background toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic protozoan infection with a high prevalence in a broad range of hosts infecting up to one-third of the world human population. toxoplasmosis leads to serious medical problems in immunocompromised individuals and fetuses and also induces abortion and mortality in domestic animals. therefore, there is a huge demand for the development of an effective va...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this research is to study the roles of Porphyromonas gingivalis-lipopolysaccharide (P. gingivalis-LPS) and Escherichia coli-lipopolysaccharide (E. coli-LPS) on maturation and antigen-presenting functions of dendritic cells (DCs), and to provide experimental evidences to explore the possible mechanism of DCs in periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Flow cytometry was used t...

AIM To assess proliferative and apoptotic potential of the seminiferous epithelium cells in relation to Sertoli cell maturation in newborn rats under the influence of estradiol, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) or both agents given together. METHODS From postnatal day (PND) 5 to 15 male rats were daily injected with 12.5 microg of 17beta-estradiol benzoate (EB) or 7.5 IU of human purified F...

The maturation status of dendritic cells (DCs) is crucial for effective antigen presentation and initiation of the primary immune response. Maturation stimuli cause the adhesion of immature DCs to the extracellular matrix, which is accompanied by recruitment of the CD11b/CD18 [macrophage antigen-1 (Mac-1)] integrin receptor, cytoskeleton reorganization, and podosome formation. Cathepsin X, a cy...

B cells responding to T-dependent antigen either differentiate rapidly into extrafollicular plasma cells or enter germinal centers and undergo somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation. However, the physiological cues that direct B cell differentiation down one pathway versus the other are unknown. Here we show that the strength of the initial interaction between B cell receptor (BCR) and a...