Publications by authors named "P Blancou"

The magnitude of innate inflammatory immune responses is dependent on interactions between peripheral neural and immune cells. In particular, a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) has been identified in the spleen whereby noradrenaline (NA) released by splenic nerves binds to ß2-adrenergic receptors (β2-AR) on CD4 T cells which, in turn, release acetylcholine (ACh). The binding of ACh to α7 acetylcholine receptors (α7-AChR) expressed by splenic macrophages inhibits the production of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

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While positive social-behavioral factors predict longer survival in cancer patients, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Since tumor metastasis are the major cancer mortality factor, we investigated how an enriched environment (EE) conductive to enhanced sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation impact metastatic progression in lungs following intravasation in the circulation. We find that mice housed in EE exhibited reduced number of lung metastatic foci compared to control mice housed in a standard environment (SE).

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Article Synopsis
  • Vagus nerve stimulation (SpNS) was tested in mice to see if it could reduce inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by targeting the splenic nerve and releasing norepinephrine (NE).
  • Mice received stimulation during an induced colitis experiment, showing improved symptoms and lower inflammation markers compared to those with no stimulation.
  • The results suggest SpNS may lower immune response activation, indicating potential for clinical application in IBD treatment for humans.
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Background: Mucosal antibodies can prevent virus entry and replication in mucosal epithelial cells and therefore virus shedding. Parenteral booster injection of a vaccine against a mucosal pathogen promotes stronger mucosal immune responses following prior mucosal infection compared with injections of a parenteral vaccine in a mucosally naive subject. We investigated whether this was also the case for the BNT162b2 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger RNA vaccine.

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Article Synopsis
  • The carotid bodies and baroreceptors are sensors that send information to the brain about physiological conditions and may help in detecting pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, which could trigger an anti-inflammatory response.* -
  • In the study, researchers isolated the carotid sinus nerve in mice and applied electrical stimulation before and after administering lipopolysaccharide, and they found that this stimulation reduced inflammation and protected the mice from shock-related death.* -
  • The study concluded that the anti-inflammatory effects of carotid sinus nerve stimulation do not rely on the autonomic nervous system but instead involve mechanisms like increased corticosterone production through the hypothalamus and the adrenal glands.*
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