Diversity in phenotype and steroid hormone dependence in dendritic cells and macrophages in the mouse uterus.

The dendritic cells and related antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that activate lymphocytes for acquired immunity in the female reproductive tract are not well characterized. The aim of the present study was to examine heterogeneity among uterine APCs in mice and, specifically, to determine whether phenotypically and functionally distinct subpopulations of dendritic cells and macrophages can be identified. Using immunohistochemistry, abundant cells expressing APC-restricted molecules major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, F4/80, class A scavenger receptor, macrosialin, and sialoadhesin were evident in estrous mice.

Age-dependent impairment of IgG responses to glycosylphosphatidylinositol with equal exposure to Plasmodium falciparum among Javanese migrants to Papua, Indonesia.

Immune responses directed at glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors of Plasmodium falciparum may offer protection against symptomatic malaria. To independently explore the effect of age on generation of the anti-GPI IgG response, we measured serum anti-GPI IgGs in a longitudinal cohort of migrant Javanese children (6-12 years old) and adults (> or = 20 years old) with equivalent numbers of exposures to P. falciparum in Papua, Indonesia.