Soil and root samples of tomato were collected from root knot nematode-infested fields of fifteen different localities of Malakand and Swat (NWFP) Pakistan in 2006-07 and Trichoderma harzianum was isolated from these samples. These isolates were tested against Meloidogyne javanica (Treub) Chitwood in the in vitro. Isolates Th1 and Th9, collected from Jabban and Shamozai were more aggressive tha...

Naïve CD4+ T helper cells can differentiate into Th1, Th2, Th17, T regulatory, Th9 and Th22 cells. Th1 cells are characterized by their production of IFNγ but not IL-4 and IL-5 while Th2 cells are characterized by their expression of IL-4 and IL-5 but not IFNγ. T-bet and GATA3 are the master transcription factors for Th1 and Th2 cells, respectively [1]. Th1 cells mediate cellular immunity again...

INTRODUCTION Low Clostridium leptum levels are a risk factor for the development of asthma. C. leptum deficiency exacerbates asthma; however, the impact of early-life C. leptum exposure on cesarean-delivered mice remains unclear. This study is to determine the effects of early-life C. leptum exposure on asthma development in infant mice. METHODS We exposed infant mice to C. leptum (fed-CL) an...

BACKGROUND Role of Th9 cells and interleukin-9 (IL-9) in human autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and ulcerative colitis has been explored only very recently. However, their involvement in human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not conclusive. Pathogenesis of RA is complex and involves various T cell subsets and neutrophils. Here, we aimed at understanding the impact of IL-9 on infiltrating immu...

BACKGROUND The risk factors of paraplegia and paraparesis (P/P) after surgical repair of descending thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) are controversial. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy five patients underwent surgical repair of descending TAA from 2001 through 2002. The mean age was 64.2+/-5.2 years old (range; 26-81) and 58 patients (77.3%) are male. There were 47 patients (62.7%) with nondissecti...

The pH-triggered membrane insertion of the diphtheria toxin translocation domain (T domain) results in transferring the catalytic domain into the cytosol, which is relevant to potential biomedical applications as a cargo-delivery system. Protonation of residues is suggested to play a key role in the process, and residues E349, D352 and E362 are of particular interest because of their location w...

T helper (Th) cells and their cytokines play a pleiotropic role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recently, a new effector T cell subset, Th9 cells, which preferentially secrete IL-9, has been identified. IL-9 is mainly produced by several T cell subsets including Th9 and Th17, and effective on the functions of Th cells and mast cell. However, there are no unambiguous c...