scholarly journals Prologue: The Whole Body as an Immune System

Author(s):  
Walter Gottlieb Land
Keyword(s):  
Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossella Cianci ◽  
Laura Franza ◽  
Maria Grazia Massaro ◽  
Raffaele Borriello ◽  
Francesco De Vito ◽  
...  

Vaccinations are among the most effective medical procedures and have had an incredible impact on almost everyone’s life. One of the populations that can benefit the most from them are elderly people. Unfortunately, in this group, vaccines are less effective than in other groups, due to immunosenescence. The immune system ages like the whole body and becomes less effective in responding to infections and vaccinations. At the same time, immunosenescence also favors an inflammatory microenvironment, which is linked to many conditions typical of the geriatrics population. The microbiota is one of the key actors in modulating the immune response and, in this review, we discuss the current evidence on the role of microbiota in regulating the immune response to vaccines, particularly in elderly people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-262
Author(s):  
Xiaochang Liu ◽  
Zheng Liu ◽  
Duo Wang ◽  
Yang Han ◽  
Sai Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Whole-body exposure to low-dose radiation due to diagnostic imaging procedures, occupational hazards and radiation accidents is a source of concern. In this study, we analyzed the effects of single and long-term low-dose irradiation on the immune system. Male Balb/c mice received a single whole-body dose of irradiation (0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 or 1 Gy). For long-term irradiation, mice were irradiated 10 times (total dose of 0.2, 0.5 or 1 Gy) over a period of 6 weeks. Two days after single or long-term irradiation, the numbers of splenic macrophages, natural killer cells and dendritic cells were reduced, and the spleen organ coefficient was decreased. At 2 Days after long-term low-dose irradiation, the number of white blood cells in the peripheral blood of the mice decreased. Between 7 and 14 Days after long-term low-dose irradiation, the number of immune cells in the thymus and spleen began to increase and then stabilized. Th1/Th2 cytokines and reactive oxygen species-related proteins first decreased and then increased to a plateau. Our results show a significant difference in the effects of single and long-term low-dose irradiation on the immune system.


2000 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric H. Kajioka ◽  
Melba L. Andres ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Xiao Wen Mao ◽  
Michael F. Moyers ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 5592
Author(s):  
Clara Crescioli

The concept that extra-skeletal functions of vitamin D impact on human health have taken place since quite ago. Among all, the beneficial effects of vitamin D on immune regulation, skeletal muscle function, and metabolism are undeniable. Adequate vitamin D levels maintain the immune system and skeletal muscle metabolism integrity, promoting whole-body homeostasis; hypovitaminosis D associates with the important decline of both tissues and promotes chronic inflammation, which is recognized to underlie several disease developments. Growing evidence shows that the immune system and skeletal muscle reciprocally dialogue, modulating each other’s function. Within this crosstalk, vitamin D seems able to integrate and converge some biomolecular signaling towards anti-inflammatory protective effects. Thus, vitamin D regulation appears even more critical at the immune system-muscle signaling intersection, rather than at the single tissue level, opening to wider/newer opportunities in clinical applications to improve health. This paper aims to focus on the immune system-skeletal muscle interplay as a multifaceted target for vitamin D in health and disease after recalling the main regulatory functions of vitamin D on those systems, separately. Some myokines, particularly relevant within the immune system/skeletal muscle/vitamin D networking, are discussed. Since vitamin D supplementation potentially offers the opportunity to maintain health, comments on this issue, still under debate, are included.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 101-101
Author(s):  
Barry J Bradford

Abstract Our understanding of the immune system emerged from the study of disease processes and the communication networks used by various cell types to respond to pathogens. As with many aspects of physiology, this initial view was colored by the techniques available at the time. With technical advances beginning in the 1990, research in sepsis and obesity began to identify critical interactions between the immune system and metabolism. Our current understanding of these interactions is informed by two active but largely distinct research communities. Many in the field of immunology are utilizing cellular metabolism tools to understand mitochondrial function and fuel use in response to activation of innate and adaptive immune cells, especially as these relate to cancer. From another vantage point, many metabolic physiologists are now seeking to understand the importance of tissue-resident immune cells and immune signaling molecules in metabolic homeostasis and pathologies. Beyond human health implications of recent findings, a number of immunometabolism insights have informed our understanding of livestock health. In inflammatory events, phagocytic cells are activated, and the dramatic increase in oxidative metabolism is driven primarily by glucose use. Metabolism of healthy animals is also influenced by secretions from immune cells. Studies in mice indicate that appropriate host/microbe interactions (balancing protection and tolerance) are mediated by a network of immune cell types in the gut, which is critical to both absorptive and barrier functions of the gut. Adipose tissue immune cells regulate lipolytic rate, insulin sensitivity, and perhaps whole-body inflammatory tone. Local immune cell impacts on metabolism of other organs, including the liver and pancreas, are also emerging. Immunity and metabolism are tightly interwoven, and the evolving understanding of these links may enable nutritional or pharmacological strategies to enhance resilience to disease and alter nutrient partitioning in livestock.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzhan Myrzakhanova ◽  
Chiara Gambardella ◽  
Carla Falugi ◽  
Antonietta M. Gatti ◽  
Grazia Tagliafierro ◽  
...  

Metal nanosolicoparticles are suspected to cause diseases in a number of organisms, including man. In this paper, we report the effects of nanosilver (Ag, 1–20 nm particles) on the early development of the zebrafish, a well-established vertebrate model. Embryos at the midgastrula stage were exposed to concentrations ranging from 100 to 0.001 mg/L to verify the effects on different endpoints: lethality, morphology, expression of cholinergic molecules, and development of the immune system. (1) Relative risk of mortality was exponential in the range between 0.001 and 10 mg/L. Exposure to 100 mg/L caused 100% death of embryos before reaching the tail-bud stage. (2) Developmental anomalies were present in the 72 h larvae obtained from embryos exposed to nanosilver: whole body length, decreased eye dimension, and slow response to solicitation by gentle touch with a needle tip, with a significant threshold at 0.1 mg/L. (3) Dose-dependent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity was significant among the exposures, except between 1 mg/L and 10 mg/L. (4) The distribution of CD41+ cells and of CDF/LIF-like immunoreactivity was altered according to the Ag concentration. The possible effect of nanosilver in impairing immune system differentiation through the inhibition of molecules related to the cholinergic system is discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (35) ◽  
pp. 4177-4185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wei ◽  
Syed Sayeed Ahmad ◽  
Shuang Chi ◽  
Yu Xie ◽  
Mohammad Amjad Kamal ◽  
...  

Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) is a chronic, female overwhelming fundamental issue of an immune system rheumatic sickness that influences the whole body. It is described by lymphocytic invasion of the exocrine viz. salivary and lacrimal glands and by surprising B-cell hyperactivity. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) and Stomatitis sicca (oral dryness) are the primary visual appearances of SS. The primary SS is recognized from secondary SS which happens as a piece of other immune system maladies. The secondary SS exists together particularly with fundamental lupus erythematosus (15- 36%), rheumatoid joint inflammation (20- 32%) and also restricted and progressive systemic sclerosis (11- 24%), less as often as possible with different sclerosis and immune system hepatitis and thyreoiditis. We assess changes in salivary epidermal growth factor (EGF) intensity and estimate the relationship between salivary EGF levels and the seriousness of intraoral symptoms in SS individuals. The outcomes demonstrated that the salivary EGF levels diminished with the movement of SS, and this crumbling in salivation quality and additionally, hyposalivation could imagine a vital constituent in the pathogenesis of refractory intraoral indication in SS suffering patients. A strong relationship between particular alleles of the MHC and SS improvement has been recommended. The primary hereditary examination on SS revealed a relationship amongst SS and HLA-DR3 in SS population. Subsequent reports featured the relationship amongst SS and the HLA-D locus, with a diverse distribution between primary SS and secondary SS. The motivation behind this manuscript is to give a concise survey on the molecular mechanism, effects of infectious agents and genetic factors in the etiology of Sjogren’s Syndrome. Such effects are discussed independently.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie E. Coudert ◽  
Marie-Christine de Vernejoul ◽  
Maurizio Muraca ◽  
Andrea Del Fattore

Osteopetrosis is a rare genetic disorder characterized by an increase of bone mass due to defective osteoclast function. Patients typically displayed spontaneous fractures, anemia, and in the most severe forms hepatosplenomegaly and compression of cranial facial nerves leading to deafness and blindness. Osteopetrosis comprises a heterogeneous group of diseases as several forms are known with different models of inheritance and severity from asymptomatic to lethal. This review summarizes the genetic and clinical features of osteopetrosis, emphasizing how recent studies of this disease have contributed to understanding the central role of the skeleton in the whole body physiology. In particular, the interplay of bone with the stomach, insulin metabolism, male fertility, the immune system, bone marrow, and fat is described.


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