Publications by authors named "D Macallan"
Article Synopsis
- Dendritic cells (DC) are essential immune cells that connect the body's innate and adaptive immune responses, with two main types: plasmacytoid DC (pDC) and conventional DC (cDC).
- Research using in vivo deuterium-glucose labeling revealed that a specific subset of cDC known as AXL+ Siglec6+ DC (ASDC) circulates in the bloodstream for about 2.16 days, while other cDC types have slightly shorter lifespans.
- The study also showed that ASDC are quickly recruited to inflamed areas, highlighting their role in managing immune responses during inflammation and suggesting new insights into the behavior of different DC subsets.
The recent pandemic was caused by the emergence of a new human pathogen, SARS-CoV-2. While the rapid development of many vaccines provided an end to the immediate crisis, there remains an urgent need to understand more about this new virus and what constitutes a beneficial immune response in terms of successful resolution of infection. Indeed, this is key for development of vaccines that provide long lasting protective immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The lymphatic system has a pivotal role in immune homeostasis. To better understand this, we investigated the impact of Primary Lymphatic Anomalies (PLA) on lymphocyte numbers and phenotype.
Methods: The study comprised (i) a retrospective cohort: 177 PLA subjects from the National Primary Lymphatic Anomaly Register with clinical and laboratory data, and (ii) a prospective cohort: 28 patients with PLA and 20 healthy controls.
Article Synopsis
- There is evidence that inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (iKIRs) can influence T cell responses and survival, particularly in chronic viral infections.
- In a study with humans, it was found that individuals with more iKIR-ligand gene pairs had significantly longer-lasting memory CD8+ T cells, with lifespans increasing from 125 days to 250 days.
- The research suggests that iKIR-ligand genotypes play a crucial role in T cell survival and immune aging, independent of iKIR expression on the T cells themselves.
Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a difficult-to-treat, chronic fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The evidence base for treatment is scarce, with no standardized therapeutic approach. Chronicity of CBM infection is postulated to be due in part to a failure of host cell-mediated immunity to generate a proinflammatory response sufficient for fungal clearance.
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