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Topic Review
Clinical Relevance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Immunology
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a heterogeneous population of tumor cells that have shed from a tumor into the lymphatics and vasculature, ultimately disseminating into blood circulation. Immune modulation is a hallmark of cancer. Cancer–immune interaction shapes the course of disease progression at every step of tumorigenesis, including metastasis, of which circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are regarded as an indicator. 
  • 767
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Leishmania for Developing a Novel Vaccine Platform
“Bugs as drugs” in medicine encompasses the use of microbes to enhance the efficacy of vaccination, such as the delivery of vaccines by Leishmania—the protozoan etiological agent of leishmaniasis. This novel approach is appraised in light of the successful development of vaccines for Covid-19. All relevant aspects of this pandemic are summarized to provide the necessary framework in contrast to leishmaniasis.
  • 766
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Role of Antimicrobial Peptides in Autoimmune Disorders
The antimicrobial peptides are present in many parts of the human body such as skin, mucosae, etc., that are exposed to microbes. AMPs are typically produced together as a mixture of several peptides, with tissue-specific unique AMP combinations. While specific AMPs are more prevalent in particular parts of the body, very few are exclusively produced by a single tissue or cell type. Almost all AMPs have multiple functions. AMPs, such as defensins and cathelicidins, were initially identified and studied due to their antimicrobial properties. Defensins and cathelicidins possess various immunomodulatory activities apart from their broad spectrum of activity against pathogens.
  • 766
  • 09 Jun 2023
Topic Review
TLR8 in Viral Infections
Viruses are recognized by several Toll-like receptors (TLRs), including TLR8, which is known to bind ssRNA structures. However, the similarities between TLR8 and TLR7 have obscured the distinctive characteristics of TLR8 activation and its importance in the immune system. 
  • 765
  • 07 Feb 2022
Topic Review
The IFN–JAK–STAT AXIS in Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy
The JAK-STAT pathway is a rapid membrane-to-nucleus signaling module regulated by a wide array of extracellular signals including cytokines and growth factors, as well as cell-intrinsic mutations/alterations. Among all those upstream signals, interferons (IFNs), especially IFN-α/β (belonging to type I IFNs: IFN-Is) and IFN-γ (the only member in type II IFN), are the most widely studied. With their pleiotropic immunological activities in almost all known pathophysiological settings, we discussed the role of the IFN-JAK-STAT axis in radiotherapy (RT) and immunotherapies (IOs), two major pillars of cancer care. 
  • 765
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Immune Cells in Oxi-Inflamm-Aging
Since immune cells need to produce oxidant and inflammatory compounds to carry out their defensive function, when uncontrolled, they may be responsible for the generation of oxidative-inflammatory stress that would not only cause their functional deterioration (immunosenescence) but could also increase these stresses in the body, accelerating the aging process. Given that phagocytes (neutrophils in humans and macrophages in mice) are the main immune cell type that generates oxidants throughout the “respiratory burst” in which NADPH oxidase and xanthine oxidase enzymes participate, they were proposed to play a central role in oxi-inflamm-aging.
  • 763
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Neutrophils and Flaviviruses
Neutrophils are first-line responders to infections and are recruited to target tissues through the action of chemoattractant molecules, such as chemokines. Neutrophils are crucial for the control of bacterial and fungal infections, but their role in the context of viral infections has been understudied. Flaviviruses are important human viral pathogens transmitted by arthropods. Infection with a flavivirus may result in a variety of complex disease manifestations, including hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis or congenital malformations. Our understanding of flaviviral diseases is incomplete, and so is the role of neutrophils in such diseases. Here we present a comprehensive overview on the participation of neutrophils in severe disease forms evolving from flavivirus infection, focusing on the role of chemokines and their receptors as main drivers of neutrophil function. Neutrophil activation during viral infection was shown to interfere in viral replication through effector functions, but the resulting inflammation is significant and may be detrimental to the host. For congenital infections in humans, neutrophil recruitment mediated by CXCL8 would be catastrophic. 
  • 760
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Immunotherapy during the Immediate Perioperative Period
Tumor excision is a necessary life-saving procedure in most solid cancers. However, surgery and the days before and following it, known as the immediate perioperative period (IPP), entail numerous prometastatic processes, including the suppression of antimetastatic immunity and direct stimulation of minimal residual disease (MRD). Thus, the IPP is pivotal in determining long-term cancer outcomes, presenting a short window of opportunity to circumvent perioperative risk factors by employing several therapeutic approaches, including immunotherapy. Nevertheless, immunotherapy is rarely examined or implemented during this short timeframe, due to both established and hypothetical contraindications to surgery. This entry summarizes existing and potential immuno-theraputic approaches to exploit the immediate perioperative period to prevent future metastatic disease.
  • 759
  • 23 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Helper Innate Lymphoid Cells in Melanoma
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and targeted therapy have dramatically changed the outcome of metastatic melanoma patients. Although immune checkpoints were developed based on the biology of adaptive T cells, they have subsequently been shown to be expressed by other subsets of immune cells. Similarly, the immunomodulatory properties of targeted therapy have been studied primarily with respect to T lymphocytes, but other subsets of immune cells could be affected. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are considered the innate counterpart of T lymphocytes and include cytotoxic natural killer cells, as well as three helper subsets, ILC1, ILC2 and ILC3. Thanks to their tissue distribution and their ability to respond rapidly to environmental stimuli, ILCs play a central role in shaping immunity.
  • 758
  • 21 Feb 2023
Topic Review
The Mechanisms of cGAS-STING Pathway-Induced Apoptosis
The cGAS–STING signaling axis can be activated by cytosolic DNA, including both non-self DNA and self DNA. This axis is used by the innate immune system to monitor invading pathogens and/or damage. Increasing evidence has suggested that the cGAS-STING pathway not only facilitates inflammatory responses and the production of type I interferons (IFN), but also activates other cellular processes, such as apoptosis.
  • 757
  • 23 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Antineoplastic Therapy Involved in Hypersensitivity Reactions
As widely accepted at present, in addition to their benefits, medicines can also be accompanied by side effects and adverse reactions, of which some can be detrimental to therapies or even life-threatening. In some cases, these effects are enabled or enhanced by certain individual-specific hypersensitivity. Among other manifestations, adverse reactions to drugs resulting from excessive sensitivity may include anaphylaxis. Given that regular toxicity studies are not relevant to point to possible delayed hypersensitivity reactions triggered by systemic products and from the perspective of mechanisms involved in the early and late stages phases of hypersensitivity events, in vitro and in vivo tests remain the means to reveal the cells activated and the mediators released in this process.
  • 757
  • 22 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Glioblastoma Immunotherapy
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of brain tumor with dismal survival and poor response to conventional therapies. Therefore, the development of immunotherapy for GBM treatment is necessary. 
  • 757
  • 24 Feb 2021
Topic Review
HIV Vaccine Development
An HIV vaccine can be either a preventive vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine, which means it can either protect individuals from being infected with HIV or treat HIV-infected individuals. And it can either induce an immune response against HIV (active vaccination approach) or consist of preformed antibodies against HIV (passive vaccination approach). There is currently no licensed HIV vaccine on the market, but multiple research projects are trying to find an effective vaccine. Evidence observed from humans shows that a vaccine may be possible: Some, but certainly not all, HIV-infected individuals naturally produce broadly neutralizing antibodies which keep the virus suppressed, and these people remain asymptomatic for decades. Potential broadly neutralizing antibodies have been cloned in the laboratory (monoclonal antibodies) and are being tested in passive vaccination clinical trials. Many trials have shown no efficacy, but one HIV vaccine regimen, RV 144, has been shown to prevent HIV in some individuals in Thailand. The urgency of the search for a vaccine against HIV stems from the AIDS-related death toll of over 35 million people since 1981. In 2002, AIDS became the primary cause of death due to an infectious agent in Africa. Alternative medical treatments to a vaccine exist. For the treatment of HIV-infected individuals, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) medication has been demonstrated to provide many benefits to HIV-infected individuals, including improved health, increased lifespan, control of viremia, and prevention of transmission to babies and partners. HAART must be taken lifelong without interruption to be effective, and cannot cure HIV. Options for the prevention of HIV infection in HIV-uninfected individuals include safer sex (for example condom use), antiretroviral strategies (pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis) and medical male circumcision. Vaccination has proved a powerful public health tool in vanquishing other diseases, and an HIV vaccine is generally considered as the most likely, and perhaps the only way by which the HIV pandemic can be halted. However, HIV remains a challenging target for a vaccine.
  • 756
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Inflammasome-Mediated Cytokines
Liver cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies and is commonly diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a tumor type that affects about 90% of patients. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity are both risk factors for this disease. HCC initiation and progression are deeply linked with changes in the hepatic microenvironment, with cytokines playing key roles. The understanding of the pathogenic pathways that connect these disorders to liver cancer remains poor.
  • 752
  • 07 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Alarmins and MicroRNAs in Genesis of Respiratory Diseases
Alarmins support the pathogenesis of chronic respiratory diseases as asthma through ferroptosis and the axis composed of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and interleukin (IL)-33. The mechanisms supporting the development and progression of chronic respiratory diseases and the role of HMBG1 and IL-33 are described.
  • 746
  • 09 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Blood-Borne Proteins in Alzheimer’s Disease
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) restricts entry of neurotoxic plasma components, blood cells, and pathogens into the brain, leading to proper neuronal functioning. BBB impairment leads to blood-borne protein infiltration such as prothrombin, thrombin, prothrombin kringle-2, fibrinogen, fibrin, and other harmful substances. Thus, microglial activation and release of pro-inflammatory mediators commence, resulting in neuronal damage and leading to impaired cognition via neuroinflammatory responses, which are important features observed in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients.
  • 745
  • 17 May 2023
Topic Review
Epigenetic Modifiers in T Cells
Immunotherapy has brought new hope for cancer patients. There is still a need to address major challenges including heterogeneity in response among patients, the reoccurrence of the disease, and iRAEs (immune-related adverse effects). The first critical step towards solving these issues is understanding the epigenomic events that play a significant role in the regulation of specific biomolecules in the context of the immune population present in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) during various treatments and responses.
  • 743
  • 08 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Hyperglycemia Induces Inflammatory Response
Hyperglycemia, a hallmark of diabetes, can induce inflammatory programming of macrophages. The macrophage scavenger receptor CD163 controls inflammation by the internalization and degradation of hemoglobin-haptoglobin (Hb-Hp) complexes built due to intravascular hemolysis. Clinical studies have demonstrated a correlation between impaired scavenging of Hb-Hp complexes via CD163 and diabetic vascular complications. Hyperglycemia induces an inflammatory response of innate immune cells to Hb-Hp1-1 and Hb-Hp2-2 uptake, converting the silent Hb-Hp complex clearance that prevents vascular damage into an inflammatory process, hereby increasing the susceptibility of diabetic patients to vascular complications.
  • 743
  • 08 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Autoimmune Arthritis and Nephritis
Autoimmune arthritis and nephritis are intractable conditions and there are many unresolved issues. This topic solicits the latest findings and evidence from a wide range of fields. Reviews, basic experiments and clinical studies are welcome.
  • 742
  • 26 Sep 2020
Topic Review
T Cell Chemotaxis and Infiltration in Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma is an immunologically ‘cold’ tumor, which are characterized by absent or minimal numbers of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). For those tumors that have been invaded by lymphocytes, they are profoundly exhausted and ineffective. While many immunotherapy approaches seek to reinvigorate immune cells at the tumor, this requires TILs to be present. 
  • 742
  • 04 Nov 2021
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