Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to identify mechanisms of antiviral host defense against SARS-CoV-2. One such mediator is interferon-g (IFN-γ), which, when administered to infected patients, is reported to result in viral clearance and resolution of pulmonary symptoms. IFN-γ treatment of a human lung epithelial cell line triggered an antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, yet the mechanism for this antiviral response was not identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeprosy reactional episodes are acute inflammatory events that may occur during the clinical course of the disease. Type 1 reaction (T1R) is associated with an increase in neural damage, and the understanding of the molecular pathways related to T1R onset is pivotal for the development of strategies that may effectively control the reaction. Interferon-gamma (IFN-) is a key cytokine associated with T1R onset and is also associated with autophagy induction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutophagy
January 2021
Leprosy is an infectious disease that may present different clinical forms depending on host immune response to . Several studies have clarified the role of various T cell populations in leprosy; however, recent evidences suggest that local innate immune mechanisms are key determinants in driving the disease to its different clinical manifestations. Leprosy is an ideal model to study the immunoregulatory role of innate immune molecules and its interaction with nervous system, which can affect homeostasis and contribute to the development of inflammatory episodes during the course of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Leprosy, the leading infectious cause of disability worldwide, remains a major public health challenge in the most severely affected countries despite the sharp decline in new cases in recent years. The search for biomarkers is essential to achieve a better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the disease.
Methods: Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) analyses of sera from 87 leprosy patients with or without reactions were conducted via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that may present different clinical forms according to the immune response of the host. Levels of IFN-γ are significantly raised in paucibacillary tuberculoid (T-lep) when compared with multibacillary lepromatous (L-lep) patients. IFN-γ primes macrophages for inflammatory activation and induces the autophagy antimicrobial mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect Dis
July 2016
Cytosolic detection of nucleic acids elicits a type I interferon (IFN) response and plays a critical role in host defense against intracellular pathogens. Herein, a global gene expression profile of Mycobacterium leprae-infected primary human Schwann cells identified the genes differentially expressed in the type I IFN pathway. Among them, the gene encoding 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like (OASL) underwent the greatest upregulation and was also shown to be upregulated in M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 7-years-old intact female mixed breed dog was referred to the private veterinary clinic because of history of intense food regurgitation. The plain X-ray examination and the contrast-enhanced X-ray using barium sulfate revealed the presence of a radio-opaque mass in the final third of the esophagus. Stool samples were collected and the coproparasitological test was done, which showed thick-shelled eggs from Spirocerca lupi.
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