169 results match your criteria: "Institute for Systemic Inflammation Research[Affiliation]"

Article Synopsis
  • A balanced immune system is crucial for defending against infections and preventing autoimmune diseases; an ineffective response allows infections to thrive, while uncontrolled activation can cause inflammatory disorders.
  • Researchers screened 1200 small molecules to find drugs that can modify immune cell functions, focusing on T cells, B cells, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) for chronic inflammatory diseases.
  • They identified candidate drugs like pyrvinium pamoate, which effectively suppressed B cell activation and slowed down an autoimmune condition, and studied mechanisms in gene-deleted mice to further understand how these actions occur, paving the way for potential drug repurposing to manage immune responses.
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Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting prolong the lifespan and healthspan of model organisms and improve human health. The natural polyamine spermidine has been similarly linked to autophagy enhancement, geroprotection and reduced incidence of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases across species borders. Here, we asked whether the cellular and physiological consequences of caloric restriction and fasting depend on polyamine metabolism.

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Introduction: Complement-mediated damage to the myocardium during acute myocardial infarction (AMI), particularly the late components of the terminal pathway (C5-convertase and C5b-9), have previously been characterized. Unfortunately, only few studies have reported a direct association between dysregulated complement activation and endothelial function. Hence, little attention has been paid to the role of the anaphylatoxin C5a.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pregnancy is interesting because the baby and placenta can stay inside the mother without being rejected by her immune system.
  • A part of this immune system, called the complement system, needs to be carefully managed during pregnancy to avoid problems like pre-eclampsia and slow growth of the baby.
  • The study found that a specific part of this system, called C5aR2, is important for helping certain immune cells in the uterus, known as NK cells, work correctly for a healthy pregnancy.
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  • The study investigates the role of C5aR2, a receptor related to inflammation, in hypertension and its effects on kidney injury, revealing that C5aR2 deficiency does not impact hypertensive damage caused by angiotensin II in mice.
  • C5aR2 expression is primarily found in immune cells like dendritic cells and monocytes, both in mice and hypertensive human patients, suggesting a potential link between immune response and hypertension.
  • Despite the high expression of C5aR2 in these immune cells, results indicate that its absence does not lead to differences in blood pressure or renal and cardiac injuries in models of hypertension induced by angiotensin II.
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Candida albicans (C. albicans) can behave as a commensal yeast colonizing the vaginal mucosa, and in this condition is tolerated by the epithelium. When the epithelial tolerance breaks down, due to C.

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Previous studies of pattern recognition molecules (PRMs) of the complement system have revealed difficulties in observing binding on pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Escherichia coli, despite complement deposition indicative of classical and lectin pathway activation. Thus, we investigated the binding dynamics of PRMs of the complement system, specifically C1q of the classical pathway and mannose-binding lectin (MBL) of the lectin pathway. We observed consistently increasing deposition of essential complement components such as C4b, C3b, and the terminal complement complex on A.

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Plexiform neurofibromas (PNFs) are nerve tumors caused by loss of and dysregulation of RAS-MAPK signaling in Schwann cells. Most PNFs shrink in response to MEK inhibition, but targets with increased and durable effects are needed. We identified the anaphylatoxin C5a as increased in PNFs and expressed largely by PNF m acrophages.

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Defective α-galactosidase A (AGAL/GLA) due to missense or nonsense mutations in the gene results in accumulation of the glycosphingolipids globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and its deacylated derivate globotriaosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb3) in cells and body fluids. The aberrant glycosphingolipid metabolism leads to a progressive lysosomal storage disorder, i. e.

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Food allergies are a growing public health concern worldwide, especially in children and young adults. Allergen-specific IgE plays a central role in the pathogenesis of food allergies, but their titers poorly correlate with allergy development. Host immune systems yield allergen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)A, IgE and IgG subclasses with low or high affinities and differential Fc -glycosylation patterns that can affect the allergic reaction to food in multiple ways.

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IgE-Mast cell mediated allergy: a sensor of food quality.

Signal Transduct Target Ther

December 2023

Institute for Systemic Inflammation Research, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.

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Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by autoantibodies targeting type XVII collagen (Col17) with the noncollagenous 16A (NC16A) ectodomain representing the immunodominant site. The role of additional extracellular targets of Col17 outside NC16A has not been unequivocally demonstrated. In this study, we showed that Col17 ectodomain-reactive patient sera depleted in NC16A IgG induced dermal-epidermal separation in a cryosection model indicating the pathogenic potential of anti-Col17 non-NC16A extracellular IgG.

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B cells play a central role in humoral immunity but also have antibody-independent functions. Studies to date have focused on B cells in blood and secondary lymphoid organs but whether B cells reside in non-lymphoid organs (NLO) in homeostasis is unknown. Here we identify, using intravenous labeling and parabiosis, a bona-fide tissue-resident B cell population in lung, liver, kidney and urinary bladder, a substantial proportion of which are B-1a cells.

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Background: Complement may drive the pathology of hypertension through effects on innate and adaptive immune responses. Recently an injurious role for the anaphylatoxin receptors C3aR (complement component 3a receptor) and C5aR1 (complement component 5a receptor) in the development of hypertension was shown through downregulation of Foxp3 (forkhead box protein 3) regulatory T cells. Here, we deepen our understanding of the therapeutic potential of targeting both receptors in hypertension.

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The role of C5a receptors in autoimmunity.

Immunobiology

September 2023

Institute for Systemic Inflammation Research (ISEF), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. Electronic address:

The complement system is an essential component of the innate immune response and plays a vital role in host defense and inflammation. Dysregulation of the complement system, particularly involving the anaphylatoxin C5a and its receptors (C5aR1 and C5aR2), has been linked to several autoimmune diseases, indicating the potential for targeted therapies. C5aR1 and C5aR2 are seven-transmembrane receptors with distinct signaling mechanisms that play both partially overlapping and opposing roles in immunity.

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Complement-mediated immune mechanisms in allergy.

Eur J Immunol

October 2023

Institute for Systemic Inflammation Research, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.

Allergic conditions are associated with canonical and noncanonical activation of the complement system leading to the release of several bioactive mediators with inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties that regulate the immune response in response to allergens during the sensitization and/or the effector phase of allergic diseases. Further, immune sensors of complement and regulator proteins of the cascade impact on the development of allergies. These bioactive mediators comprise the small and large cleavage fragments of C3 and C5.

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Introduction: The function of the second receptor for the complement cleavage product C5a, C5aR2, is poorly understood and often neglected in the immunological context. Using mice with a global deficiency of , we have previously reported an important role of this receptor in the pathogenesis of the neutrophil-driven autoimmune disease (EBA). Based on analyses, we hypothesized that the absence of C5aR2 specifically on neutrophils is the cause of the observed differences.

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In ischemic tissue, platelets can modulate angiogenesis. The specific factors influencing this function, however, are poorly understood. Here, we characterized the complement anaphylatoxin C5a-mediated activation of C5a receptor 1 (C5aR1) expressed on platelets as a potent regulator of ischemia-driven revascularization.

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C5a-licensed phagocytes drive sterilizing immunity during systemic fungal infection.

Cell

June 2023

Fungal Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology & Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address:

Systemic candidiasis is a common, high-mortality, nosocomial fungal infection. Unexpectedly, it has emerged as a complication of anti-complement C5-targeted monoclonal antibody treatment, indicating a critical niche for C5 in antifungal immunity. We identified transcription of complement system genes as the top biological pathway induced in candidemic patients and as predictive of candidemia.

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Patients with severe COVID-19 develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that may progress to cytokine storm syndrome, organ dysfunction, and death. Considering that complement component 5a (C5a), through its cellular receptor C5aR1, has potent proinflammatory actions and plays immunopathological roles in inflammatory diseases, we investigated whether the C5a/C5aR1 pathway could be involved in COVID-19 pathophysiology. C5a/C5aR1 signaling increased locally in the lung, especially in neutrophils of critically ill patients with COVID-19 compared with patients with influenza infection, as well as in the lung tissue of K18-hACE2 Tg mice (Tg mice) infected with SARS-CoV-2.

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Microglia refine developing retinal astrocytic and vascular networks through the complement C3/C3aR axis.

Development

March 2023

Angiogenesis Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

Microglia, a resident immune cell of the central nervous system (CNS), play a pivotal role in facilitating neurovascular development through mechanisms that are not fully understood. Previous reports indicate a role for microglia in regulating astrocyte density. This current work resolves the mechanism through which microglia facilitate astrocyte spatial patterning and superficial vascular bed formation in the neuroretina during development.

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Background: Pulmonary eosinophils comprise at least two distinct populations of resident eosinophils (rEOS) and inflammatory eosinophils (iEOS), the latter recruited in response to pulmonary inflammation. Here, we determined the impact of complement activation on rEOS and iEOS trafficking and function in two models of pulmonary inflammation.

Methods: BALB/c wild-type and C5ar1 mice were exposed to different allergens or IL-33.

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The outer layer of endothelial cells (ECs), consisting of the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) and the cortex (CTX), provides a protective barrier against vascular diseases. Structural and functional impairments of their mechanical properties are recognized as hallmarks of endothelial dysfunction and can lead to cardiovascular events, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study investigated the effects of AMI on endothelial nanomechanics and function and the use of exogenous recombinant syndecan-1 (rSyn-1), a major component of the eGC, as recovering agent.

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