Metastasis is the most devastating aspect of cancer, however we know very little about the mechanisms of local invasion, the earliest step of metastasis. During tumor growth CD11b+ Gr1+ cells, known also as MDSCs, have been shown to promote tumor progression by a wide spectrum of effects that suppress the anti-tumor immune response. In addition to immunosuppression, CD11b+ Gr1+ cells promote me...

BACKGROUND In recent years, many immunoregulatory functions have been ascribed to soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G). Since chemotaxis is crucial for an efficient immune response, we have investigated for the first time the effects of sHLA-G on chemokine receptor expression and function in different human T cell populations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS T cell populations isolated from peripheral blood...

BACKGROUND Human African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, leads to neuroinflammation and characteristic sleep/wake alterations. The relationship between the onset of these alterations and the development of neuroinflammation is of high translational relevance, but remains unclear. This study investigates the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ and IF...

Mycobacterium indicus pranii (earlier known as Mycobacterium w) has been used as an immunmodulatory agent in leprosy and tuberculosis by mediating the release of various cytokines and chemokines. CXCL10 (IP-10) and CXCL11 (I-TAC) chemokines are involved in T-cell migration and stimulation of natural killer cells in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this study, the effect of heat killed M...

The CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) is predominantly expressed on T helper type 1 (Th1) cells that are involved in inflammatory diseases. The three CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 are produced at sites of inflammation and elicit migration of pathological Th1 cells. Here, we are the first to characterize the pharmacological potencies and specificity of a CXCR3 antagonist, N-1R-[3-(4-eth...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic hepatitis C virus infection activates an intrahepatic immune response, leading to increased expression of interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes and activation of natural killer (NK) cells-the most prevalent innate immune cell in the liver. We investigated whether the elimination of hepatitis C virus with direct-acting antiviral normalizes expression of IFN-stimulated genes...

BACKGROUND Analyses of circulating chemokines offer novel tools to investigate the T helper (Th)1/Th2 imbalance in allergic disease in vivo. OBJECTIVE To relate circulating Th1- and Th2-associated chemokines in infancy to allergic disease, sensitization and probiotic supplementation. METHODS Circulating levels of Th1-associated CXC-chemokine ligand (CXCL)9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 and Th2-associa...