Chitosan-Surfactant Composite Nanocoatings on Glass and Zinc Surfaces Prepared from Aqueous Solutions.

Hydrophobic coatings from chitosan-surfactant composites (ca. 400 nm thick by UV-Vis spectroscopy) for possible corrosion protection were developed on glass and zinc substrates. The surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS or sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, and SDBS) were added to the chitosan by two methods: mixing the surfactants with the aqueous chitosan solutions before film deposition or impregnating the deposited chitosan films with surfactants from their aqueous solutions.

Regulation of adipogenic differentiation and adipose tissue inflammation by interferon regulatory factor 3.

Dysfunction of adipocytes and adipose tissue is a primary defect in obesity and obesity-associated metabolic diseases. Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) has been implicated in adipogenesis. However, the role of IRF3 in obesity and obesity-associated disorders remains unclear.

ApA Regulates Directional Mobility and Antigen Presentation in Dendritic Cells.

The significance of intracellular ApA levels over immune activity of dendritic cells (DCs) has been studied in Nudt2/CD11c-cre mice. The transgenic mice have been generated by crossing floxed NUDT2 gene mice with DC marker CD11c recombinase (cre) mice. The DCs derived from these mice have higher levels of ApA (≈30-fold) compared with those derived from Nudt2 mice.

Prior exposure to inhaled allergen enhances anti-viral immunity and T cell priming by dendritic cells.

Influenza and asthma are two of the major public health concerns in the world today. During the 2009 influenza pandemic asthma was found to be the commonest comorbid illness of patients admitted to hospital. Unexpectedly, it was also observed that asthmatic patients admitted to hospital with influenza infection were less likely to die or require admission to intensive care compared with non-asthmatics.

CD40L Expression Allows CD8 T Cells to Promote Their Own Expansion and Differentiation through Dendritic Cells.

CD8 T cells play an important role in providing protective immunity against a wide range of pathogens, and a number of different factors control their activation. Although CD40L-mediated CD40 licensing of dendritic cells (DCs) by CD4 T cells is known to be necessary for the generation of a robust CD8 T cell response, the contribution of CD8 T cell-expressed CD40L on DC licensing is less clear. We have previously shown that CD8 T cells are able to induce the production of IL-12 p70 by DCs in a CD40L-dependent manner, providing some evidence that CD8 T cell-mediated activation of DCs is possible.