficient when maternal genital tract HSV infection is acquired proximate to the time of delivery, signifying that neonatal herpes prevention strategies need to focus on decreasing the incidence of maternal infection during pregnancy and more precisely identifying infants most likely to benefit from prophylactic antiviral therapy.
Abstract Hoffa's fat pad (HFP) of the knee is affected by a variety of tumours and tumour-like conditions. HFP can be affected by diffuse or solitary, focal disease. This paper reports a consecutive ...series of 19 cases of solitary symptomatic HFP tumours. The commonest presenting symptom was anterior knee pain. All patients underwent open excision after diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Histology revealed varied diagnoses with the commonest being pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) and ganglia. American Knee Society scores improved from 76 pre-operatively to 96 post-operatively with an improvement in functional scores from 92 to 100. In conclusion the majority of solitary HFP tumours are benign and may be either cystic or solid. MRI and plain radiographs are the imaging of choice. The definitive treatments of both cystic and solid tumours should be selective arthrotomy and excision biopsy. All patients in this series reported substantial improvement in symptoms following surgery.
B cells thwart antigenic aggressions by releasing immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, IgA and IgE, which deploy well-understood effector functions. In contrast, the role of secreted IgD remains mysterious. ...We found that some B cells generated IgD-secreting plasma cells following early exposure to external soluble antigens such as food proteins. Secreted IgD targeted basophils by interacting with the CD44-binding protein galectin-9. When engaged by antigen, basophil-bound IgD incresed basophil secretion of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5 and IL-13, which facilitated the generation of T follicular helper type-2 cells expressing IL-4. These germinal center T cells enhanced IgG1 and IgE but not IgG2a and IgG2b responses to the antigen initially recognized by basophil-bound IgD. In addition, IgD ligation by antigen attenuated allergic basophil degranulation induced by IgE co-ligation. Thus, IgD may link B cells with basophils to optimize humoral T helper type-2-mediated immunity against common environmental soluble antigens.
The function of IgD has been mysterious. Shan et al. find that IgD recognized food antigens and targeted basophils through galectin-9. IgD ligation by antigen induced basophil secretion of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13, which amplified Th2 cell-mediated IgG1 and IgE production by B cells. IgD also constrained IgE-mediated basophil degranulation.
While Chlamydia trachomatis infections are frequently asymptomatic, mechanisms that regulate host response to this intracellular Gram-negative bacterium remain undefined. This investigation thus used ...peripheral blood mononuclear cells and endometrial tissue from women with or without Chlamydia genital tract infection to better define this response. Initial genome-wide microarray analysis revealed highly elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 10 and other molecules characteristic of Type 2 immunity (e.g., fibrosis and wound repair) in Chlamydia-infected tissue. This result was corroborated in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry studies that showed extant upper genital tract Chlamydia infection was associated with increased co-expression of CD200 receptor and CD206 (markers of alternative macrophage activation) by endometrial macrophages as well as increased expression of GATA-3 (the transcription factor regulating TH2 differentiation) by endometrial CD4+ T cells. Also among women with genital tract Chlamydia infection, peripheral CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD4- cells that proliferated in response to ex vivo stimulation with inactivated chlamydial antigen secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)-4 than tumor necrosis factor, interferon- gamma , or IL-17; findings that repeated in T cells isolated from these same women 1 and 4 months after infection had been eradicated. Our results thus newly reveal that genital infection by an obligate intracellular bacterium induces polarization towards Type 2 immunity, including Chlamydia-specific TH2 development. Based on these findings, we now speculate that Type 2 immunity was selected by evolution as the host response to C. trachomatis in the human female genital tract to control infection and minimize immunopathological damage to vital reproductive structures.
A detailed study of 133 subjects with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes with severe microvascular disease has failed to substantiate the hypothesis that HLA factors influence the predisposition to ...this type of complication. A significant association between proliferative retinopathy and raised levels of circulating immune complexes was found. The distribution of insulin-binding levels in serum was similar to that in patients without complications. There was no correlation between insulin binding and the presence of immune complexes and no evidence was found that these complexes contained anti-insulin, anti-nuclear, or organ-specific antibodies. The distribution of insulin-binding levels in these subjects with diabetes of long duration was similar to that observed in 270 subjects with juvenile-onset short-duration type I diabetes. When the data were combined, significant associations between HLA-B8 and low/absent insulin binding levels were observed. HLA-BW62 was not associated with either high or low insulin-binding capacity. It is concluded that HLA genetic factors, insulin-binding capacity, and autoimmunity are unrelated to the pathogenesis of microvascular disease. Raised levels of circulating immune complexes may well be secondary to widespread tissue damage in diabetes of long duration.
Immune evasion is a hallmark of cancer. Losing the ability to present neoantigens through human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loss may facilitate immune evasion. However, the polymorphic nature of the ...locus has precluded accurate HLA copy-number analysis. Here, we present loss of heterozygosity in human leukocyte antigen (LOHHLA), a computational tool to determine HLA allele-specific copy number from sequencing data. Using LOHHLA, we find that HLA LOH occurs in 40% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and is associated with a high subclonal neoantigen burden, APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis, upregulation of cytolytic activity, and PD-L1 positivity. The focal nature of HLA LOH alterations, their subclonal frequencies, enrichment in metastatic sites, and occurrence as parallel events suggests that HLA LOH is an immune escape mechanism that is subject to strong microenvironmental selection pressures later in tumor evolution. Characterizing HLA LOH with LOHHLA refines neoantigen prediction and may have implications for our understanding of resistance mechanisms and immunotherapeutic approaches targeting neoantigens.
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•LOHHLA enables estimation of allele-specific HLA loss from sequencing data•LOH of the HLA locus occurs in 40% of early stage non-small-cell lung cancers•HLA LOH is associated with a high subclonal neoantigen burden and immune activity•HLA LOH is an immune escape mechanism subject to strong selection pressures
Development of the bioinformatics tool LOHHLA allows precise measurement of allele-specific HLA copy number, improves the accuracy in neoantigen prediction, and uncovers insights into how immune escape contributes to tumor evolution in non-small-cell lung cancer.
We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a <20 MJup widely separated (∼8'', a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion that shares photometric ...colors and spectroscopic features with the directly imaged exoplanets HR 8799c, d, and e. As an L-to-T transition object, VHS 1256 b exists along the region of the color–magnitude diagram where substellar atmospheres transition from cloudy to clear. We observed VHS 1256 b with JWST's NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS modes for coverage from 1 to 20 μm at resolutions of ∼1000–3700. Water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium are observed in several portions of the JWST spectrum based on comparisons from template brown dwarf spectra, molecular opacities, and atmospheric models. The spectral shape of VHS 1256 b is influenced by disequilibrium chemistry and clouds. We directly detect silicate clouds, the first such detection reported for a planetary-mass companion.
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