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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Substance P Promotes Th17 Phenotype in Generalized Anxiety Disorder
A study published in the journal of Clinical Immunology demonstrates that the cytokine profiles in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) individuals show traits of Th1 and Th2 deficiencies but are associated with a predominant Th17 phenotype, particularly in the presence of substance P (SP). Substance P has been shown to stimulate the inflammatory response, contributing to […]
Overview of the ”New Generation” Cytokines
In this review, published in Arthritis Research & Therapy Cem Gabay and Iain McInnes present the biology and relevant pathophysiology of several novel cytokines, with focus on their involvement in rheumatic diseases. This list includes the interleukin (IL)-1 superfamily (IL-18 and IL-33), the IL-12 superfamily (IL-27 and IL-35), the IL-2 superfamily (IL-15 and IL-21), and […]
PACAP as an Intrinsic Regulator of Treg Abundance
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) provides perhaps the first evidence that endogenous pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) modulates the production or expansion of regulatory T cells (Treg) and T helper (Th)17 lymphocytes. PACAP is a 38-amino-acid neuropeptide identified in 1989 from […]
