inflammation
Bacterial Infections | SpotlightUrsodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) Mitigates the Host Inflammatory Response during Clostridioides difficile Infection by Altering Gut Bile AcidsClostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is associated with increasing morbidity and mortality posing an urgent threat to public health. Recurrence of CDI after successful treatment with antibiotics is high, thus necessitating discovery of novel therapeutics against this enteric pathogen. Administration of the secondary bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA; ursodiol)...
Fungal and Parasitic InfectionsResolvin D1 Administration Is Beneficial in Trypanosoma cruzi InfectionChagas disease is a major public health issue, affecting ∼10 million people worldwide. Transmitted by a protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi, this infection triggers a chronic inflammatory process that can lead to cardiomyopathy (Chagas disease). Resolvin D1 (RvD1) is a novel proresolution lipid mediator whose effects on inflammatory diseases dampens pathological...
Host Response and InflammationImmunopathogenesis of Progressive Scarring Trachoma: Results of a 4-Year Longitudinal Study in Tanzanian ChildrenTrachoma is initiated during childhood following repeated conjunctival infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, which causes a chronic inflammatory response in some individuals that leads to scarring and in-turning of the eyelids in later life. There is currently no treatment to halt the progression of scarring trachoma due to an incomplete understanding of disease...
Host-Associated Microbial CommunitiesCooperativity between Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa during Polymicrobial Airway InfectionsStenotrophomonas maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium found ubiquitously in the environment that has historically been regarded as nonpathogenic. S. maltophilia is increasingly observed in patient sputa in cystic fibrosis (CF), and while existing epidemiology indicates that patients with...
Host Response and InflammationInflammatory Monocytes and Neutrophils Regulate Streptococcus suis-Induced Systemic Inflammation and Disease but Are Not Critical for the Development of Central Nervous System Disease in a Mouse Model of InfectionStreptococcus suis is an important porcine bacterial pathogen and zoonotic agent responsible for sudden death, septic shock, and meningitis. These pathologies are a consequence of elevated bacterial replication leading to exacerbated and uncontrolled inflammation, a hallmark of the S. suis systemic...
Host Response and InflammationProfiles of Local and Systemic Inflammation in the Outcome of Treatment of Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania (Viannia)The immune mechanisms that contribute to the efficacy of treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to define immune correlates of the outcome of treatment of CL caused by Leishmania (Viannia) species during standard of care treatment with pentavalent antimonials.
Host Response and InflammationElevated Levels of Interleukin-27 in Early Life Compromise Protective Immunity in a Mouse Model of Gram-Negative Neonatal SepsisNeonates are at increased risk for bacterial sepsis. We established that the immune-suppressive cytokine interleukin-27 (IL-27) is elevated in neonatal mice. Similarly, human cord blood-derived macrophages express IL-27 genes and secrete more cytokine than macrophages from adults. In the present work, we hypothesized that increased levels of IL-27 predispose neonatal mice to more severe infection during Gram-negative sepsis. Serum IL-27...
Host Response and InflammationProprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) Is Not Induced in Artificial Human Inflammation and Is Not Correlated with Inflammatory ResponseLipoproteins, as well as proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), have been shown to play a key role in the innate immune response. However, knowledge about the role and kinetics of PCSK9 in human inflammation is currently insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between inflammation and lipid metabolism, including the possible role of PCSK9. A single-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over study using...
CommentaryThe Other Side of the Coin: Anti-inflammatory Antibody Therapy for Infectious DiseasesThe inflammatory response to the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii plays a central role in the respiratory failure associated with Pneumocystis pneumonia. To help ameliorate the inflammatory response, corticosteroids are used as an adjuvant to standard antimicrobial therapy. Corticosteroids, however, can have a wide range of effects (including deleterious effects...
Host Response and InflammationEarly Growth Response 1 Deficiency Protects the Host against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lung InfectionPseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is a common cause of nosocomial infections. The molecular mechanisms governing immune responses to P. aeruginosa infection remain incompletely defined. Early growth response 1 (Egr-1) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that controls...