Leptin Induces Th17 Responses: Relevance to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
A new Cutting Edge article, in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Immunology, identifies a link between leptin and T helper (Th)17 cells, based on the evidence that leptin was able to promote Th17 responses in human CD4+ T cells and in mice, both in vitro and in vivo, by inducing the transcription […]
Adiponectin potentiates Th1 and Th17 immune responses
A new study published in March 2013 issue of the Journal of Immunology identifies a new immunomodulatory effect of adiponectin (APN) – its ability to activate DCs through PLCγ/JNK/NF-κB-signaling pathways and release of proinflammatory cytokines, and to potentiate Th1 and Th17 immune responses. Adiponectin, the most abundant adipokine, is known for its insulin-sensitizing effects, is […]
Activation of Beta2-Adrenoreceptors Drives T Helper Cell Priming In Favor of IL-17 Responses
In a recent study published in the journal Cytokine, Michela Manni, Richard Granstein and Georges Maestroni, from the Center for Experimental Pathology, Locarno, Switzerland, provide new evidence suggesting that catecholamines, through activation of beta2-adrenoreceptors (ARs) on immune cells, may drive, in certain conditions, Th17 immune responses. The authors report that the beta2-AR agonist salbutamol is […]
Rejecting Allergens: The Avoidance Behavior
Evolving Concepts The immune system can recognize, assimilate or reject self and non-self components. Indeed, immunological activities vary in a spectrum that goes from total tolerance (assimilation of self and non-self) to intolerance (rejection of self and non-self). Immunologists are aware of the power of immunologic rejection of histo-incompatible transplanted organs or tissues as well […]
Immune & Cytokine Dysregulation Associated With Behavioral Deficits In A Mouse Model Of Autism
A new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) indicates that cellular and cytokine immune dysregulation may contribute to the autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related behavioral deficits in a mouse model of an autism. Recent evidence indicates the involvement of an abnormal immune system activity in the pathogenesis of […]
Microbial Deprivation, Inflammation and the Th17/IL-23 Axis in Cancer Development
In a recent review article in Cancer and Metastasis Reviews Leena von Hertzen, H. Joensuu and T. Haahtela, from the Skin and Allergy Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland, summarize the epidemiological data related to microbe-rich environments and cancer, and discuss the involvement of the T helper (Th)17/Interleukin(IL)-23 axis and the immunomodulatory potential of environmental microbiota […]
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Transcriptional Repression of Interleukin-17A Expression and Th17-Related Autoimmunity
In a new Molecular and Cellular Biology study, Sneha Joshi and colleagues from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark demonstrate that the reversal of paralysis in EAE mice by 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 correlates with reduced IL-17A-secreting CD4+ T cells, and that the mechanism involved in 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-mediated suppression of IL-17A induction involves […]
Cytokine Profiles in Subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorders
In a study published in the online journal PLoS ONE, a research group from the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan reports the presence of high levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in male (≥6 years old) subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD include autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder and pervasive developmental disorder. A dysregulation […]
The ‘Old Friends’ Hypothesis and Why Living in the Modern World May Increase Vulnerability to Major Depression
In this paper, Raison et al. explore evidence that the ‘old friends’ theory, heretofore associated with allergic and autoimmune diseases, can also be applied to major depression. The ‘old friends’ theory suggests that immune interactions with pseudocommensal mycobacterial species, gut flora members and helminthes regulate the immune system, thus explaining lower rates of atopic (Th2-mediated) […]
Priming of Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Dendritic Cells with Epinephrine Favors the Induction of a Dominant Th2/Th17 Phenotype
A new study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity indicates that the stress hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is able to drive a Th2/Th17-shift in dendritic cells (DCs) in the presence of a pathogenic stimulus. Dendritic cells cytokine and chemokine profiles are able to shape CD4+ T cell pathways and phenotypes and […]
