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Dietary vitamin D3 increased the suppressive activity of regulatory T cells in the skin-draining lymph nodes, which are poised to suppress dermal inflammation

Research

Here we discuss how skin exposure to sunlight may suppress liver inflammation and the severity of NAFLD.

Research

IL8RA and IL8RB, encoded by CXCR1 and CXCR2, are receptors for interleukin (IL)-8 and other CXC chemokines involved in chemotaxis and activation of...

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Otitis media (OM) is among the most common illnesses of early childhood, characterised by the presence of inflammation in the middle ear cavity...

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The analysis of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) and related metabolites represents a considerable challenge for both clinical and research laboratories...

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The last decade has seen rapid advances in the genetic technology that is allowing researchers to examine host-pathogen interactions at a whole organism level.

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Vitamin D has been linked in some studies with atopy- and asthma-associated phenotypes in children with established disease,but its role in disease inception...

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This study was the first to concurrently identify middle ear pathogens in both bacterial biofilm and intracellularly in the middle ear mucosa of children and to identify extensive DNA stranding in the MEF from children with AOM

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While it is known that the anti-inflammatory effects of interleukin (IL)-4 require new protein synthesis, the exact mechanisms by which IL-4 suppresses the prod

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The immunological mechanisms that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) differ between males and females. Females are 2-3 times more likely to develop MS compared to males, however the reason for this discrepancy is unknown. Once MS is established, there is a more inflammatory yet milder form of disease in females whereas males generally suffer from more severe disease and faster progression, neural degradation, and disability.

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Our data provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underpinning the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with risk versus protection in visceral leishmaniasis in humans

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To determine whether serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels are suppressed in patients with the clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) following narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy (UVB-PT).

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Here we show that transfected macrophages stably expressing wild-type Nramp1 (Nramp1+) control the net replication of B. thailandensis, but not B. pseudomallei.

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Cells of the skin and circulation are in constant two-way communication. Following exposure of humans to sunlight or to phototherapy, there are alterations in the number, phenotype and function of circulating blood cells.

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Viruses, bacteria, and parasites have developed strategies to invade and establish long-term infections in their hosts.

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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) may be an important metabolic regulator of whole-body glucose. While important roles have been ascribed to macrophages in regulating metabolic functions in BAT, little is known of the roles of other immune cells subsets, particularly dendritic cells (DCs). Eating a high-fat diet may compromise the development of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs)-which give rise to DCs-in bone marrow, with less known of its effects in BAT. We have previously demonstrated that ongoing exposure to low-dose ultraviolet radiation (UVR) significantly reduced the 'whitening' effect of eating a high-fat diet upon interscapular (i) BAT of mice.

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Uniformly low expression of IFN and IFNGR1 in PKDL skin biopsies could explain parasite persistence

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Here we examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes as risk factors for cutaneous (CL) and mucosal leishmaniasis (ML), and leishmaniasis...

Research

B cells are critical to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), but the mechanisms by which they contribute to the disease are poorly defined. We hypothesised that the expression of CD32b (FcγRIIb), a receptor for the Fc region of IgG with inhibitory activities in B cells, is lower on B cell subsets from people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or MS. CD32b expression was highest on post-naive IgM+ B cell subsets in healthy controls. For females with MS or CIS, significantly lower CD32b expression was identified on IgM+ B cell subsets, including naive and IgMhi MZ-like B cells, when compared with control females. Lower CD32b expression on these B cell subsets was associated with detectable anti-Epstein Barr Virus viral capsid antigen IgM antibodies, and higher serum levels of B cell activating factor. To investigate the effects of lower CD32b expression, B cells were polyclonally activated in the presence of IgG immune complexes, with or without a CD32b blocking antibody, and the expression of TNF and IL-10 in B cell subsets was assessed.