BACKGROUND Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a negative regulator of immune responses and was previously shown to be expressed by human nasal endothelial cells, while the adhesion molecule MECA-79 plays a role in trans-endothelial migration of immune competent cells. In this study we investigate the relationship between endothelial IL-10 and MECA-79 expression to address the question whether immune com...

A post-pubertal bull on an artificial insemination station was found to be persistently shedding bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) in semen over a period of eleven months, while demonstrating no viraemia. Circulating antibodies to BVDV were consistently high, suggesting that the immune system was challenged repeatedly. Post-mortem findings confirmed that the virus was sequestered in the teste...

Vertical transmission of the protozoan parasite, Neospora caninum is highly efficient and can take two forms - endogenous transplacental transmission resulting from activation of the quiescent bradyzoite stage during pregnancy or exogenous transplacental transmission resulting from ingestion of oocysts during pregnancy. Calves born carrying infection derived from either endogenous or exogenous ...

Cryptosporidiosis is classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an emerging infectious pathogen (Guerrant, 1997). Initially, Cryptosporidium parvum was believed to be only an occupational hazard of people exposed to infected animals, but it is now known to cause illness or disease both in immune competent and immune compromised people. Cryptosporidiosisis one of the most co...

Is chronic illness in patients with Lyme disease caused by persistent infection? Three decades of basic and clinical research have yet to produce a definitive answer to this question. This review describes known and suspected mechanisms by which spirochetes of the Borrelia genus evade host immune defenses and survive antibiotic challenge. Accumulating evidence indicates that Lyme disease spiroc...

Mycobacterium neoaurum (M. neoaurum) is an infrequently encountered cause of infection in humans. It is a member of the rapidly growing mycobacteria family. It predominately afflicts those with a compromised immune status and a chronically indwelling vascular access. Isolation of this organism is challenging yet the advent of 16s ribosomal sequencing paved the way for more sensitive detection. ...

Splenic lymphocytes from preleukemic AKR mice are capable of participating in various cell-mediated immune responses. Spleen cells from AKR mice aged 1 to 10 months produced a significant graft-versus-host reaction when injected into 8-day-old AKR x C57Bl/6 F(1) hybrids. Splenic lymphocytes from similarly aged mice were also capable of responding to allogenic stimulation in a mixed lymphocyte r...

Background The exact mechanisms behind the immune disturbances in primary Sjögren ́s syndrome (pSS) are still not known in details, but evidence suggests that abnormal Tand B-cell activation plays a critical role in the disease development. Recent studies emphasized the important role of follicular helper T (TFH) cells, which contribute to B-cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as ant...