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Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 S Conserved Regions for Vaccine Development
Several distinct pathogenic coronaviruses have emerged, including the pandemic SARS-CoV-2, which is difficult to curtail despite the availability of licensed vaccines. The difficulty in managing SARS-CoV-2 is linked to changes in the variants’ proteins, especially in the spike protein (SP) used for viral entry. These mutations, especially in the SP, enable the virus to evade immune responses induced by natural infection or vaccination. However, some parts of the SP in the S1 subunit and the S2 subunit are considered conserved among coronaviruses. 
  • 589
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Nanoparticle-Mediated Nucleic Acid Delivery Systems for Immunotherapy
Successful clinical results of immunotherapeutic approaches for cancer treatment were led by antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, and many have advanced through clinical trials and obtained FDA approval. A major opportunity remains for the development of nucleic acid technology for cancer immunotherapy in the form of cancer vaccines, adoptive T-cell therapies, and gene regulation. However, these therapeutic approaches face many challenges related to their delivery to target cells, including their in vivo decay, the limited uptake by target cells, the requirements for nuclear penetration (in some cases), and the damage caused to healthy cells. These barriers can be avoided and resolved by utilizing advanced smart nanocarriers (e.g., lipids, polymers, spherical nucleic acids, metallic nanoparticles) that enable the efficient and selective delivery of nucleic acids to the target cells and/or tissues.
  • 588
  • 28 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Innate Immune System in the Cancer
Ionizing radiation therapy is an important component of cancer treatment. Researchers provide a summary of the latest advancements, clinical use, and limitations of radiation therapy. Moreover, researchers explored how radiation affects the body’s natural defense system, which plays a crucial role in fighting cancer. The immune responses triggered by radiation therapy help the body eliminate tumors naturally.
  • 588
  • 16 Aug 2023
Topic Review
cGLRs as a Novel Family of PRRs
Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play critical roles in embryonic development, immune homeostasis, neurodevelopment, and neurodegeneration. PRRs are highly conserved germline-encoded proteins that recognize microbe/pathogen-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs or PAMPs) and death/damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs); thus, they regulate innate and adaptive immunity and contribute to the pathogenesis of many diseases ranging from infections to cancers.
  • 588
  • 09 Feb 2024
Topic Review
MiR-223 as Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Cancer
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that function in the regulation of gene expression and regulate a wide array of biological processes, including carcinogenesis. Several mechanisms are involved in miRNA-associated cancer development, such as amplification or deletion of miRNA genes, abnormal transcriptional control of miRNAs, dysregulated epigenetic changes, and defects in miRNA biogenesis machinery. MiRNA-223 has been found to be a critical miRNA that is involved in a wide range of molecular processes. It is involved in the regulation of inflammatory cytokines, epithelial homeostasis, immune checkpoint signaling pathways, apoptosis, cell cycle, cell proliferation, invasion, and chemosensitivity. Published literature has demonstrated that miRNA-223 expression is associated with cancer development and prevention. Mir-223 functions as either a tumor suppressor or oncogene under certain circumstances, containing multiple targets or specific targets. Hence, miR-223 could be a potential candidate diagnostic biomarker, prognostic biomarker, or therapeutic target of cancer. 
  • 587
  • 28 Feb 2022
Topic Review
EV miRNAs Modulate Inflammation
In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), extracellular vesicles (EVs) are associated with both the propagation and attenuation of joint inflammation and destruction. However, the specific EV content responsible for these processes is largely unknown. Investigations into identifying EV content are confounded by the challenges in obtaining high-quality EV preparations from synovial fluid. Implementing a size exclusion chromatography-based method of EV isolation, coupled with small RNA sequencing, we accurately characterised EV miRNAs in synovial fluid obtained from RA patients and investigated the differences between joints with high- and low-grade inflammation. 
  • 586
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
The Roles of MicroRNAs in Asthma
Asthma is one of the most common chronic non-communicable diseases worldwide, characterized by variable airflow limitation secondary to airway narrowing, airway wall thickening, and increased mucus resulting from chronic inflammation and airway remodeling. Current epidemiological studies reported that hypovitaminosis D is frequent in patients with asthma and is associated with worsening the disease and that supplementation with vitamin D3 improves asthma symptoms. However, despite several advances in the field, the molecular mechanisms of asthma have yet to be comprehensively understood. MicroRNAs play an important role in controlling several biological processes and their deregulation is implicated in diverse diseases, including asthma.
  • 583
  • 31 Jan 2024
Topic Review
T Cell Immune Checkpoint Molecules in HIV
T cell exhaustion is a condition of cell dysfunction despite antigen engagement, characterized by augmented surface expression of immune checkpoint molecules such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), which suppress T cell receptor (TCR) signaling and negatively impact the proliferative and effector activities of T cells. T cell function is tightly modulated by cellular glucose metabolism, which produces adequate energy to support a robust reaction when battling pathogen infection. The transition of the T cells from an active to an exhausted state following pathogen persistence involves a drastic change in metabolic activity. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a human pathogen that attacks the immune system by targeting CD4+ T lymphocytes. HIV infection can result in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a fatal stage at which the host immune system collapses and becomes vulnerable to many types of opportunistic infections.
  • 582
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Emerging Immunotherapies in Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy is a highly emerging form of breast cancer therapy that enables clinicians to target cancers with specific receptor expression profiles. Two popular immunotherapeutic approaches involve chimeric antigen receptor-T cells (CAR-T) and bispecific antibodies (BsAb). Briefly mentioned in this review as well is the mRNA vaccine technology recently popularized by the COVID-19 vaccine. These forms of immunotherapy can highly select for the tumor target of interest to generate specific tumor lysis. Combining emerging immunotherapeutics with tumor marker discovery sets the stage for highly targeted immunotherapy to be the future of cancer treatments. This review highlights the principles of CAR-T and BsAb therapy, improvements in CAR and BsAb engineering, and recently identified human breast cancer markers in the context of in vitro or in vivo CAR-T or BsAb treatment. 
  • 581
  • 06 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Immunological Aspects of Long COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world unprecedentedly, with both positive and negative impacts. COVID-19 significantly impacted the immune system, and understanding the immunological consequences of COVID-19 is essential for developing effective treatment strategies. The immunological aspects of long COVID-19 is a phenomenon where individuals continue to experience a range of symptoms and complications, even after the acute phase of COVID-19 infection has subsided. The immune system responds to the initial infection by producing various immune cells and molecules, including antibodies, T cells, and cytokines. However, in some patients, this immune response becomes dysregulated, leading to chronic inflammation and persistent symptoms. 
  • 580
  • 06 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Potential of NK Cell-Based Immunotherapies against Multiple Myeloma
Natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies have emerged as promising anticancer treatments due to their potency as cytolytic effectors and synergy with concurrent treatments. Multiple myeloma (MM) is an aggressive B-cell malignancy that, despite development of novel therapeutic agents, remains incurable with a high rate of relapse. In MM, the inhospitable tumor microenvironment prevents host NK cells from exerting their cytolytic function. The development of NK cell immunotherapy works to overcome this altered immune landscape and can be classified in two major groups based on the origin of the cell: autologous or allogeneic. 
  • 578
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Macrophage/Microglia Polarization in Treating Glioblastoma/Multiple Sclerosis
Macrophages and microglia are implicated in several diseases with divergent roles in physiopathology. This discrepancy can be explained by their capacity to endorse different polarization states. Theoretical extremes of these states are called M1 and M2. M1 are pro-inflammatory, microbicidal, and cytotoxic whereas M2 are anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory cells in favor of tumor progression. In pathological states, these polarizations are dysregulated, thus restoring phenotypes could be an interesting treatment approach against diseases.
  • 577
  • 21 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Crosstalk between ILC3s and Microbiota
In recent years, growing evidence has suggested that the gut microbiome can significantly influence antitumor immunity, both within and outside the gastrointestinal tract, thereby affecting the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). A link between microbiota composition and response to ICIs has been reported in both mouse and human studies. Gut microbial features depend on a delicate balance of tolerance for commensal microbiota and defense against various potentially pathogenic microbiota orchestrated by host immune system. Type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are a group of tissue-resident innate lymphocytes related to host immune cell–microbiome interactions. They orchestrate immunity, inflammation and tolerance in the intestines and any alterations in their functions can cause gut inflammation, colon cancer and immunotherapy resistance.
  • 577
  • 05 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Role of Neutrophils in Immune-Related Diseases
Neutrophils are the most abundant of the circulating immune cells and are the first to be recruited to sites of inflammation. Neutrophils are a heterogeneous group of immune cells from which are derived extracellular traps (NETs), reactive oxygen species, cytokines, chemokines, immunomodulatory factors, and alarmins that regulate the recruitment and phenotypes of neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells. In addition, cytokine-stimulated neutrophils can express class II major histocompatibility complex and the internal machinery necessary for successful antigen presentation to memory CD4+ T cells. This may be relevant in the context of vaccine memory. Neutrophils thus emerge as orchestrators of immune responses that play a key role in determining the outcome of infections, vaccine efficacy, and chronic diseases like autoimmunity and cancer.
  • 577
  • 09 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Story of Kinases and Adaptors Regulating TCR signaling
Tyrosine phosphorylation constitutes an essential mechanism of signal transduction in eukaryotic cells. In the immune system, this process is widely represented, and in T cells, the first biochemical event that occurs after antigenic recognition seems to be the phosphorylation of the tyrosine residues included in the CD3 chains. For T cells to develop, differentiate and proliferate, proper intracellular signaling is required, and the negative regulation of such signaling pathways is crucial to prevent autoimmune diseases or severe immunodeficiencies. Although not understood in depth, it is becoming increasingly clear that multiple negative regulatory loops exist along the TCR-signaling cascade. The tyrosine kinases Lck and ZAP70, together with the transmembrane adaptor LAT, are essential players in the transduction of TCR early signals, and the elimination of any of them causes serious alterations in the TCR-signaling cascade.
  • 576
  • 14 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Regulation of PD-L1 Expression by Nuclear Receptors
The suppression of excessive immune responses is necessary to prevent injury to the body, but it also allows cancer cells to escape immune responses and proliferate. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is a co-inhibitory molecule that is present on T cells and is the receptor for programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). The binding of PD-1 to PD-L1 leads to the inhibition of the T cell receptor signaling cascade. PD-L1 has been found to be expressed in many types of cancers, such as lung, ovarian, and breast cancer, as well as glioblastoma. Furthermore, PD-L1 mRNA is widely expressed in normal peripheral tissues including the heart, skeletal muscle, placenta, lungs, thymus, spleen, kidney, and liver. The expression of PD-L1 is upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines and growth factors via a number of transcription factors. In addition, various nuclear receptors, such as androgen receptor, estrogen receptor, peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ, and retinoic-acid-related orphan receptor γ, also regulate the expression of PD-L1. 
  • 576
  • 20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Immune Checkpoints as Marker for Cancer Diagnosis
Immune checkpoint-based treatment increases the hope among the cancer patients and especially those who did not respond to more established treatments. Currently, the surface markers, programmed death-1 (PD-1) and CTLA-4 are well known for their function in the immune system, as well as their role in cancer as theranostic applications. PD-1 and CTLA-4 are two major checkpoints approved by the FDA for immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Similarly, other checkpoints, including TIM-3, BTLA, and LAG-3, are under active investigation as potential biomarkers for cancer theranostics. These immune checkpoints can be detected on tumor cells and in the tumor microenvironment (TME) through traditional tissue biopsies and IHC as well as via biosensors. Although these biomarkers are potentially for the detection of cancer, the developmental status of biosensors designed to detect these immune checkpoint markers is still at an early stage.
  • 575
  • 13 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Extracellular Vesicles in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive and refractory subtype of breast cancer, often occurring in younger patients with poor clinical prognosis. Given the current lack of specific targets for effective intervention, the development of better treatment strategies remains an unmet medical need. Over the last decade, the field of extracellular vesicles (EVs) has grown tremendously, offering immense potential for clinical diagnosis/prognosis and therapeutic applications. While TNBC-EVs have been shown to play an important role in tumorigenesis, chemoresistance and metastasis, they could be repurposed as potential biomarkers for TNBC diagnosis and prognosis. 
  • 575
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, chronic, autoimmune disease categorized by synovial inflammation due to the infiltration of T cells, B cells, neutrophils, and macrophages, destroying articular joints and bone architecture. RA is primarily associated with inflammation within synovial joints. All peripheral joints can be affected in RA, but the most affected are those of the hands, feet, and knees. Although RA’s etiology is still unknown, several factors contributing to RA have been identified. Among them are the susceptibility genes, disease-causing immune cells, and cytokine and signal transduction networks that promote inflammation.
  • 574
  • 07 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Exploitation of Neutrophil Functions to Combat Disease
Neutrophils are crucial innate immune cells and comprise 50–70% of the white blood cell population under homeostatic conditions. Upon infection and in cancer, blood neutrophil numbers significantly increase because of the secretion of various chemo- and cytokines by, e.g., leukocytes, pericytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells present in the inflamed tissue or in the tumor microenvironment (TME). The function of neutrophils in cancer has recently gained considerable attention, as they can exert both pro- and anti-tumorigenic functions, dependent on the cytokine milieu present in the TME. Here, several promising therapeutic options are addressed, such as cytokine therapy, immunocytokines and immunotherapy, which aim to exploit the anti-tumorigenic potential of neutrophils in cancer treatment or block excessive neutrophil-mediated inflammation in autoimmune diseases.
  • 573
  • 16 Aug 2023
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