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Kokila Shah

Bio: Kokila Shah is an academic researcher from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The author has contributed to research in topics: Dendritic cell & Cytokine. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 2544 citations.

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Journal ArticleDOI
11 Jun 1999-Science
TL;DR: Purified IPCs are here shown to be the CD4(+)CD11c- type 2 dendritic cell precursors (pDC2s), which produce 200 to 1000 times more IFN than other blood cells after microbial challenge and are thus an effector cell type of the immune system, critical for antiviral and antitumor immune responses.
Abstract: Interferons (IFNs) are the most important cytokines in antiviral immune responses. “Natural IFN-producing cells” (IPCs) in human blood express CD4 and major histocompatibility complex class II proteins, but have not been isolated and further characterized because of their rarity, rapid apoptosis, and lack of lineage markers. Purified IPCs are here shown to be the CD4+CD11c− type 2 dendritic cell precursors (pDC2s), which produce 200 to 1000 times more IFN than other blood cells after microbial challenge. pDC2s are thus an effector cell type of the immune system, critical for antiviral and antitumor immune responses.

2,328 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors monitored the two major subsets of blood dendritic cells (DCs) in 12 individuals undergoing a change, primarily initiation, of highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Abstract: Antigen presenting dendritic cells (DCs) can serve as sites for HIV replication and as vehicles for transmission of the virus to T cells. It is known that the numbers of DCs in blood is reduced during HIV-1 infection. Here we monitored the two major subsets of blood DCs in 12 individuals undergoing a change, primarily initiation, of highly active antiretroviral therapy. The numbers of plasmacytoid DCs were reliably higher on therapy, although in the 1-3 month interval we followed, these numbers did not return to those seen in HIV uninfected controls. An increase in plasmacytoid DCs was accompanied by an increase in IFN-alpha production in response to a standard challenge in culture with UV-inactivated herpes simplex virus. The levels of myeloid DCs also demonstrated an increase while on HAART, and these numbers become comparable to the HIV uninfected controls. The numbers of plasmacytoid and myeloid DCs varied inversely with the levels of plasma HIV viremia. These longitudinal studies extend prior work showing that virus infection with HIV leads to a decrease in the number of dendritic cells in blood, and that this can be reversed at least in part by therapy.

122 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In humans with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, an interferon-α (IFN-α) response by a specialized blood mononuclear cell to herpes simplex virus (HSV) in vitro is in vitro.
Abstract: In humans with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, an interferon-α (IFN-α) response by a specialized blood mononuclear cell to herpes simplex virus (HSV) in vitro is ass...

6 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells with a unique ability to induce primary immune responses and may be important for the induction of immunological tolerance, as well as for the regulation of the type of T cell-mediated immune response.
Abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells with a unique ability to induce primary immune responses. DCs capture and transfer information from the outside world to the cells of the adaptive immune system. DCs are not only critical for the induction of primary immune responses, but may also be important for the induction of immunological tolerance, as well as for the regulation of the type of T cell-mediated immune response. Although our understanding of DC biology is still in its infancy, we are now beginning to use DC-based immunotherapy protocols to elicit immunity against cancer and infectious diseases.

6,758 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This unit discusses mammalian Toll receptors (TLR1‐10) that have an essential role in the innate immune recognition of microorganisms and are discussed are TLR‐mediated signaling pathways and antibodies that are available to detect specific TLRs.
Abstract: The innate immune system in drosophila and mammals senses the invasion of microorganisms using the family of Toll receptors, stimulation of which initiates a range of host defense mechanisms. In drosophila antimicrobial responses rely on two signaling pathways: the Toll pathway and the IMD pathway. In mammals there are at least 10 members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family that recognize specific components conserved among microorganisms. Activation of the TLRs leads not only to the induction of inflammatory responses but also to the development of antigen-specific adaptive immunity. The TLR-induced inflammatory response is dependent on a common signaling pathway that is mediated by the adaptor molecule MyD88. However, there is evidence for additional pathways that mediate TLR ligand-specific biological responses.

5,915 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2003-Immunity
TL;DR: Using a murine adoptive transfer system to probe monocyte homing and differentiation in vivo, two functional subsets among murine blood monocytes are identified: a short-lived CX(3)CR1(lo)CCR2(+)Gr1(+) subset that is actively recruited to inflamed tissues and a CX (3) CR1(hi)CCS1-dependent recruitment to noninflamed tissues.

3,307 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Tremendous progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of the antiviral actions of interferons (IFNs), as well as strategies evolved by viruses to antagonize the actions of IFNs.
Abstract: Tremendous progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of the antiviral actions of interferons (IFNs), as well as strategies evolved by viruses to antagonize the actions of IFNs. Furthermore, advances made while elucidating the IFN system have contributed significantly to our understanding in multiple areas of virology and molecular cell biology, ranging from pathways of signal transduction to the biochemical mechanisms of transcriptional and translational control to the molecular basis of viral pathogenesis. IFNs are approved therapeutics and have moved from the basic research laboratory to the clinic. Among the IFN-induced proteins important in the antiviral actions of IFNs are the RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), the 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) and RNase L, and the Mx protein GTPases. Double-stranded RNA plays a central role in modulating protein phosphorylation and RNA degradation catalyzed by the IFN-inducible PKR kinase and the 2'-5'-oligoadenylate-dependent RNase L, respectively, and also in RNA editing by the IFN-inducible RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (ADAR1). IFN also induces a form of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS2) and the major histocompatibility complex class I and II proteins, all of which play important roles in immune response to infections. Several additional genes whose expression profiles are altered in response to IFN treatment and virus infection have been identified by microarray analyses. The availability of cDNA and genomic clones for many of the components of the IFN system, including IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, and IFN-gamma, their receptors, Jak and Stat and IRF signal transduction components, and proteins such as PKR, 2',5'-OAS, Mx, and ADAR, whose expression is regulated by IFNs, has permitted the generation of mutant proteins, cells that overexpress different forms of the proteins, and animals in which their expression has been disrupted by targeted gene disruption. The use of these IFN system reagents, both in cell culture and in whole animals, continues to provide important contributions to our understanding of the virus-host interaction and cellular antiviral response.

2,621 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the imidazoquinolines activate immune cells via the Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)-MyD88–dependent signaling pathway, and that neither MyD88- nor TLR7-deficient mice showed any inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages, proliferation of splenocytes or maturation of dendritic cells.
Abstract: The imidazoquinoline compounds imiquimod and R-848 are low-molecular-weight immune response modifiers that can induce the synthesis of interferon-alpha and other cytokines in a variety of cell types. These compounds have potent anti-viral and anti-tumor properties; however, the mechanisms by which they exert their anti-viral activities remain unclear. Here we show that the imidazoquinolines activate immune cells via the Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)-MyD88-dependent signaling pathway. In response to the imidazoquinolines, neither MyD88- nor TLR7-deficient mice showed any inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages, proliferation of splenocytes or maturation of dendritic cells. Imidazoquinoline-induced signaling events were also abolished in both MyD88- and TLR7-deficient mice.

2,565 citations