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The role played by dendritic cells (DCs), initiators and orchestrators of the immune response, remains unclear in rickettsial infections. To investigate their importance in rickettsioses, we analyzed the responses of murine bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) after rickettsial stimulation in vitro and their protective role in vivo. Rickettsia conorii stimulation of BMDCs caused significant maturation and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Transfer of rickettsiae-stimulated DCs protected mice from lethal rickettsial challenge by limiting rickettsial proliferation in vivo, whereas partial protection was observed in mice receiving lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs. Immunity to R. conorii after transfer of DCs was associated with up-regulation of CD40, CD80, CD86, and major histocompatibility complex class II; with production of IL-2, IL-12, and IL-23; and with production of antigen-specific interferon- gamma in T cells. Taken together, our data suggest that a vigorous proinflammatory response in DCs is associated with protective immunity to rickettsiae and that generation of antigen-specific immunity is crucial to complete protection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/519686 | DOI Listing |
PLoS Pathog
September 2025
Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, Australia.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells and play a key role in facilitating the sexual transmission of HIV, functioning as a delivery system responsible for trafficking the virus from exposed barrier sites to their key target cells, CD4 T cells. Although the role of DCs in HIV transmission is well established, the recent advent of high-parameter, single-cell detection technologies, coupled with improved cell isolation techniques, has led to the rapid reclassification of the DC landscape, particularly within human barrier tissues. The identification of new subsets introduces the challenge of incorporating previously understood transmission principles with new, cell-specific, functional nuances to identify the key DCs responsible for facilitating HIV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Hematol
September 2025
Department of Hematology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510280, P. R. China.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapies have demonstrated remarkable clinical efficacy in hematological malignancies, validating their therapeutic potential. However, challenges such as therapeutic resistance and limited accessibility hinder their broader application. To overcome these limitations, alternative CAR-based cell therapies, including CAR-Natural Killer (CAR-NK), CAR-macrophage (CAR-M), and CAR-dendritic cell (CAR-DC) therapies, have been proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomater Sci
September 2025
Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Nanotechnology for Cancer Immunotherapy, The Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biomaterials, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin, 300192, China.
Various cancer therapeutic strategies have been designed for targeting tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), but TAM reprogramming-based monotherapy is often clinically hindered, likely due to the lack of a coordinated platform to initiate T cell-mediated immunity. Herein, we fabricated reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive human serum albumin (HSA)-based nanoparticles (PEG/IL12-IA NPs) consisting of indocyanine green (ICG), arginine (Arg), and interleukin 12 (IL12). Upon laser irradiation, the nanoparticles were found to be able to dissociate, thus facilitating the release of IL12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNaunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol
September 2025
Department of Gastroenterology, Jinhua Central Hospital, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, 321000, Zhejiang, China.
The fourth leading cause of cancer-related fatalities in the USA is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a particularly deadly illness that is resistant to immunotherapy. One of the Main Obstacles in cancer research is developing better treatments for PDAC, which has the lowest 5-year survival rate of any malignancy. Anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-L1, and anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade medications also have poor results in these patients, which may indicate the presence of other immunosuppressive mechanisms in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment (TME).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
September 2025
Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Purpose: To characterize corneal immune cell morphodynamics and nerve features, and define the in vivo immune landscape in older adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), relative to healthy age-matched adults.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 16 HIV-positive individuals receiving ART and 15 age-matched controls underwent ocular surface examinations and functional in vivo confocal microscopy (Fun-IVCM). Time-lapsed videos were created to analyze corneal immune cells (T cells, dendritic cells [DCs], macrophages).