Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been associated with allograft rejection in solid organ transplantation. However, the immunologic mechanisms behind this observation have not been elucidated. One proposed mechanism is direct cross-reactivity of antiviral T-cells with allogeneic MHC/peptide complexes, a process termed heterologous immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsoriasis is a common chronic, recurring skin disease that is characterised by typical macroscopic and microscopic skin alterations. It is widely accepted that the immune system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Since the early 1990s, the dominant role of a subpopulation of T cells, so-called T1 cells, and their prominent cytokine IFN-gamma has been assumed in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittle is known about thymus function in transplant patients. Until recently, the phenotype of T cells that recently emigrated the thymus was unknown. Now it has been demonstrated that CD4(+) recent thymus emigrants coexpress CD31 and CD45RA.
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