scholarly journals An overview of the human immune system and the role of interferon regulatory factors (IRFs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwinder Kaur ◽  
Chee-Mun Fang
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Dynamic Network ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Human Immune System ◽  
Regulatory Factors ◽  
Interferon Regulatory Factors ◽  
Essential Components

The immune system consists of a dynamic network of cells, proteins, tissues, and organs that communicate to provide adequate defense responses against pathogenic agents. The immune system divide into the non-specific (innate) and the specific (adaptive) components, where the interactions between these two arms are intricately regulated. To deploy effective immune responses, immune systems comprise various cells and molecules that communicate with each other via signaling pathways coordinated by gene regulatory networks. The interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) are critical regulators of both the immune system’s development and activation of different cells. To better understand the essential components of the normal immune system, this review essentially aims to cover the current knowledge of individual components of the immune system and the important role of IRFs in regulating the immune system.

scholarly journals Regulation of Plant Immunity by Nuclear Membrane-Associated Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiling Fang ◽  
Yangnan Gu
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Nuclear Membrane ◽  
Immune Activation ◽  
Core Protein ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Plant Immunity ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Pathogen Resistance ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Nuclear Pore

Unlike animals, plants do not have specialized immune cells and lack an adaptive immune system. Instead, plant cells rely on their unique innate immune system to defend against pathogens and coordinate beneficial interactions with commensal and symbiotic microbes. One of the major convergent points for plant immune signaling is the nucleus, where transcriptome reprogramming is initiated to orchestrate defense responses. Mechanisms that regulate selective transport of nuclear signaling cargo and chromatin activity at the nuclear boundary play a pivotal role in immune activation. This review summarizes the current knowledge of how nuclear membrane-associated core protein and protein complexes, including the nuclear pore complex, nuclear transport receptors, and the nucleoskeleton participate in plant innate immune activation and pathogen resistance. We also discuss the role of their functional counterparts in regulating innate immunity in animals and highlight potential common mechanisms that contribute to nuclear membrane-centered immune regulation in higher eukaryotes.

scholarly journals Regulatory Immune Cells in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Friends or Foes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiel van Geffen ◽  
Astrid Deißler ◽  
Markus Quante ◽  
Harald Renz ◽  
Dominik Hartl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Suppressor Cells ◽  
Interstitial Lung Diseases ◽  
Stromal Stem Cells

The immune system is receiving increasing attention for interstitial lung diseases, as knowledge on its role in fibrosis development and response to therapies is expanding. Uncontrolled immune responses and unbalanced injury-inflammation-repair processes drive the initiation and progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The regulatory immune system plays important roles in controlling pathogenic immune responses, regulating inflammation and modulating the transition of inflammation to fibrosis. This review aims to summarize and critically discuss the current knowledge on the potential role of regulatory immune cells, including mesenchymal stromal/stem cells, regulatory T cells, regulatory B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, we review the emerging role of regulatory immune cells in anti-fibrotic therapy and lung transplantation. A comprehensive understanding of immune regulation could pave the way towards new therapeutic or preventive approaches in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

scholarly journals Gut Microbiome and Its Interaction with Immune System in Spondyloarthritis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1727
Author(s):  
Jacqueline So ◽  
Lai-Shan Tam
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hla B27 ◽  
Human Immune System ◽  
Gut Inflammation ◽  
Germ Free ◽  
Gut Microorganisms

Emerging evidence suggests there is a gut-joint axis in spondyloarthritis (SpA). In a study, subclinical gut inflammation occurred in nearly 50% of SpA. Chronic gut inflammation also correlated with disease activity in SpA. Trillions of microorganisms reside in the human gut and interact with the human immune system. Dysbiosis affects gut immune homeostasis and triggers different autoimmune diseases including SpA. The absence of arthritis in HLA-B27 germ-free mice and the development of arthritis after the introduction of commensal bacteria to HLA-B27 germ-free mice proved to be the important role of gut bacteria in shaping SpA, other than the genetic factor. The recent advance in gene sequencing technology promotes the identification of microorganisms. In this review, we highlighted current evidence supporting the link between gut and axial SpA (axSpA). We also summarized available findings of gut microbiota and its interaction with the immune system in axSpA. Future research may explore the way to modulate gut microorganisms in axSpA and bring gut microbiome discoveries towards application.

scholarly journals Intracellular and Extracellular Roles of Granzyme K

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemieke C. Bouwman ◽  
Kim R. van Daalen ◽  
Sandra Crnko ◽  
Toine ten Broeke ◽  
Niels Bovenschen
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Therapeutic Target ◽  
Serine Proteases ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Thermal Injury ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Endothelial Activation ◽  
Potential Therapeutic Target ◽  
Cytotoxic Cells

Granzymes are a family of serine proteases stored in granules inside cytotoxic cells of the immune system. Granzyme K (GrK) has been only limitedly characterized and knowledge on its molecular functions is emerging. Traditionally GrK is described as a granule-secreted, pro-apoptotic serine protease. However, accumulating evidence is redefining the functions of GrK by the discovery of novel intracellular (e.g. cytotoxicity, inhibition of viral replication) and extracellular roles (e.g. endothelial activation and modulation of a pro-inflammatory immune cytokine response). Moreover, elevated GrK levels are associated with disease, including viral and bacterial infections, airway inflammation and thermal injury. This review aims to summarize and discuss the current knowledge of i) intracellular and extracellular GrK activity, ii) cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic GrK functioning, iii) the role of GrK in disease, and iv) GrK as a potential therapeutic target.

scholarly journals 12-oxo-Phytodienoic Acid: A Fuse and/or Switch of Plant Growth and Defense Responses?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenshan Liu ◽  
Sang-Wook Park
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Redox Homeostasis ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory Networks ◽  
Cellular Redox ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory ◽  
Regulatory Loop

12-oxo-Phytodienoic acid (OPDA) is a primary precursor of (-)-jasmonic acid (JA), able to trigger autonomous signaling pathways that regulate a unique subset of jasmonate-responsive genes, activating and fine-tuning defense responses, as well as growth processes in plants. Recently, a number of studies have illuminated the physiol-molecular activities of OPDA signaling in plants, which interconnect the regulatory loop of photosynthesis, cellular redox homeostasis, and transcriptional regulatory networks, together shedding new light on (i) the underlying modes of cellular interfaces between growth and defense responses (e.g., fitness trade-offs or balances) and (ii) vital information in genetic engineering or molecular breeding approaches to upgrade own survival capacities of plants. However, our current knowledge regarding its mode of actions is still far from complete. This review will briefly revisit recent progresses on the roles and mechanisms of OPDA and information gaps within, which help in understanding the phenotypic and environmental plasticity of plants.

scholarly journals Neutrophils—From Bone Marrow to First-Line Defense of the Innate Immune System

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Felix Kraus ◽  
Michael Andreas Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Innate Immune System ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Polymorphonuclear Cells ◽  
Target Tissue ◽  
First Line

Neutrophils (polymorphonuclear cells; PMNs) form a first line of defense against pathogens and are therefore an important component of the innate immune response. As a result of poorly controlled activation, however, PMNs can also mediate tissue damage in numerous diseases, often by increasing tissue inflammation and injury. According to current knowledge, PMNs are not only part of the pathogenesis of infectious and autoimmune diseases but also of conditions with disturbed tissue homeostasis such as trauma and shock. Scientific advances in the past two decades have changed the role of neutrophils from that of solely immune defense cells to cells that are responsible for the general integrity of the body, even in the absence of pathogens. To better understand PMN function in the human organism, our review outlines the role of PMNs within the innate immune system. This review provides an overview of the migration of PMNs from the vascular compartment to the target tissue as well as their chemotactic processes and illuminates crucial neutrophil immune properties at the site of the lesion. The review is focused on the formation of chemotactic gradients in interaction with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the influence of the ECM on PMN function. In addition, our review summarizes current knowledge about the phenomenon of bidirectional and reverse PMN migration, neutrophil microtubules, and the microtubule organizing center in PMN migration. As a conclusive feature, we review and discuss new findings about neutrophil behavior in cancer environment and tumor tissue.

scholarly journals Sexual-dimorphism in human immune system aging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eladio J. Márquez ◽  
Cheng-han Chung ◽  
Radu Marches ◽  
Robert J. Rossi ◽  
Djamel Nehar-Belaid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Human Immune System ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Cell Functions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Male Specific

AbstractDifferences in immune function and responses contribute to health- and life-span disparities between sexes. However, the role of sex in immune system aging is not well understood. Here, we characterize peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 172 healthy adults 22-93 years of age using ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, and flow-cytometry. These data reveal a shared epigenomic signature of aging including declining naïve T cell and increasing monocyte/cytotoxic cell functions. These changes were greater in magnitude in men and accompanied by a male-specific genomic decline in B-cell specific loci. Age-related epigenomic changes first spike around late-thirties with similar timing and magnitude between sexes, whereas the second spike is earlier and stronger in men. Unexpectedly, genomic differences between sexes increase after age 65, with men having higher innate and pro-inflammatory activity and lower adaptive activity. Impact of age and sex on immune cell genomes can be visualized at https://immune-aging.jax.org to provide insights into future studies.

scholarly journals Microbiota and Hypertension: Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System and the Immune System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñaki Robles-Vera ◽  
Marta Toral ◽  
Juan Duarte
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Vascular Inflammation ◽  
T Helper 17 ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous

Abstract There are numerous studies indicating a direct association between hypertension and gut microbiota in both animal models and humans. In this review, we focused on the imbalance in the gut microbiota composition relative to healthy state or homeostasis, termed dysbiosis, associated with hypertension and discuss the current knowledge regarding how microbiota regulates blood pressure (BP), involving the sympathetic nervous system and the immune system. The profile of ecological parameters and bacterial genera composition of gut dysbiosis in hypertension varies according to the experimental model of hypertension. Recent evidence supports that gut microbiota can protect or promote the development of hypertension by interacting with gut secondary lymph organs and altering T helper 17/regulatory T cells polarization, with subsequent changes in T cells infiltration in vascular tissues. Here, we also describe the bidirectional communication between the microbiome and the host via the sympathetic nervous system and its role in BP regulation. Dysbiosis in hypertension is mainly associated with reduced proportions of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, mainly acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria, and an increased enrichment of the genes for lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and export, lending to moderate endotoxemia. The role of these metabolic and structural products in both immune and sympathetic system regulation and vascular inflammation was also analyzed. Overall, gut microbiota is now recognized as a well-established target to dietary interventions with prebiotics or probiotics to reduce BP.

scholarly journals Circular RNA-Centered Regulatory Networks in the Physiopathology of Cardiovascular Diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 456 ◽  
Author(s):  
André F. Gabriel ◽  
Marina C. Costa ◽  
Francisco J. Enguita
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Circular Rna ◽  
Non Coding Rna ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Regulatory Rnas ◽  
Eukaryotic Genomes

Non-coding regulatory RNAs are generated as a core output of the eukaryotic genomes, being essential players in cell biology. At the organism level, they are key functional actors in those tissues and organs with limited proliferation capabilities such as the heart. The role of regulatory networks mediated by non-coding RNAs in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular conditions is starting to be unveiled. However, a deeper knowledge of the functional interactions among the diverse non-coding RNA families and their phenotypic consequences is required. This review presents the current knowledge about the functional crosstalk between circRNAs and other biomolecules in the framework of the cardiovascular diseases.

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