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Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for autoimmune diseases (ADs) have identified many risk loci and have provided insights into the etiology of each disease. Some of these loci, such as PTPN22, IL23R and STAT4, are shared among different ADs, and the combination of risk loci may determine an individual's susceptibility for a disease. The majority of GWAS loci are expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), where disease-causing variants regulate expression of neighboring (or sometimes distant) genes. Because the eQTL effects are often cell type-specific, the incorporation of epigenetic data from disease-related cell types and tissues is expected to refine the identification of causal variants. The cumulative eQTL effects in multiple genes may influence the activity or fate of immune cells, which in turn may affect the function of the immune system in individuals. In this paper, I review the etiology of ADs by focusing on important immune cells (Th1 cells, Th17 cells and regulatory T cells), important pathways (antigen-receptor signaling and type I interferon signaling) and relevant genes identified in GWASs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I International Immunology i , dxab111, https://doi.org/10.1093/intimm/dxab111 After this paper was accepted, the authors realized that the data in the middle and bottom histograms of Fig. 3C and the right-hand flow cytometry plot of Fig. [Extracted from the article]

The transcriptome during acute otitis media due to NTHi shows relatively weak immune activationNon-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) causes acute otitis media (AOM) in young children. In our recent paper in Microbes and Infection we described the transcriptome signature elicited from PBMCs at onset of AOM caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. In the current study we found very different results with NTHi AOM infections; 5.1% of 29 187 genes were differentially regulated by more than 2-fold at the onset of AOM compared with the pre-infection healthy state in the same children. Among the 1487 transcripts, 100 genes associated with the immune defense response were specifically analyzed. About half of the differentially regulated genes associated with antibacterial activity and the cell-mediated immune response were activated and half were suppressed. The important signatures for NTHi in children suggested that the balance of the immune response was toward suppression. Moreover, 90% of the genes associated with a pro-inflammatory cytokine response were down-regulated. The genes associated with the classic complement pathway were down-regulated, although the alternative complement pathway genes were up-regulated. These results provide the first human transcriptome data identifying gene expression in the immune response to be predominantly down-regulated at the onset of AOM due to NTHi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical application of dendritic cells (DC) as adjuvants in immunotherapies such as the cell-based cancer vaccine continues to gain interest. The overall efficacy of this emerging immunotherapy, however, remains low. Studies suggest the stage of maturation and activation of ex vivo-prepared DC immediately prior to patient administration is critical to subsequent DC migration in vivo, which ultimately affects overall vaccine efficacy. While it is possible to generate mature and activated DC ex vivo using various stimulatory cocktails, in the case of cancer patients, the qualitative and quantitative assessment of which DC stimulatory cocktail works most effectively to enhance subsequent DC migration in vivo is difficult. Thus, a non-invasive imaging modality capable of monitoring the real-time migration of DC in long-term studies is required. In this paper, we address whether cellular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is sufficiently sensitive to quantitatively detect differences in the migratory abilities of two different DC preparations: untreated (resting) versus ex vivo matured in a mouse model. In order to distinguish our ex vivo-generated DC of interest from surrounding tissues in magnetic resonance (MR) images, DC were labeled in vitro with the superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticle FeREX®. Characterization of DC phenotype and function following addition of a cytokine maturation cocktail and the toll-like receptor ligand CpG, both in the presence and in the absence of SPIO, were also carried out. Conventional histological techniques were used to verify the quantitative data obtained from MR images. This study provides important information relevant to tracking the in vivo migration of ex vivo-prepared and stimulated DC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza affects most of the world's population annually, often causing a secondary infection, but pathological mechanisms of influenza virus infection remain unclear. We have found that influenza viruses have a selective preference for infecting monocytes and mature immune effector cells. This paper provides evidence that influenza virus infection increases the expression of granzyme B (GrB) in monocytes, activated T and B cells. All GrB+ cells had cytolytic function. GrB+CD62Lhigh central memory (TCM) cells were fast response population to virus infection when compared with GrB+CD62Llow population. The influenza virus-infected PBMC could be killed by GrB+ cells. We propose the following mechanism for influenza: (i) influenza virus within the respiratory tract overcomes humoral defenses; (ii) free virus is directly engulfed by the immune system effector cells and free virus also infects epithelial cells; (iii) virus-infected epithelial cells and the immune system cells are killed by cytotoxic cells. These indicated that an immune system that was combating a virus infection needs to sacrifice some of its immune system cells. Therefore, influenza viruses might temporally destroy the human immune system's line of defense, resulting in susceptibility to a secondary infection. This might be a prevalent mechanism existing in cell-mediated immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Neutrophilic polymorphonuclears (PMNs) play an important role in the progression of sepsis-related inflammation and become highly activated by a wide array of ligands on the site. The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) is a recently described receptor that has many effects on human PMN. The engagement of TREM-1 on PMN can induce phagocytosis, reactive oxygen species production and release of myeloperoxidase and IL-8. LPS has a priming effect on these functions. We show in this paper that Lyn, AKT, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and Jak2 signaling pathways are elicited following TREM-1 engagement and activation by a monoclonal agonist antibody (anti-TREM-1) in human PMN, leading to the phosphorylation of STAT5 and RelA, a subunit of the nuclear factor-kappa B family. We also show that TREM-1 is recruited to ganglioside M1-lipid rafts in PMN upon stimulation with LPS or anti-TREM-1. Moreover, we observed that Toll-like receptor 4 and TREM-1 co-localize upon stimulation and TREM-1 engagement resulted in the phosphorylation of IL-1R-associated kinase 1, but not its stimulant-induced degradation. These data shed a new light on how various receptors implicated in the innate immune response could interact to insure an efficient inflammatory response upon pathogens-associated aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 4, 5, 7 and 9 belong to a family of proteins that recognize mainly conserved microbial motifs. Though each TLR has a highly specific ability to recognize a particular microbial pattern, recent papers suggest that some ligands are able to affect the expression of different TLRs. In this paper, we have investigated TLR4, 5, 7 and 9 expression, both at mRNA and protein level, following treatment of different intestinal epithelial cell lines with LPS, flagellin, loxiribine, CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide and peptidoglycan, to assess if the different TLR ligands may modulate the expression of the respective TLR and of the unrelated ones. Our results show that a cross-talk exists between TLRs and various ligands, indicating a cross-regulation among these pattern recognition receptors. In particular, TLR4 was generally down-regulated by treatment with ligands other than LPS, while flagellin and unrelated microbial-associated molecular patterns exerted a general stimulatory activity as regards TLR5 expression. Concerning TLR7 and 9, we have observed a more variable behaviour of the various cell lines with the different ligands. Together, our results demonstrate that the expression of TLRs in intestinal cells is highly dynamic and tightly regulated in response to encountered microbial stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discoveries in life sciences often have short life spans, nevertheless the concept of the clonal selection initiated a true revolution in immunology. The reminiscence starts with Niels Jerne's famous 1955 PNAS paper and culminates in the foundation of the Basel Institute for Immunology and consequences for modern research in immunology.The lecture sets off with Sir Macfarlane Burnet's acceptance of the new paradigm. Burnet's cells and clones led Jerne to develop with Al Nordin and Claudia Henry the plaque assay for estimation of antibody forming cells.Jerne formulated the theory of generation of antibody diversity, this hypothesis being the “golden input” to the newly established institute that Hoffmann-La Roche put in hands of Niels Jerne.The lecture marks stages of development of the Basel Institute, and explains Jerne's successful strategy of attracting so many first class immunologists as members, short-term visitors or advisors. Jerne succeeded to recruit people like Charley Steinberg, Louis Du Pasquier and Theo Staehelin; he gave an opportunity to young Susumu Tonegawa (working with Charley Steinberg), to young Georges Köhler (working with Fritz Melchers, later successor of Niels Jerne as BII director).Names after names parade the stage of the Basel Institute, and those leaving established themselves in institutions around the globe - forming faithful BII alumni. In 2001 when the BII closed down a good portion of the permanent members continued their scientific careers in Switzerland (Rolink, Palmer, Lanzavecchia, Pieters, Du Pasquier, Lefkovits).Clonal selection theory was the common denominator then and it is history now. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]