Macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) gene polymorphisms are associated with disease susceptibility and with circulating MIF levels in active non-segmental vitiligo in patients from western Mexico.

Background: The macrophage migration inhibiting factor (MIF) is a protein that promotes the activation of immune cells and the production of other proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IFN-γ, which have proposed to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. The study aimed to assess the association between MIF polymorphisms (-794 CATT and -173 G>C), MIF in situ expression, and MIF serum concentrations with susceptibility and disease activity in patients with non-segmental vitiligo (NSV) from western Mexico.

Methods: The study included 111 patients with NSV and 201 control subjects.

Microbiota and Its Role on Viral Evasion: Is It With Us or Against Us?

Viruses are obligate intracellular pathogens that require the protein synthesis machinery of the host cells to replicate. These microorganisms have evolved mechanisms to avoid detection from the host immune innate and adaptive response, which are known as viral evasion mechanisms. Viruses enter the host through skin and mucosal surfaces that happen to be colonized by communities of thousands of microorganisms collectively known as the commensal microbiota, where bacteria have a role in the modulation of the immune system and maintaining homeostasis.

Serum Levels of Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) and Expression of MIF and Its Receptor CD74 in Lepromatous Leprosy Patients: A Preliminary Report.

Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by that affects the skin and peripheral nerves. It may present as one of two distinct poles: the self-limiting tuberculoid leprosy and the highly infectious lepromatous leprosy (LL) characterized by -specific absence of cellular immune response. The pro-inflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) enhance the bactericide activities of macrophages after interaction with its receptor, CD74.

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Its Implications in Inflammation: An Overview.

In addition to physical barriers, neutrophils are considered a part of the first line of immune defense. They can be found in the bloodstream, with a lifespan of 6-8 h, and in tissue, where they can last up to 7 days. The mechanisms that neutrophils utilize for host defense are phagocytosis, degranulation, cytokine production, and, the most recently described, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) production.