Publications by authors named "Sae Kyung Lee"

Background: Haemolytic infection lyses red blood cells, releasing haemoglobin (Hb) into the plasma. Although recent studies showed that immune cells recognize redox-active cytotoxic extracellular Hb (metHb) bound to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), currently available information is limited to experiments performed in defined conditions using single cell lines. Therefore, a systemic approach targeting primary whole blood cells is required to better understand the cellular immune defence against metHb and PAMPs, when under a haemolytic infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aims to improve cancer immunotherapy by testing whether combining TLR agonists with chemotherapy can make tumor cells more recognizable to the immune system.
  • Treatment with the TLR1/2 agonist Pam3CSK4 alongside chemotherapy agent Ara-C increased the survival of mice and boosted the tumor-fighting effects compared to using either treatment alone.
  • The findings suggest that this combination enhances the expression of immune-related molecules in B-cell lymphoma cells, thus improving their immunogenicity and reliance on immune cells for tumor rejection.
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Host cell-derived danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), such as the hemoglobin (Hb) can interact with the innate immune system either directly or through binding to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Hemolysis occurs under various pathological conditions, leading to hemoglobinemia. In the extracellular environment, the Hb becomes a redox-reactive DAMP molecule.

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Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that have long been known to be involved in the recognition and lysis of tumor cells. Despite significant gains in our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate NK cell function, the development of successful NK cell-based therapies has not yet been achieved. However, recent advances in our ability to modulate NK receptor signals and the sensitivity of tumor cells to NK cell-mediated lysis have led to a number of clinical trials testing novel methods to enhance NK cytotoxicity against cancer.

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Enterohepatic Helicobacter species infect the intestinal tracts and biliary trees of various mammals, including mice and humans, and are associated with chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine, gallstone formation, and malignant transformation. The recent analysis of the whole genome sequence of the mouse enterohepatic species Helicobacter hepaticus allowed us to perform a functional analysis of bacterial factors that may play a role in these diseases. We tested the hypothesis that H.

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The Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island (cag PAI) encodes components of a type IV secretion system (T4SS) involved in host interaction and pathogenicity. Previously, seven cag PAI proteins were identified as homologs of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Vir proteins, which form a paradigm T4SS. The T pilus composed of the processed VirB2 pilin is an external structural part of the A.

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Since its discovery, Helicobacter pylori surprises us by its ability for life-long chronic persistence, proliferation, and probably active adaptation in the unfavourable niche of the human stomach, without being eliminated by the defence systems of the human body. This minireview highlights recent developments about the interaction of H. pylori with the innate immune system, and makes a case that evasion and possibly suppression of innate immune responses play an important role for the active survival in its local mucosal environment.

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Helicobacter pylori is a flagellated chronic pathogen, which colonizes the gastric mucus and mucosal cell surfaces. Flagella and motility are essential for the survival of this bacterium in the stomach environment. Flagellins of several bacterial species are potent activators of the human innate immune system by binding to TOLL-like receptor 5 (TLR5).

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