Lipoteichoic acid of as a negative regulator of human dendritic cell activation.

, an opportunistic Gram-positive bacterium, causes an infective endocarditis that could be fatal to human health. Dendritic cells (DCs) are known to be involved in disease progression and immune responses in infection. Since lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is a representative virulence factor of , we here investigated its role in the activation of human DCs stimulated with LTA-deficient (Δ) or LTA.

Gamma-irradiation-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae potently induces the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major respiratory pathogen that can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and otitis media. Although capsular polysaccharide-based vaccines are commercially available, there is a need for broad-spectrum, serotype-independent, and cost-effective vaccines. Recently, an intranasal vaccine formulated with gamma-irradiated nonencapsulated S.

Gamma-irradiation of Streptococcus pneumoniae for the use as an immunogenic whole cell vaccine.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major respiratory pathogen that causes millions of deaths worldwide. Although subunit vaccines formulated with the capsular polysaccharides or their protein conjugates are currently-available, low-cost vaccines with wide serotype coverage still remain to be developed, especially for developing countries. Recently, gamma- irradiation has been considered as an effective inactivation method to prepare S.

Staphylococcal LTA antagonizes the B cell-mitogenic potential of LPS.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) of Gram-positive bacteria is regarded as the counterpart biomolecule of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria because of their structural and immunological similarities. Although LPS induces a strong polyclonal expansion of B cells, little is known about the effect of LTA on B cell proliferation. In the present study, we prepared LTAs from Gram-positive bacteria and examined their effect on splenic B cell proliferation.

Serine-Rich Repeat Adhesins Contribute to -Induced Maturation of Human Dendritic Cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in the induction of immunity by recognition, capture, process, and presentation of antigens from infectious microbes. is able to cause life-threatening systemic diseases such as infective endocarditis. Serine-rich repeat (SRR) glycoproteins of are sialic acid-binding adhesins mediating the bacterial adherence to the host and the development of infective endocarditis.

Wall teichoic acid is an essential component of Staphylococcus aureus for the induction of human dendritic cell maturation.

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive pathogen that can cause chronic skin inflammation, pneumonia, and septic shock. The immunomodulatory functions of wall teichoic acid (WTA), a glycopolymer abundantly expressed on the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall, are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of WTA in the phenotypic and functional activation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) treated with ethanol-killed S.