Although some bacterial strains show potential to prevent colitis, their mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the anti-colitic mechanisms of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis JCM 1222(T), focusing on the relationship between interleukin (IL)-17A secreting CD4(+) T cells and intestinal epithelial costimulatory molecules in mice. Oral administration of JCM 1222(T) to mi...

OBJECTIVE The costimulatory interactions of the B7 family molecules CD80 and CD86 on antigen-presenting cells with their T-cell counter-receptors CD28 and CTLA-4 modulate T lymphocyte-mediated immune responses in a reciprocal manner. We investigated the possible aberrant production of soluble (s) forms of the T-cell costimulatory molecules CD80, CD86, CD28 and CTLA-4 in plasma of patients with ...

A broad array of evidence indicates that T lymphocytes make significant contributions to vascular inflammation in the setting of atherosclerotic disease, hypertension, autoimmune vasculitis, and other disorders. Experimental data show that costimulatory and coinhibitory pathways involving molecules of the B7-CD28 and TNF-TNFR families regulate T cell responses that promote vascular disease. Ant...

Signals delivered by costimulatory molecules are implicated in driving T cell expansion. The requirements for these signals, however, vary from dispensable to essential in different infections. We examined the underlying mechanisms of this differential T cell costimulation dependence and found that the viral context determined the dependence on CD28/B7-mediated costimulation for expansion of na...

Antigen-specific T cell activation requires the engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR) with antigen as well as the engagement of appropriate costimulatory molecules. The most extensively characterized pathway of costimulation has been that involving the interaction of CD28 and CTLA4 on the T cell with B7 (now termed B7-1) on antigen presenting cells. Recently, B7-2 a second costimulatory ligan...

Background: Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disorder with chronic inflammatory conditions in which immune cells play a significant role in its pathogenic process. Regulatory T cells (Treg), as a part of immune system, are involved in controlling autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Quantitative and/or functional alteration of Tregs has been shown to play an atheroprotective role and may al...

In the past two decades, numerous experimental and clinical studies have established the importance of inflammation and immunity in the development of obesity and its metabolic complications, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this context, T cells orchestrate inflammatory processes in metabolic organs, such as the adipose tissue (AT) and liver, thereby mediating obes...

Dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy of malignant diseases relies on 2 critical parameters: antigen transport from the periphery to draining lymph nodes and efficient priming of primary and stimulation of secondary immune responses. Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) signaling has been shown to be pivotal for DC migration toward lymph node-derived chemokines in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstra...

Cytokines are small proteins or glycoproteins that transmit information from one cell to another. Most cells in the body secrete and respond to cytokines and their effects have been described on a myriad of cellular functions. Cytokine interactions may not be linear, thus making the system extremely intricate and with unpredictable features. Therefore, each model of disease may be unique, with ...