Interaction of lymphotoxin alpha(1)beta(2) (LTalpha(1)beta(2)) with its receptor is key for the generation and maintenance of secondary lymphoid organ microstructure. We used mice conditionally deficient for LTbeta on different lymphocyte subsets to determine how the LTbeta-dependent lymphoid structure influences immune reactivity. All conditionally LTbeta-deficient mice mounted normal immune r...

Although humans and chimpanzees share >99% identity in alignable protein sequences, they differ surprisingly in the incidence and severity of some common diseases. In general, humans infected with various viruses, such as HIV and hepatitis C virus, appear to develop stronger reactions and long-term complications. Humans also appear to suffer more from other diseases associated with over-reactiv...

Severe injury induces a temporal shift in immune reactivity that can cause serious complications or even death. We previously reported that mice exposed to bacterial superantigen (SAg) early after injury undergo a strong SAg response with lethal consequences. This study compares the early and late effects of burn injury on SAg reactivity in vivo to establish how injury influences adaptive immun...

Fifty-four patients with evidence of locally advanced primary squamous cell bronchial carcinoma (SCC), and three patients with adenocarcinoma (AC) had lung resection to remove all the visible tumour. After operation an randomly chosen group of 20 SCC patients received adjuvant BCG immunostimulation by scarifications (BCG-A). An additional group of 14 SCC patients, and three AC patients received...

Bone is a complex organ with the capacity to regenerate. Even with this healing potential, healing results in fractured bone are unsatisfactory in a considerable patient cohort even with a good treatment regimen. These delayed healing cases encourage further research into possible new treatment approaches. The recently developed field of osteoimmunol‐ ogy addressing the tight interconnectivity ...

New treatments based on combinations of standard therapeutic modalities and immunotherapy are of potential use, but require a profound understanding of immune modulatory properties of standard therapies. Here, the impact of standard (chemo)radiotherapy on the immune system of cervical cancer patients was evaluated. Thirty patients with cervical cancer were treated with external beam radiation t...

IgA nephropathy is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. Mucosal infections and food antigens, including wheat gluten, have been proposed as potential contributing environmental factors. Increased immune reactivity to gluten and/or association with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by ingestion of gluten, have been reported in IgA nephropathy. However, stu...

The notion of the immunological homunculus arose from the observations (1) that the healthy adaptive immune system is inclined to respond (T cell reactivity and autoantibodies) to particular sets of body molecules (self-antigens) and (2) that autoimmune diseases are characterized by sets of autoimmune reactivity to some of the very same self-antigens recognized by healthy subjects - with an obv...

To date, none of the myelin-associated Ag targets definitively discriminates between the immune response observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy subjects. However, it has been shown recently that analysis of global immune Ab profiles such as natural autoantibody reactivities can help to distinguish between normal individuals and patients suffering from various immune diseases. ...

Escherichia coli is a frequent cause of clinical mastitis in dairy cows. It has been shown that a prompt response of the mammary gland after E. coli entry into the lumen of the gland is required to control the infection, which means that the early detection of bacteria is of prime importance. Yet, apart from lipopolysaccharide (LPS), little is known of the bacterial components which are detecte...