Evaluation of Gustatory Function in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the mucosa of the nasal cavity and nasal sinuses. Many patients with CRS complain of gustatory dysfunction which affects their quality of life. To assess the gustatory function and acuity in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis using taste strips.

Influence of Number of Implants and Attachment Type on Stress Distribution in Mandibular Implant-Retained Overdentures: Finite Element Analysis.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the stresses generated by using two or four root form dental implants supporting mandibular overdentures that were retained with ball and locator attachments.

Methods: Under ANSYS environment, four 3D finite element models were prepared. These models simulated complete overdentures supported by two or four implants with either ball or locator attachments as a connection mechanism.

Transcriptional profile in afferent lymph cells following vaccination with liposomes incorporating CpG.

Vaccine formulations incorporating innate immune stimulants are highly immunogenic; however, the biological signals that originate in the peripheral tissues at the site of injection and are transmitted to the local lymph node to induce immunity remain unclear. By directly cannulating the ovine afferent lymphatic vessels, we have previously shown that it takes 72 hr for mature antigen-loaded dendritic cells and monocytes to appear within afferent lymph following injection of a liposomal formulation containing the Toll-like receptor ligand CpG. In this present study, we characterize the global transcriptional signatures at this time-point in ovine afferent lymph cells as they migrate from the injection site into the lymphatics following vaccination with a liposome antigen formulation incorporating CpG.

Vaccination with liposomal poly(I:C) induces discordant maturation of migratory dendritic cell subsets and anti-viral gene signatures in afferent lymph cells.

Vaccine formulations administered in the periphery must activate naive immune cells within the lymph node. In this study, we have directly cannulated the ovine lymphatic vessels to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that transfer information from the periphery into the local draining lymph node via the afferent lymph. Inclusion of poly(I:C) into a liposomal vaccine formulation enhances the neutrophil-associated inflammatory immune response in afferent lymph and increases antigen uptake by migratory dendritic cells (DCs).

Incorporation of CpG into a liposomal vaccine formulation increases the maturation of antigen-loaded dendritic cells and monocytes to improve local and systemic immunity.

Liposomal vaccine formulations incorporating stimulants that target innate immune receptors have been shown to significantly increase vaccine immunity. Following vaccination, innate cell populations respond to immune stimuli, phagocytose and process Ag, and migrate from the injection site, via the afferent lymphatic vessels, into the local lymph node. In this study, the signals received in the periphery promote and sculpt the adaptive immune response.

Hendra virus vaccine, a one health approach to protecting horse, human, and environmental health.

In recent years, the emergence of several highly pathogenic zoonotic diseases in humans has led to a renewed emphasis on the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, otherwise known as One Health. For example, Hendra virus (HeV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus, was discovered in 1994, and since then, infections have occurred in 7 humans, each of whom had a strong epidemiologic link to similarly affected horses. As a consequence of these outbreaks, eradication of bat populations was discussed, despite their crucial environmental roles in pollination and reduction of the insect population.

The effect of different adjuvants on immune parameters and protection following vaccination of sheep with a larval-specific antigen of the gastrointestinal nematode, Haemonchus contortus.

It has recently been recognised that vaccine adjuvants play a critical role in directing the nature of a vaccine induced effector response. In the present study, several adjuvants were evaluated for their ability to protect sheep after field vaccination with the larval-specific Haemonchus contortus antigen, HcsL3. Using a suboptimal antigen dose, aluminium adjuvant was shown to reduce the cumulative faecal egg counts (cFEC) and worm burden by 23% and 25% respectively, in agreement with a previous study.

Innate immune pathways in afferent lymph following vaccination with poly(I:C)-containing liposomes.

Many modern vaccines use defined adjuvants to stimulate the innate immune system and shape the adaptive immune response. The exact nature of these innate signals and whether immune differentiation can originate within the periphery is not known. Here we used an ovine lymphatic cannulation model to characterise the cellular and transcriptomic profile of the afferent lymph following injection of a liposomal vaccine formulation incorporating diphtheria toxoid and the innate stimulator poly(I:C) over a 78-h period.

Cell recruitment and antigen trafficking in afferent lymph after injection of antigen and poly(I:C) containing liposomes, in aqueous or oil-based formulations.

After vaccination, innate cell populations transport antigen from the tissue, via the afferent lymphatic vessels, into the local lymph node where they provide critical signals for the generation of an adaptive immune response. The present study uses a unique lymphatic cannulation model to examine, in real time, changes in afferent lymph after injection of a liposome-based delivery system, incorporating diptheria toxoid (DT) and the innate stimulator, poly(I:C). There was a dramatic but temporal recruitment of innate cell populations over time, with neutrophils and monocytes peaking at 6h and 28h post vaccination respectively.

Field vaccination of sheep with a larval-specific antigen of the gastrointestinal nematode, Haemonchus contortus, confers significant protection against an experimental challenge infection.

The availability of effective vaccines would add a valuable tool to the management of gastrointestinal nematode infections in livestock. While some experimental vaccines have shown protection in laboratory trials, few have been tested in the field. In the present study, eight month old sheep kept on pasture were treated with anthelmintic 8 weeks before vaccination with a larval surface antigen of the nematode parasite, Haemonchus contortus, under a commercially acceptable protocol, i.

Modulation of soluble and particulate antigen transport in afferent lymph by monophosphoryl lipid A.

Vaccine adjuvants stimulate the innate immune system and determine the outcome of the immune response induced. A better understanding of their action is therefore crucial to the development of new and safer vaccines. Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), a 'detoxified' version of lipolysaccharide, is a promising new adjuvant component in human vaccines.

Electrophysiological and psychological studies in tinnitus.

Objectives: Tinnitus can be accompanied by depression, anxiety, insomnia, problems with auditory perception and poor general and mental health. This work was designed to evaluate the cognitive and psychological status in tinnitus patients using different subjective and objective measures.

Methods: This work included 40 patients complaining of tinnitus without any vestibular complaints.

The kinetics of soluble and particulate antigen trafficking in the afferent lymph, and its modulation by aluminum-based adjuvant.

Aluminium adjuvants are potent enhancers of immune responses. Despite being a component in most human and animal vaccines, their specific mode of action remains elusive. We have used a sheep lymphatic cannulation model to directly measure the trafficking of soluble and particulate antigen in real-time from the site of injection.

Suppression of behavioural and physiological oestrus in the mare by vaccination against GnRH.

Objective: To examine the immunogenicity of an equine immunocontraceptive vaccine and its efficacy in controlling hormone-related behaviour.

Design: A total of 24 mares at two sites in Australia were vaccinated with an immunocontraceptive vaccine comprising gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) conjugated to a carrier protein in immunostimulating complex as an adjuvant. Twelve animals at each site received a placebo of adjuvant alone and served as controls for seasonal oestrus, hormonal and behaviour patterns.

ESAT-6 subunit vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The ESAT-6 antigen from Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a dominant target for cell-mediated immunity in the early phase of tuberculosis (TB) in TB patients as well as in various animal models. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the potential of ESAT-6 in an experimental TB vaccine. We started out using dimethyl dioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA), an adjuvant which has been demonstrated to be efficient for the induction of cellular immune responses and has been used successfully before as a delivery system for TB vaccines.

Two-dimensional electrophoresis for analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture filtrate and purification and characterization of six novel proteins.

Culture filtrate from Mycobacterium tuberculosis contains molecules which promote high levels of protective immunity in animal models of subunit vaccination against tuberculosis. We have used two-dimensional electrophoresis for analysis and purification of six novel M. tuberculosis culture filtrate proteins (CFPs): CFP17, CFP20, CFP21, CFP22, CFP25, and CFP28.

Delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to ESAT-6 and MPT64 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the guinea pig.

Two antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ESAT-6 and MPT64, elicited delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin responses in outbred guinea pigs infected with M. tuberculosis by the aerosol and intravenous routes but not those sensitized with M. bovis BCG or M.

Immunological requirements for a subunit vaccine against tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis remains one of the most important threats to world health. Current vaccination and prevention strategies are inadequate and there is an urgent need for a new vaccine. The current vaccine bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is unable to protect against re-activation of disease in later life and its efficacy varies tremendously in different human populations.

Adjuvant modulation of immune responses to tuberculosis subunit vaccines.

Mice were immunized with experimental subunit vaccines based on secreted antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a series of adjuvants, comprising incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), dimethyl dioctadecyl ammoniumbromide (DDA), RIBI adjuvant, Quil-A saponin, and aluminum hydroxide. Immune responses induced by these vaccines were characterized by in vitro culture of primed cells, PCR analysis for cytokine mRNA, detection of specific immunoglobulin G isotypes induced, and monitoring of protective immunity to tuberculosis (TB). The study demonstrated marked differences in the immune responses induced by the different adjuvants and identified both IFA and DDA as efficient adjuvants for a TB subunit vaccine.

Local cell traffic and cytokine production associated with ectoparasite infection.

This paper reviews recent advances in our understanding of changes in local cellular traffic and cytokine synthesis that occur as a result of infection of sheep with the ectoparasite Lucilia cuprina. Changes in the cellular composition and cytokine profile of infected skin and draining afferent and efferent lymph were assessed using standard approaches and, in addition, a variety of techniques that have only recently become available as a result of advances in ruminant cytokine biology. These include cytokine-specific immunoassay, reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and immunohistology.

Cytokines as adjuvants for ruminant vaccines.

Successful vaccination against any potential pathogen is critically dependent on inducing an appropriate immune response. The pivotal role of cytokines in the immune response to vaccination suggests that non-protective responses or responses that exacerbate disease subsequent to infectious challenge may be the result of limiting or preferential production of one or a number of these mediators. This suggests that the use of recombinant cytokines as vaccine adjuvants may offer a mechanism whereby the magnitude and phenotype of the immune response to vaccination can be specifically modified.

Cytokine mRNA expression in skin in response to ectoparasite infection.

Cellular infiltration and local cytokine mRNA levels were examined during the first 48 h of infection of skin by larvae of the sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina. At the cellular level the response involved a dramatic influx of leucocytes (CD45+ cells). Among these infiltrating cells were large numbers of granulocytes, including neutrophils and eosinophils, as well as macrophage-like cells and lymphocytes.

Lipophosphoglycan expression and virulence in ricin-resistant variants of Leishmania major.

Lipophosphoglycan (LPG) of Leishmania is a polymorphic molecule comprising an alkylglycerol anchor, a conserved oligosaccharide core and a species-specific polymer of oligosaccharide repeats jointed by phosphodiester bonds. This molecule, together with the membrane polypeptide gp63, has been implicated as a parasite receptor for host macrophages. To examine the role of LPG in parasite infectivity glycosylation variants of Leishmania major were generated by chemical mutagenesis of a virulent cloned line V121 and variants with modified LPG selected using the galactose-specific lectin Ricinus communis II (RCA II).

Immunochemical characterization of a glyco-inositol-phospholipid membrane antigen of Leishmania major.

A low m.w. polymorphic glyco-inositol-phospholipid (GIPL) of Leishmania major was studied by using three different mAb.