Correction: Schistosoma japonicum infection downregulates house dust mite-induced allergic airway inflammation in mice.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Schistosoma japonicum infection downregulates house dust mite-induced allergic airway inflammation in mice.

The "hygiene hypothesis" is a theory try to explain the dramatic increases in the prevalence of autoimmune and allergic diseases over the past two to three decades in developed countries. According to this theory, reduced exposure to parasites and microorganisms in childhood is the main cause for the increased incidences of both T helper 1 (Th1)-mediated autoimmunity and Th2-mediated allergy. In this study, we investigated the impact of Schistosoma japonicum infection on the allergic airway inflammation induced by repeated intracheal inoculations of house dust mites (HDM), which is a Th17 and neutrophils dominant murine asthma model, mimicking severe asthma.

Fusion-expressed CTB improves both systemic and mucosal T-cell responses elicited by an intranasal DNA priming/intramuscular recombinant vaccinia boosting regimen.

Previous study showed that CTB (Cholera toxin subunit B) can be used as a genetic adjuvant to enhance the systemic immune responses. To further investigate whether it can also be used as a genetic adjuvant to improve mucosal immune responses, we constructed DNA and recombinant Tiantan vaccinia (rTTV) vaccines expressing OVA-CTB fusion antigen. Female C57BL/6 mice were immunized with an intranasal DNA priming/intramuscular rTTV boosting regimen.

Boosting functional avidity of CD8+ T cells by vaccinia virus vaccination depends on intrinsic T-cell MyD88 expression but not the inflammatory milieu.

Unlabelled: T-cell functional avidity is a crucial determinant for efficient pathogen clearance. Although recombinant DNA priming coupled with a vaccinia-vectored vaccine (VACV) boost has been widely used to mount robust CD8+ T-cell responses, how VACV boost shapes the properties of memory CD8+ T cells remains poorly defined. Here, we characterize the memory CD8+ T cells boosted by VACV and demonstrate that the intrinsic expression of MyD88 is critical for their high functional avidity.

[Design, synthesis and antiasthmatic activities of NO-donating seratrodast derivatives].

Aim: To search for novel antiasthmatic agents.

Methods: Coupling seratrodast (SD), an antiasthmatic drug, with several different types of NO donors including oxatriazoles, N-hydroxyguanidines and furoxans; evaluating the antiasthmatic effects of coupled compounds by determining their inhibitory activity of guinea pig asthma induced by acetylcholine and histamine; and assessing NO releasing ability.

Results: Nine novel target compounds (I1-9) were synthesized, and their structures were established by IR, NMR, MS and elemental analysis.