According to the current paradigm, allergic airway inflammation is mediated by Th2 cytokines and pro-inflammatory chemokines. Since allergic inflammation is self-limited, we hypothesized that allergen challenge simultaneously induces anti-inflammatory genes to counter-balance the effects of Th2 cytokines and chemokines. To identify these putative anti-inflammatory genes, we compared the gene ex...

BACKGROUND Immunological changes in pregnancy are associated with improvements in some pre-existing immune-mediated skin diseases. Estrogen has been hypothesized to contribute to these changes by creating a shift from Th1 and Th17 to Th2 immunity. As this hypothesis would predict, psoriasis (a primarily Th17 mediated immune disease) tends to improve during pregnancy. However, the precise mechan...

The cytokine potential of developing T helper (Th) cells is directly shaped both positively and negatively by the cytokines expressed by the effector Th cell subsets. Here we find that the recently identified cytokine, interleukin (IL)-21, is preferentially expressed by Th2 cells when compared with Th1 cells generated in vitro and in vivo. Exposure of naive Th precursors to IL-21 inhibits inter...

The intestinal phase is critical for trichinellosis caused by Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis), as it determines both process and consequences of the disease. Several previous studies have reported that T. spiralis induces the initial predominance of a Th1 response during the intestine stage and a subsequent predominance of a Th2 response during the muscle stage. In the present study, immune ...

alpha-Galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) is a glycolipid that stimulates natural killer T cells to produce both T helper (Th) 1 and Th2 cytokines. This property enables alpha-GalCer to ameliorate a wide variety of infectious, neoplastic, and autoimmune diseases; however, its effectiveness against any one disease is limited by the opposing activities of the induced Th1 and Th2 cytokines. Here, we...

ture regarding the regulation of the immune responses and the induction of tolerance, a process critical to the understanding of the rejection of solid organ grafts, graft versus host disease, and autoimmune disorders. Tolerance comes in two forms: In central tolerance , T cells that respond to a specific antigen are deleted in the thymus before emigrating to the " periphery " or systemic circu...

Multiple myeloma (MM) is typically exemplified by a desynchronized cytokine system with increased levels of inflammatory cytokines. We focused on the contrast between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory systems by assessing the role of cytokines and their influence on MM. The aim of this review is to summarize the available information to date concerning this equilibrium to provide an overview o...

We examined the role of the peptide/MHC ligand in CD4+ T cell differentiation into Th1 or Th2 cells using a TCR alphabeta transgenic mouse specific for hemoglobin (Hb)(64-76)/I-Ek. We identified two altered peptide ligands of Hb(64-76) that retain strong agonist activity but, at a given dose, induce cytokine patterns distinct from the Hb(64-76) peptide. The ability of these peptides to produce ...

Mangiferin is a major bioactive ingredient in Mangifera indica Linn. (Anacardiaceae) leaves. Aqueous extract of such leaves have been used as an indigenous remedy for respiratory diseases like asthma and coughing in traditional Chinese medicine. However, underlying molecular mechanisms of mangiferin on anti-asthma remain unclear. In our present study, we investigated the anti-asthmatic effect o...

Abstract Populations of gamma delta T cells exert different effector function profiles (inflammatory (Th1/Th17) vs. immunoregulatory (Th2/Treg)) in response to non-antigen specific signals a microenvironment. The nature cell lineage commitment versus functional capacity at the single level is unclear. Also, are implicated as drivers chronic inflammation found with normal aging and ART-suppresse...