Interleukin (IL)-18 is a cytokine with a broad array of effector functions, the most prominent of which is to act synergistically with IL-12 in interferon-Á production and the induction of a strong T-helper-1-mediated immune response. In addition, IL-18 also upregulates the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-·. Analysis of IL-18-deficient mice reveale...

bacterial protein toxins have been exploited as therapeutic agents and as vaccines. an issue of deserving interest is development of new generations of vaccines and immune adjuvants. in this study an active assembled recombinant shiga toxin of escherichia coli (rstx1) and its derivatives, recombinant a and b subunits (stx1-a and stx1-b), were used to immunize mice. the elicited antibody respons...

conclusions artemisia absinthium l. extract, at concentrations below 100 µg/ml, can modulate the immune response toward a th1 pattern, by induction of cd40 expression on dcs and cytokine production. also, it can inhibit dcs t cell stimulating activity, at high concentrations. therefore, the traditional use of this plant possibly modulates immune-mediated disorders. however, future studies are n...

background: dendritic cells (dcs) play a central role in the initiation and expansion of t cell mediated immune responses with potential immunotherapy application. the compounds which have the ability to induce immunomodulatory effects on dcs may be employed for the treatment of immunopathologic conditions such as autoimmune diseases. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the in v...

1Department of Psychoimmunology, National Institute of Psychiatry “Ramón de la Fuente”, Calzada México-Xochimilco 101, Colonia San Lorenzo Huipulco, Tlalpan, 14370 Mexico City, Mexico 2Research Group Immunophysiology, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Philipps University, 35037 Marburg, Germany 3Instituto de Inmunologı́a Cĺınica y Experimental, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Rosario,...