Therapeutic potential of interleukin-21 in cancer.

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) is an immunostimulatory cytokine which belongs to the common gamma-chain family of cytokines. It plays an import role in the development, differentiation, proliferation, and activation of immune cells, in particular T and natural killer (NK) cells. Since its discovery in 2000, IL-21 has been shown to regulate both adaptive and immune responses associates with key role in antiviral and antitumor responses.

Immune Portrayal of a New Therapy Targeting Microbiota in an Animal Model of Psoriasis.

Background: Despite all the available treatments, psoriasis remains incurable; therefore, finding personalized therapies is a continuous challenge. Psoriasis is linked to a gut microbiota imbalance, highlighting the importance of the gut-skin axis and its inflammatory mediators. Restoring this imbalance can open new perspectives in psoriasis therapy.

Behaviour testing in two different knockout mouse strains related to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

CD36, a fatty acid translocator and NRF2, a transcription factor, are two important players in inflammation and oxidative stress, including in the central nervous system. Both were associated with neurodegeneration as tilting arms of a balance: while activation of CD36 participates in neuroinflammation, activation of NRF2 seems to protect against oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. This study aimed to establish whether tilting the balance one way or the other, by knocking out either of them (NRF2-/- or CD36-/-), would show that one holds higher weight over the other in the cognitive behaviour of mice.

In Vivo Acute Toxicity and Immunomodulation Assessment of a Novel Nutraceutical in Mice.

Achieving and maintaining a well-balanced immune system has righteously become an insightful task for the general population and an even more fundamental goal for those affected by immune-related diseases. Since our immune functions are indispensable in defending the body against pathogens, diseases and other external attacks, while playing a vital role in maintaining health and modulating the immune response, we require an on-point grasp of their shortcoming as a foundation for the development of functional foods and novel nutraceuticals. Seeing that immunoceuticals are considered effective in improving immune functions and reducing the incidence of immunological disorders, the main focus of this study was to assess the immunomodulatory properties and possible acute toxicity of a novel nutraceutical with active substances of natural origin on C57BL/6 mice for 21 days.

Healthy Ageing Reflected in Innate and Adaptive Immune Parameters.

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to establish and quantify the relation between healthy ageing and the innate and adaptive immune parameters as indicators of age-related diseases.

Patients: In order to observe the immunological changes that occur according to age, several humoral and cellular immune parameters were investigated for 288 healthy donors (30-80 years). Subjects' selection was done using clinical, biochemical and immunological parameters of inclusion/exclusion criteria from SENIEUR protocol.

Gait Analysis Using Animal Models of Peripheral Nerve and Spinal Cord Injuries.

The present review discusses recent data regarding rodent models of spinal cord and peripheral nerve injuries in terms of gait analysis using the CatWalk system (CW), an automated and exceptionally reliable system for assessing gait abnormalities and motor coordination. CW is a good tool for both studying improvements in the walking of animals after suffering a peripheral nerve and spinal cord lesion and to select the best therapies and procedures after tissue destruction, given that it provides objective and quantifiable data. Most studies using CW for gait analysis that were published in recent years focus on injuries inflicted in the peripheral nerve, spinal cord, and brain.

Therapeutic potential of interleukin-15 in cancer (Review).

The immune system is dysfunctional in cancer, and therapeutic approaches designated to restore immunity and increase long-term overall survival are desirable. The role of immunotherapy is to trigger the immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a member of the common gamma-chain (γc) cytokines that promote the differentiation and expansion of T cells, B cells and natural killer (NK) cells, leading to enhanced antitumor responses.

Oxidative Stress: A Possible Trigger for Pelvic Organ Prolapse.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a frequent health problem in women, encountered worldwide, its physiopathology being still incompletely understood. The integrity of the pelvic-supportive structures is a key element that prevents the prolapse of the pelvic organs. Numerous researchers have underlined the role of connective tissue molecular changes in the pathogenesis of pelvic organ prolapse and have raised the attention upon oxidative stress as an important element involved in its appearance.

Peripheral immune cell markers in children with recurrent respiratory infections in the absence of primary immunodeficiency.

The immune system of a child has a degree of immaturity that is maintained until 6-7 years of age. Immaturity may be due to age-related functional disorders in the immune response. A healthy child can contract a series of infections which contribute to the maturation of the immune system during the pre-pubertal period.

Natural killer cell monitoring in cutaneous melanoma - new dynamic biomarker.

Melanoma is responsible for most skin cancer deaths in humans. The immune system plays a major role in regulating tumor cell proliferation by initiating defence responses against tumor aggression. Research on murine cancer models allow for a better understanding of immune response in malignancies, revealing specific changes of the immune status in the presence of tumors.

Phenotypic changes of lymphocyte populations in psoriasiform dermatitis animal model.

Psoriasis is a T cell mediated, chronic inflammatory autoimmune skin disease that affects up to 2-3% of the global population and leads to a decrease in quality of life. Experimental data accumulated in recent years highlighted the important role played by the immune system in the pathogenesis of this disease. Non-human psoriasis models are an important research tool that attempts to reproduce the clinical features of the disease in order to explain the pathogenesis of psoriasis and to identify possible therapeutic targets.

The redox biology network in cancer pathophysiology and therapeutics.

The review pinpoints operational concepts related to the redox biology network applied to the pathophysiology and therapeutics of solid tumors. A sophisticated network of intrinsic and extrinsic cues, integrated in the tumor niche, drives tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Critical mutations and distorted redox signaling pathways orchestrate pathologic events inside cancer cells, resulting in resistance to stress and death signals, aberrant proliferation and efficient repair mechanisms.

Hematology references for three laboratory mice strains.

The paper contains reference data for the main haematologic indicators from three strains of conventional mice: Balb/c, C57BL/6 and CD1. These data listed include the mean and the standard deviation of the studied values. The animals used were divided by sex (sex ratio 1:1) and age.

Dynamics of endothelial progenitor cells following sevoflurane preconditioning.

There is relevant evidence concerning the involvement of endothelial progenitor cells in neovascularization and wound healing. In this study we investigated the effects of sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic with proven cardioprotective virtues, on the mobilization of bone marrow mononuclear cells with endothelial progenitor markers (CD 34+, flk-1 +), an event that may account for the protective effects of delayed anesthetic preconditioning. Male Wistar rats were treated with a mixture of air and sevoflurane (1 MAC) in cycles of 5 minutes, alternating with 5-minutes wash-out periods (the preconditioned group), or ventilated for 30 minutes with room air (control group).