Immunology deals with the physiological activity of organisms to defend against pathogen and toxin invasion. Invertebrates residing in aquatic ecosystems often face toxicological threat arises from habitat pollution. The aquatic habitat of invertebrates is in the precarious risk of pollution caused by diverse groups of environmental toxins. Immunotoxins have been considered as a special group o...

We have studied functional alteration of immunocytes in mice following inoculation of Toxocara canis second stage larvae. Results indicated depression of lymphocyte blastogenesis in response to concanavalin-A, phytohemagglutinin and allogeneic non B-cells; however, B-cell polyclonal activation was not affected as indicated by the production of total IgG. In contrast, frequency of antibody ...

we have studied the effect of amitriptyline, a tricyclic anti-depressant drug on several immune parameters of the balb/c mice in order to evaluate its immunomodulatory effects. results showed that amitriptyline will potentiates all of the immunocytes functions except for the production of pge2 by lps stimulated monocytes. we have also showed that amitriptyline can normalize the immunosuppressiv...

Mast cells (MCs) are immunocytes with secretory functions that act locally in peripheral tissues to modulate local hemodynamics, nociceptor activation and pain. They are also able to infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS), especially the spinal cord and the thalamus, but their cerebral function remains an enigma. A role in regulating the opening of the blood-brain barrier has been proposed...

Uncontrolled or non-resolving inflammation underpins a range of disease states including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and atherosclerosis. Hypoxia is a prominent feature of chronically inflamed tissues. This is due to elevated oxygen consumption by highly metabolically active inflamed resident cells and activated infiltrating immunocytes, as well as diminished oxygen supply ...

Advances in our understanding of the skin immune system have a major impact on studies of skin autoimmunity, graft-versus-host disease, inflammation, and cancer as well as on the development of novel vaccines and immunotherapy approaches. In this issue of the JCI, Zaba et al. carefully dissected the complex network of DCs and macrophages residing in normal human skin and defined novel phenotypi...

Arthritis pain affects millions of people worldwide yet we still have only a limited understanding of what makes our joints ache. This review examines the sensory innervation of diarthroidal joints and discusses the neurophysiological processes that lead to the generation of painful sensation. During inflammation, joint nerves become sensitized to mechanical stimuli through the actions of neuro...