Unlabelled: Myeloid phagocytes are essential for antifungal immunity against pulmonary and systemic infections. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying fungal clearance by phagocytes remain incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the role of Perforin-2 () in antifungal immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLigands containing phenanthridine (benzo[c]quinoline) have presented notable exceptions to the conventional logic that increasing ligand benzannulation leads to bathochromic (red) shifts in the absorption and emission of their coordination complexes. The counterintuitive blue shifts have been attributed to the peculiar structure of phenanthridines, whose ground states are dominated by imine-bridged biphenyl resonance contributors. These serve to isolate the C=N unit electronically from the rest of the ligand framework and allow the C=N moiety to act as a 'shock-absorber', buffering against larger molecular distortions in a molecule's excited state, and reducing the observed pseudo-Stokes' shift.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin uses interdependent cellular networks for barrier integrity and host immunity, but most underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Herein, we demonstrate that the human parasitic helminth Schistosoma mansoni inhibited pruritus evoked by itch-sensing afferents bearing the Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptor A3 (MrgprA3) in mice. MrgprA3 neurons controlled interleukin (IL)-17 γδ T cell expansion, epidermal hyperplasia and host resistance against S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCo-evolutionary adaptation of hookworms with their mammalian hosts has been selected for immunoregulatory excretory/secretory (E/S) products. However, it is not known whether, or if so, how host immunological status impacts the secreted profile of hematophagous adult worms. This study interrogated the impact of host Signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) expression during the experimental evolution of hookworms through the sequential passage of the life cycle in either STAT6 deficient or WT C57BL/6 mice.
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