Perspective on therapeutic and diagnostic potential of camel nanobodies for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).

In this paper, we focus on the camelid nanobodies as a revolutionary therapy that can guide efforts to discover new drugs for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The small size property makes nanobodies capable of penetrating efficiently into tissues and recognizing cryptic antigens. Strong antigen affinity and stability in the gastrointestinal tract allow them to be used via oral administration.

Impairment of Macrophage Presenting Ability and Viability by Echinococcus granulosus Antigens.

Background: Despite advances toward an improved understanding of the evasive mechanisms leading to the establishment of cystic echinococcosis, the discovery of specific immunosuppressive mechanisms and related factors are of great interest in the development of an immunotherapeutic approach.

Objective: To elucidate immunosuppressive effects of bioactive factors contained in chromatographic fractions from hydatid cystic fluid (HCF) of Echinococcus granulosus.

Methods: Hydatid cystic fluid was fractionated by reverse phase chromatography.

Intraperitoneal Echinococcus multilocularis infection in mice modulates peritoneal CD4+ and CD8+ regulatory T cell development.

Intraperitoneal proliferation of the metacestode stage of Echinococcus multilocularis in experimentally infected mice is followed by an impaired host immune response favoring parasite survival. We here demonstrate that infection in chronically infected mice was associated with a 3-fold increase of the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ peritoneal T (pT) cells compared to uninfected controls. pT cells of infected mice expressed high levels of IL-4 mRNA, while only low amounts of IFN-γ mRNA were detected, suggesting that a Th2-biased immune response predominated the late stage of disease.

Splenic dendritic cells pulsed with Ixodes ricinus tick saliva prime naive CD4+T to induce Th2 cell differentiation in vitro and in vivo.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in priming naive T cells. Using an in vitro priming system, we show that DCs incubated with Ixodes ricinus tick saliva initiate the T(h)2 differentiation of CD4(+)T cells. As determined with reverse transcription-PCR, the expression of IL-4 mRNA by these cells is higher than IFN-gamma mRNA.

Molecular survival strategies of Echinococcus multilocularis in the murine host.

Larval infection with Echinococcus multilocularis starts with the intrahepatic postoncospheral development of a metacestode that-at its mature stage-consists of an inner germinal and an outer laminated layer (GL & LL). In certain cases, an appropriate host immune response may inhibit parasite proliferation. Several lines of evidence obtained in vivo and in vitro indicate the important bio-protective role of the LL.

Immunosuppressive effects of ixodes ricinus tick saliva or salivary gland extracts on innate and acquired immune response of BALB/c mice.

Saliva and salivary gland extract (SGE) of Ixodes ricinus ticks have suppressive effects on the innate immune response of BALB/c mice. Tick saliva prevents hemolysis of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) by the human alternative pathway of complement. The adaptive immune response is also modulated by tick antigens (saliva or SGE).

Characterization of a novel salivary immunosuppressive protein from Ixodes ricinus ticks.

In tick salivary glands, several genes are induced during the feeding process, leading to the expression of new proteins. These proteins are typically secreted in tick saliva and are potentially involved in the modulation of the host immune and hemostatic responses. In a previous study, the construction and the analysis of a subtractive library led to the identification of Ixodes ricinus immunosuppressor (Iris), a novel protein, differentially expressed in I.