IgE, mast cells, basophils, and eosinophils are essential components of allergic inflammation. Antigen-specific IgE production, with subsequent fixation of IgE to FcepsilonRI receptors on mast cells and basophils, is central to the initiation and propagation of immediate hypersensitivity reactions. Mast cells, basophils, and eosinophils are central effector cells in allergic inflammation, as we...

tetanus can be only prevented by vaccination because immunity against this disease is rarely acquired, even by natural infections. to maintain long-term protective immunity against tetanus, booster immunization is essential for adolescents and adults. most hospitalized cases and virtually all deaths occur in people over 60 years of age. the purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of...

neopterin, apyrazinopyrimidine compound, is produced by macrophages after induction by interferon gamma (ifn-y) and serves as a marker of cellular immune system activation followed by oxidative stress. the aim of this study was to determine urinary neopterin to creatinine ratio (uncr) as a surrogate marker of cell-mediated immune activation in multiple sclerosis (ms). three weekly early morning...

Tuberculosis causes more annual deaths globally than any other infectious disease. However, progress in developing novel vaccines, diagnostics, and therapies has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). While the role of many immune cells has been extensively explored, mast cells (MCs) have been relatively ignored. MCs are tissue r...

Inflammatory responses play decisive roles at different stages of tumor development, including initiation, promotion, malignant conversion, invasion, and metastasis. Inflammation also affects immune surveillance and responses to therapy. Immune cells that infiltrate tumors engage in an extensive and dynamic crosstalk with cancer cells, and some of the molecular events that mediate this dialog h...

BACKGROUND Development of influenza vaccines capable of inducing broad protection against different virus subtypes is necessary given the ever-changing viral genetic landscape. Previously, we showed that vaccination with whole inactivated virus (WIV) induces heterosubtypic protection against lethal virus infection in mice. Whole inactivated virus-induced cross-protection was found to be mediate...

Cross-priming plays a major role in generating CD8+ T cell-dependent antitumor immunity through cross-presentation. However, the cross-presentation of tumor-associated antigens by dendritic cells often promotes tolerance rather than CD8+ T-cell immunity. We have now identified a β-catenin-dependent pathway of cross-priming inhibition as a novel and potentially broad mechanism whereby neoplastic...