Showing papers in "Current Opinion in Immunology in 2003"

TL;DR: DC vaccination is, however, still at an early stage, slowed in part by the need to carry out research in humans, and valuable proofs of concept have been obtained with respect to the capacity of DCs to expand cancer-directed immune responses.

TL;DR: Toll-like receptors are essential in the host defense against microbial pathogens and evoke inflammatory responses and the molecular mechanisms by which TLRs induce differential gene expression are now beginning to be clarified.

TL;DR: A key role in Drosophila immunity is played by the recently discovered peptidoglycan recognition proteins, which relay signals via two main signaling pathways, which are responsible for the main part of the humoral response.

TL;DR: Two newly identified signaling molecules, TIRAP and TRIF, interact with a subset of the TLRs, suggesting a signaling specificity that may be relevant to the type of infection.

TL;DR: Recent studies of gene-deficient animals suggest that NK cells possess a robust and potentially redundant receptor system to ensure their development and function.

TL;DR: The basic premise of the epitope-based approach to vaccine development is that the responses induced by the natural immunogen are not optimal, and can be improved upon by isolation or optimization of specific components of the response.

TL;DR: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is successful as a pathogen because of its ability to persist in an immunocompetent host and modulates antigen presentation to prevent the detection of infected macrophages by CD4(+) T cells.

TL;DR: A more comprehensive view of the role of NK cells in innate immunity is now available following the recent identification of an NK cell receptor involved in in vivo resistance, and its ligand.

TL;DR: Antigen-mediated aggregation of IgE bound to its high-affinity receptor on mast cells or basophils initiates a complex series of biochemical events, resulting in the release of mediators that cause allergic inflammation and anaphylactic reactions.

TL;DR: The recent discovery of a triply mutated human granzyme B allele, whose product is predicted to possess a reduced capacity to induce cell death, opens the way for major progress in these areas in coming years.

TL;DR: The detection of multiple populations of T cells specific for either the same or disparate antigens during a response to a common stimuli dictates both the quality and quantity of the overall T cell response in the host.

TL;DR: A better understanding of the role of regulatory cells in allergic diseases may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

TL;DR: The novel cell death pathway initiated by granzyme A provides a parallel pathway for apoptosis, important in destroying targets that overexpress bcl-2 or are otherwise invulnerable to the caspases.

TL;DR: The regulatory T (TR) cells suppress virtually all forms of immune responsiveness investigated to date, including both adaptive and innate immunity, and may participate in clonal expansion in response to infection, similar to all other adaptive immune lineages as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: Selfprotection of cytotoxic lymphocytes after degranulation can be explained by surface expression of the granule protease cathepsin B, as shown by suicidal degranulated cells in the presence of specific inhibitors.

TL;DR: It is shown that Tyro 3 family receptors limit the magnitude and extent of macrophage activation subsequent to an initial immune stimulus, which results in a hyperactivated immune system, lymphoproliferation, the development of autoimmunity and early death.

TL;DR: Although the functions of these orphan granzymes have yet to be fully established, initial data suggests their importance in both immune and nonimmune cells.

TL;DR: The genes encoding the major components of the antigen processing and presentation pathway (MHC class II, invariant chain and HLA-DM) are regulated in a coordinate and concerted fashion by a conserved group of transcription factors.

TL;DR: The genetically heterogeneous Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome represents an excellent model for revealing proteins involved in secretory lysosome functioning, however, studies of this disease reveal differences between the various different types of secretoryLysosomes, including lytic granules.

TL;DR: B cells act as immune effectors, primarily through antigen-specific clonal expansion and plasma-cell differentiation, which culminate in the germinal center reaction, during which somatic hypermutation and antigen-driven selection produce and preserve high-affinity plasma cells with extended longevity and memory B cells as the sensitized precursors for antigen recall.

TL;DR: This work has shown that T-cell populations display additional diversity in terms of phenotype, anatomical distribution and effector function in relation to antigen.

TL;DR: The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β is initially synthesised in an inactive precursor form and therefore requires processing by caspase-1 for activation and drugs that target these components may have therapeutic benefits for inflammatory diseases.

TL;DR: Additional members of the IRF family may provide additional levels of control, in both a cell-type and virus-specific manner, particularly in dendritic cells that serve as major producers of IFN and a key interface between innate and adaptive immunity.

TL;DR: The modulation of intracellular calcium ion concentration, [Ca(2+)](i), is a common signalling mechanism used in many biological systems and recent gene profiling of T lymphocytes has identified the genes that are controlled by [Ca-2+](i) and the Ca(2+))-dependent phosphatase calcineurin.

TL;DR: The autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome in humans and the lpr mouse strain are the first examples of primary apoptosis defects caused by inherited death-receptor mutations and illustrate the role of Fas and Fas ligand in the control of autoimmune T-cell and B-cell proliferation.

TL;DR: In vivo studies have alleviated concerns regarding possible biological redundancy and the pleiotropic effects of these molecules, and have resulted in a focus on CXCR3, CCR5 and their respective ligands as key mediators of host alloresponses, especially in acute rejection.

TL;DR: It is becoming clear that TLRs are important for induction of adaptive immune responses, but misguided responses can lead to autoimmune pathology.

TL;DR: Although current controversy surrounds the importance of NKT cells and their modes of action, they represent a potentially important clinical target, and effective NKT-cell regulation correlates with the secretion of Th2 cytokines in diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

TL;DR: Negative regulation of cytokine signaling is quite important for inflammation and is identified in mice model of chronic inflammation.

TL;DR: During MCA-induced tumorigenesis IFN-gamma is involved in the inhibition of MCA diffusion by encapsulation and reduction of DNA damage, which may primarily protect tissue from damage and simultaneously inhibit tumor development.