In this paper we re-examine the roles of particle-bound IgG and C3 in phagocytosis of sheep erythrocytes (E) by monolayers of purified human monocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). We conclude that two fragments of the C3 molecule, that is, C3b and C3d, can function as opsonins if the phagocyte has the appropriate membrane receptors. Monocytes, that bind both C3b and C3d, respond to b...

Candida albicans is a human commensal and clinically important fungal pathogen that grows as both yeast and hyphal forms during human, mouse and zebrafish infection. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by NADPH oxidases play diverse roles in immunity, including their long-appreciated function as microbicidal oxidants. Here we demonstrate a non-traditional mechanistic role of NADPH oxidase in...

Nef, a multifunctional HIV protein, activates the Vav/Rac/p21-activated kinase (PAK) signaling pathway. Given the potential role of this pathway in the activation of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, we have investigated the effect of the HIV-1 Nef protein on the phagocyte respiratory burst. Microglia (cell line and primary culture) were transduced with lentiviral expression vectors. Expression of N...

Dendritic cells (DCs), monocytes, and macrophages are a heterogeneous population of mononuclear phagocytes that are involved in antigen processing and presentation to initiate and regulate immune responses to pathogens, vaccines, tumor, and tolerance to self. In addition to their afferent sentinel function, DCs and macrophages are also critical as effectors and coordinators of inflammation and ...

INTRODUCTION Children with primary immunodeficiency have severe life-threatening infections and a higher prevalence of autoimmune problems, allergy and lymphoproliferative disorders. Allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been the only potentially curative option. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with primary immunodeficiency underwent allogenic stem cell transplantation in the pe...

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To maintain its health, an organism must be able to repel infectious invaders. In animals, phagocytic cells—profes-sional hunters—are essential to this process. This creates another level of challenge: how to get the phagocytic cells to the site(s) where they are needed without activating them prematurely. Several molecular events are required to orchestrate this properly. For example, endothel...

Unlike most other effector cells of the innate, as well as the adaptive immune systems, the neutrophil is a relatively undiscerning aggressor with scant regard for damage limitation. Although this highly combative, professional phagocyte has become increasingly implicated in the immunopathogenesis of many acute and chronic inflammatory disorders, of both infective and noninfective origin, effec...