Objective: Inflammation involved in the etiology of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) has been shown in majority of studies. However, the role of systemic inflammation in LUTS has not been firmly established. Thus, the current study was to examine the association between peripheral total and differential white blood cells count (WBCs), an important systemic inflammation marker, and LUTS in a ...

Eater is an EGF-like repeat transmembrane receptor of the Nimrod family and is expressed in Drosophila hemocytes. Eater was initially identified for its role in phagocytosis of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We have deleted eater and show that it appears to be required for efficient phagocytosis of Gram-positive but not Gram-negative bacteria. However, the most striking phenotyp...

Primary stimulation of the horseshoe crab innate immune system by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates a network of responses to ensure host defense against invading pathogens. Granular hemocytes selectively respond to LPS via a G protein-dependent exocytic pathway that critically depends on the proteolytic activity of the LPS-responsive coagulation factor C. In response to stimulation ...

The purpose of this study was to quantify the gene expression of lysozyme, an important antibacterial protein produced by shrimp hemocytes, within tissues of Litopenaeus vannamei Boone in response to a pathogen challenge. We quantified lysozyme transcripts with a real-time PCR method and used these data, along with total hemocyte counts, to infer patterns of hemocyte trafficking during the immu...

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced exocytosis of granular hemocytes is a key component of the horseshoe crab's innate immunity to infectious microorganisms; stimulation by LPS induces the secretion of various defense molecules from the granular hemocytes. Using a previously uncharacterized assay for exocytosis, we clearly show that hemocytes respond only to LPS and not to other pathogen...

Immortal cell lines have not yet been reported from Penaeus monodon, which delimits the prospects of investigating the associated viral pathogens especially white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). In this context, a method of developing primary hemocyte culture from this crustacean has been standardized by employing modified double strength Leibovitz-15 (L-15) growth medium supplemented with 2% gluco...

The strategies used by bacterial pathogens to circumvent host defense mechanisms remain largely undefined in bivalve molluscs. In this study, we investigated experimentally the interactions between the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) immune system and Vibrio aestuarianus strain 01/32, a pathogenic bacterium originally isolated from moribund oysters. First, an antibiotic-resistant V. aestuari...

Disclosing interactions between pesticides and bee infections is of most interest to understand challenges that pollinators are facing and to which extent bee health is compromised. Here, we address the individual and combined effect that three different pesticides (dimethoate, clothianidin and fluvalinate) and an American foulbrood (AFB) infection have on mortality and the cellular immune resp...

OBJECTIVES to evaluate whether total and differential WBC counts are altered in young obese patients (aged 6-12 years) and if a relationship exists between WBC counts and the severity of obesity as well as with CRP level. MATERIALS AND METHODS a group of 77 obese patients [32 males and 45 females] and 19 controls [7 males and 12 females] were studied. Total WBC count was performed by using an...

Dopamine (DA) is a signal moiety bridging the nervous and immune systems. DA dysregulation is linked to serious human diseases, including addiction, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease. However, DA actions in the immune system remain incompletely understood. In this study, we found that DA modulates insect hemocyte phagocytosis using hemocytes prepared from the rice stem borer (RSB), Chilo s...