Interaction of 4-1BB (CD137) and its ligand (4-1BBL) is thought to positively regulate cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. We have prepared transgenic mouse strains that express 4-1BBL cDNA under the control of MHC class II I-Ealpha promoter. The 4-1BBL-transgenic mice show progressive splenomegaly and selective depletion of B220(+) B cells accompanied with low levels of circulating IgG...

Insects like many other organisms are exposed to a wide range of infectious agents. Defense against these agents is provided by innate immune systems, which include physical barriers, humoral responses, and cellular responses. The humoral responses are characterized by the production of antimicrobial peptides, while the cellular defense responses include nodulation, encapsulation, melanization ...

Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes a persistent infection and chronic inflammation of the gut in ruminants leading to bacterial shedding in feces in many infected animals. Although there are often strong MAP-specific immune responses in infected animals, immunological correlates of protection against progression to disease remain poorly defined. Analysis of cross-sectional d...

BACKGROUND Vaccines are the most effective agents to control infections. However, recombinant vaccines often do not elicit strong immune responses. Protein antigens combined with proper adjuvants have been widely used to induce immune responses, especially the humoral immune responses, against various pathogens, including parasites. The extracellular matrix protein mindin has been recognised as...

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem which influences about 170 million people worldwide. Different types of vaccines have been designed using HCV structural proteins to control the viral infection. The core nucleocapsid protein is one of the most conserved proteins and a desirable target for HCV vaccines, especially the protein-based vaccines. In cur...

the immune responses that develop following epstien-barr virus (ebv) infection are complex and involve both humoral and to a greater extent cell-mediated immune mechanisms. to evaluate the immune response, flow cytometric analysis of the peripheral blood of six patients during the acute phase of ebv infection was performed. this analysis revealed a significant increase in the percentages and th...

Photorefractoriness (PR) in the turkey breeder hen is characterized by a lack of responsiveness to photoperiods that previously induced or maintained egg production. The consequence of PR is spontaneous regression of ovarian function and cessation of lay. Photosensitivity (PS) may be regained by giving at least 8 wk of short photoperiod (8L:16D) (light restriction). Following the transition fro...

Propoxure (PPX) is a well-known carbamate insecticide, which has been used for several decades in the world and Iran in agriculture and public health programs. However, there is no clear investigation toward its immunotoxicity as yet. In this study, we examined the effects of subchronic i.p. exposure of PPX on humoral (PFC & HA) and cellular (DTH) responses, and also monitored T-Cell subtypes u...

DNA vaccines induce humoral and cellular immune responses in animal models and humans. To analyze the immunogenicity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV), SARS-CoV, spike DNA vaccine and the immunoregulatory activity of interleukin-2 (IL-2), DNA vaccine plasmids pcDNA-S and pcDNA-IL-2 were constructed and inoculated into BALB/c mice with or without pcDNA-IL-2 by usi...