Neither hepatitis B virus (HBV) nor hepatitis C virus (HCV) is cytopathic, and hepatitis is caused by the host immune response against virus-related peptides expressed on hepatocytes in conjunction with human leukocyte antigens (HLA). In acute self-limiting hepatitis, a broad immune response occurs that is strong enough to eradicate the virus or suppress viral replication (Rehermann, 1996). How...

A 35-year-old Caucasian female G4P4 at week one post partum with no significant past medical history was referred to our clinic for evaluation and treatment of right thigh dermatitis. Reported history suggested a recurrent dermatitis in the same location of which she believed the papules had been larger during the previous flare. Physical exam confirmed the lesions were localized to the distal ...

Granulomas are clusters of immune cells. These structures can be formed in reaction to infection and display signs of necrosis, such as in tuberculosis. Alternatively, in several immune disorders, such as sarcoidosis, Crohn's disease and common variable immunodeficiency, non-caseating granulomas are formed without an obvious infectious trigger. Despite advances in our understanding of the human...

We examine the Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) immunopathogenesis on the basis of the complex interaction between host immune response and virulence microorganism factors. Ct infection can be asymptomatic or may produce an inflammation elicited and preserved by reinfections or persistent infections. We discuss the host polymorphisms that, with their anti- or proinflammatory effects, determine the co...

There is an intense interplay between HIV and the immune system, and the literature is replete with studies describing various immunological phenomena associated with HIV infection. Many of these phenomena seem too broad in scope to be attributable either to HIV-infected cells or to the HIV-specific immune response. Recently, a more fundamental understanding of how HIV affects various T cells a...

Borna disease virus (BDV) infection represents an excellent model system to study immunopathological mechanisms based on a T cell-mediated immune reaction in the central nervous system. The single-stranded RNA Borna disease virus, a member of Bornaviridae in the order of Mononegavirale, lacks cytopathogenicity both in vitro and in vivo. After experimental infection BDV causes a persistent infec...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a non-cytopathic hepatotropic virus that can lead to severe liver disease including acute hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Successful clearance of the virus as well as the establishment of liver disease is largely driven by a complex interaction between the virus and the host immune response. In this review, the immunological events, includ...

hclamydia pneumoniae is emerging as a frequent ause of respiratory disease in children as well as adults. C. pneumoniae infection in children presents a different set of problems regarding disease presentation and diagnosis compared to adults. Several studies of the role of C. pneumoniae in lower respiratory tract infection in pediatric populations have found evidence of infection in 0 to over ...

Hundred and fifty years after the discovery of multiple sclerosis (MS), neither the etiology nor the mechanism of disease is fully charted, and current treatment has only modest effect. The conceptual understanding of MS rests on the animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Based on 70 years experience with EAE, it is widely believed that MS is an inflammatory attack on mye...

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with varied manifestations, including functional limitation and reduced quality of life. Improved understanding the immunopathogenesis psoriatic arthritis, particularly role interleukin-23 interleukin-17 axis, has led to development therapeutic targets alter natural history condition. In this article, we review monoclonal antibodi...