We have explored the added value of interferon-γ (IFNγ)-inducible protein 10 as a read-out of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific immunity in young Indian children, where the sensitivity of the IFNγ release assays for tuberculosis is poor. Reduced frequency of indeterminate results and an increased sensitivity for tuberculosis suggest a potential for fewer missed cases with a combined IFNγ/indu...

Introduction: Obesity, a serious condition leading to diseases such as Type II diabetes (T2D), is known to impair immune response, yet their impacts on the bone marrow niche and bone quality are still unclear. In this study, a murine model of diet-induced obesity (DIO) was used to investigate the relationship between an increasing adipose burden on phenotypic and dysfunctional changes in bone m...

Liver metastasis accounts for many of the cancer deaths in patients. Effective treatment for metastatic liver tumors is not available. Here, we provide evidence for the role of miR-18a in the induction of liver M1 (F4/80+interferon gamma (IFNγ)+IL-12+) macrophages. We found that miR-18a encapsulated in grapefruit-derived nanovector (GNV) mediated inhibition of liver metastasis that is dependent...

Interferon γ receptor 1 (IFNGR1) and IFNGR2 are two cell membrane molecules belonging to class II cytokines, which play important roles in the IFN-mediated antiviral signaling pathway. Here, goose IFNGR1 and IFNGR2 were cloned and identified for the first time. Tissue distribution analysis revealed that relatively high levels of goose IFNγ mRNA transcripts were detected in immune tissues, inclu...

Endogenous interleukin-12 (IL-12) mediates protection against Yersinia enterocolitica in C57BL/6 mice by triggering gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production in NK and CD4+ T cells. Administration of exogenous IL-12 confers protection against yersiniae in Yersinia-susceptible BALB/c mice but exacerbates yersiniosis in resistant C57BL/6 mice. Therefore, we wanted to dissect the different mechanism...

Introduction Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that can infect a broad range of warmblooded animals. In humans, it can cause serious disease in immune-compromised individuals or if contracted congenitally. In North America and Europe, strains belonging to the clonal types I, II, and III haplogroups predominate, while in South America a large variety of other “atypical” str...

Macrophages (Mφs) are instrumental regulators of the immune response whereby they acquire diverse functional phenotypes following their exposure to microenvironmental cues that govern differentiation from monocytes and activation. The complexity diversity mycobacterial cell wall have empowered mycobacteria with potent immunomodulatory capacities. A heat-killed (HK) whole-cell preparation Mycoba...

The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. ABSTRACT Co-evolution of pathogen and host helps drive biological diversity. Unlike viral-host interactions, little is known about the co-evolution of eukaryotic pathogens with their hosts. The in...

The human interferon gamma receptor has previously been assigned to chromosome 6. Chromosome 6 also encodes HLA, the human class I major histocompatibility antigens. However, the presence of chromosome 6 in hamster-human hybrids is by itself insufficient to confer sensitivity to human immune interferon as measured by the induction of human HLA. Human chromosome 21 was found to be the second chr...

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder in which Th17 cells, B cells and inflammatory cytokines (1-3) contribute to joint tissue damage, however the role of specific myeloid populations immunopathogenesis RA remains unclear. Objectives: To address this question, we studied transcriptional, phenotypical functional characteristics monocytes (Mo), CD1c + CD141 conventional ...