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Assessing neutrophil subsets in autoimmune disease: Moving away from relying on density?Neutrophils are the most abundant immune cell in circulation. However, due to a number of technical challenges for researchers, including the neutrophil's short lifespan and difficulties with preservation, they are often discarded during blood processing and thus ignored in cohort studies. As such, the contribution of neutrophils to disease and their involvement in disease mechanisms is less explored compared with other immune cell types.
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Prebiotic Supplementation During Pregnancy Modifies the Gut Microbiota and Increases Metabolites in Amniotic Fluid, Driving a Tolerogenic Environment In UteroThe gut microbiota is influenced by environmental factors such as food. Maternal diet during pregnancy modifies the gut microbiota composition and function, leading to the production of specific compounds that are transferred to the fetus and enhance the ontogeny and maturation of the immune system. Prebiotics are fermented by gut bacteria, leading to the release of short-chain fatty acids that can specifically interact with the immune system, inducing a switch toward tolerogenic populations and therefore conferring health benefits.
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Editorial: The relationship between puberty and immune-driven diseaseThe way the immune system operates differs between males and females. This is due to both differential expression of immune-related genes from the sex chromosomes as well as the immune modulatory properties of sex hormones. Together, these effects contribute to a skewed prevalence of disease and disease course between males and females, including allergic-, infectious-, autoimmune-, and cancerous disease.
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In Vivo Evidence of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Persistence in a Subset of Pulmonary Dendritic Cells Following a Primary InfectionRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes annual epidemics of infections affecting the whole population. In vitro, it has been shown to infect and persist in human dendritic cells (DCs) for prolonged periods. Initially persistence is associated with low levels of replication before the virus becomes dormant. Reactivation of viral replication can be triggered many months later.
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Immune impacts of infant whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccination on co-administered vaccinesWe compared the effect of a heterologous wP/aP/aP primary series (hereafter mixed wP/aP) versus a homologous aP/aP/aP primary schedule (hereafter aP-only) on antibody responses to co-administered vaccine antigens in infants and toddlers.
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Protection against maternal infection-associated fetal growth restriction: Proof-of-concept with a microbial-derived immunomodulatorThis study suggests that broad-spectrum protection-of-pregnancy against infection-associated inflammatory stress represents an achievable therapeutic goal
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Defective aeroallergen surveillance by airway mucosal dendritic cells as a determinant of riskA hallmark of atopic asthma is development of chronic airways hyper-responsiveness (AHR) that persists in the face of ongoing exposure to perennial...
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T regulatory cells in childhood asthmaAsthma is a chronic disease of the airways, most commonly driven by immuno-inflammatory responses to ubiquitous airborne antigens.
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Targeting the mucosal immune system in a mouse model to prevent pregnancy complications following maternal bacterial infectionThis work is the first step to develop safe treatments for pregnant mums to protect against preterm delivery and low birth weight caused by maternal infections.