IL-27, a heterodimeric cytokine of IL-12 family, regulates both innate and adaptive immunity largely via Jak-Stat signaling. IL-27 can induce IFN-γ and inflammatory mediators from T lymphocytes and innate immune cells. IL-27 has unique anti-inflammatory properties via both Tr1 cells dependent and independent mechanisms. Here the role and biology of IL-27 in innate and adaptive immunity are summ...

Though sometimes portrayed as "new," the science of innate immunity made its start more than 100 years ago. Recent progress has reflected the application of new methods to old problems. In particular, genetic dissection of innate immune pathways has been pursued with great success in model organisms. This has opened the way to an understanding of innate immune sensing. The effector arm of innat...

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the most common form of motor neuron disease. It is a debilitating, late onset neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the progressive death of upper and ┙-motor neurons within the central nervous system (CNS) (Bruijn and Cleveland, 1996). This results in symptoms of muscle weakness and atrophy of skeletal m...

recognition of lipid and glycolipid antigens by CD1d. The finding that CD1d-activating lipids may accumulate in hyperlipidemic subjects supports a role for NK T cells in bridging hyperlipidemia and inflammation [10] . Another immune cell, the Th17 cell producing IL-17, and its role in atherosclerosis has been much debated due to recent apparently conflicting data [11–13] . In the third article,...

Innate immune response involves protein-protein interactions, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-protein interactions and signaling cascades. So far, thousands of protein-protein interactions have been curated as a static interaction map. However, protein-protein interactions involved in innate immune response are dynamic. We recorded the dynamics in the interactome during innate immune response by co...

Host innate immunity is the first line of defense against invasion of pathogens and determines the outcome of the infection. The host cells recognize pathogens as nonself via pattern-recognition receptors including Tolllike receptors (TLRs) and the RIG-I like receptors (RLRs), follow to induce local antiviral defense by producing interferon and proinflammatory cytokines to combat viral infectio...

trophil extracellular traps [5, 6] . In this issue, Carlsen et al. [7] demonstrate differential neutrophil responsiveness to distinct species of Leishmania amastigotes, the cause of cutaneous leishmaniasis in South America. Their findings suggest that different species possess specific mechanisms of resistance against neutrophil effector functions, and that this should be subject to further res...

libtissue is a software system for implementing and testing AIS algorithms on real-world computer security problems. AIS algorithms are implemented as a collection of cells, antigen and signals interacting within a tissue compartment. Input data to the tissue comes in the form of realtime events generated by sensors monitoring a system under surveillance, and cells are actively able to affect t...

HPV infections of the epidermis and anogenital tract occur frequently in healthy individuals, and 'high risk' HPV types are a major risk factor for cervical cancer. The first line of defense against HPV is the innate immune system, which provides non specific protection against a variety of pathogens and also enhances the adaptive immune response. However, HPV-infected cells often evade innate ...

In basic terms, the immune system has two lines of defense: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity is the first immunological, non-specific (antigen-independent) mechanism for fighting against an intruding pathogen. It is a rapid immune response, occurring within minutes or hours after aggression, that has no immunologic memory. Adaptive immunity, on the other hand, is antigen-d...