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Organ-specific lymphocyte homing is dependent on the expression of tissue-specific homing receptors and selected chemokine receptors. During the effector phase of an immune response, IgA and IgG antibody-secreting cells (ASC) are differently distributed in the body. Still, B cell expression of L-selectin and the mucosal homing receptor integrin alpha 4 beta 7 is not related to the isotype produced
The development of bacterial vaginosis (BV) among women of childbearing age and the resulting quantitative and qualitative shift from normally occurring lactobacilli in the vagina to a mixture of mainly anaerobic bacteria is a microbiological and immunological enigma that so far has precluded the formulation of a unifying generally accepted theory on the aetiology and clinical course of BV This cr
ABR-215757 (5757) is a quinoline-3-carboxamide (Q-compound) currently in clinical development for systemic sclerosis. Q-compounds have shown efficacy in several different models of autoimmune diseases such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and collagen induced arthritis. However, the mechanism of action is still poorly understood. In this thesis we have tried to find the mechanism
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) commonly causes local disease in the upper and lower respiratory tract and has recently been shown to interfere with both the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation. The terminal pathway of the complement system is regulated by vitronectin that is a component of both plasma and the extracellular matrix. In this study, we identify prote
Cutaneous human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a heterogeneous, nonmonophyletic assembly, comprising about 50 characterized types and at least 133 isolates putatively representing new types. Their natural history of infection and potential association with nonmelanoma skin cancer are not well understood. Several PCR systems have been developed that amplify a broad spectrum of cutaneous HPVs. However,
Effective human input devices for computer control are very important to quadriplegics and others with severe disabilities. This paper describes a framework for computer control without need for special PC software or drivers. The framework is based on a tongue control system recently developed at Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University. The framework provides emulation of a
Streptococcus equi ssp. equi causes strangles, a highly contagious and serious disease in the upper respiratory tract of horses. Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus, another subspecies of this genus, is regarded as an opportunistic commensal in horses. The present study describes the characterization of two novel immunoglobulin G (IgG) endopeptidases of these subspecies, IdeE2 and IdeZ2. Both en
Popular Abstract in Swedish Ehrlichia hos människor och djur Fästingburna infektioner uppmärksammas alltmer både hos människor och djur. Fästingar har visat sig kunna överföra flera olika infektiösa agens som till exempel borrelia- och ehrlichiabakterier, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)-virus och babesia-parasiter. De i Skandinavien förekommande ehrlichia-bakterierna Ehrlichia phagocytophila, orsakEhrlichia phagocytophila is a tick-borne pathogen of domestic animals, which has recently been acknowledged also as a human pathogen. It is a strictly intracellular bacterium, infecting granulocytes of the host, sometimes resulting in clinical disease - granulocytic ehrlichiosis - with manifestations ranging from mild flu-like conditions to severe infections with multi-organ failure and death. Thi
Background: Achlorhydria caused by e.g. atrophic gastritis allows for bacterial overgrowth, which induces chronic inflammation and damage to the mucosal cells of infected individuals driving gastric malignancies and cancer. Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) can colonize achlohydric stomachs and we therefore wanted to study the impact of E. faecalis infection on inflammatory response, reactive ox
Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) has successfully been used in immunotherapy of different experimental tumours. Mechanistically, IFN-gamma has extensive effects on the immune system including release of nitric oxide (NO) by upregulation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). NO has putative immunosuppressive effects but could also play a role in killing of tumour cells. Therefore, the aim of t
n the current study, we address the underlying mechanism for the selective generation of gut-homing T cells in the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT). We demonstrate that DCs in the GALT are unique in their capacity to establish T cell gut tropism but in vivo only confer this property to T cells in the presence of DC maturational stimuli, including toll-like receptor-dependent and -independent
Collagen type II (CII) is a cartilage-specific target of pathologic humoral autoimmune responses in rheumatoid arthritis as well as in the collagen-induced arthritis model. The aim of the present study is to investigate the critical amino acid residues conferring CII epitope specificity of the prototypic arthritogenic murine mAb CIIC1. A homology model of the CIIC1 single-chain antibody fragment (
Immunization of mice with type II collagen (CII) leads to collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), a model for rheumatoid arthritis. T cell recognition of CII is believed to be a critical step in CIA development. We have analyzed the T cell determinants on CII and the TCR used for their recognition, using twenty-nine T cell hybridomas derived from C3H.Q and DBA/1 mice immunized with rat CII. All hybridom
With the elimination of Haemophilus influenzae type b through vaccination, it has been suggested that other types of H. influenzae strains might acquire virulence traits and emerge as important pathogens. The gene sequence IS1016 has been associated with an increased capacity to cause severe infections. It is usually present in encapsulated strains but is sometimes harbored by nontypeable H. influ
Genetic and environmental factors, including the commensal microbiota, have a crucial role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. Aberrant activation of the transcription factor NF-κB is associated with chronic intestinal inflammation in mice and humans. Recently, an emerging family of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) has been identified at mucosal sites contributing to the maintenance of g
The recently described oomycete pathogen Phytophthora pisi causes root rot on pea and faba bean, while the closely related Phytophthora sojae is the causal agent of soybean root and stem rot. Differences in the pathogenicity factor repertoires that enable the two species to have distinct host specificity towards pea and soybean, were studied using tandem mass spectrometry in a global proteome stud
Antibodies are important proteins participating in a number of reactions to protect us from harmful diseases. Apart from this important function, they are also useful in different technical and medical applications. This, however, relies on our possibility to produce antibodies in vitro. In the first part of my thesis a new technology called CDR shuffling was developed to create diverse and highly
Popular Abstract in Swedish Proteiner är en av kroppens viktigaste beståndsdelar. Proteiner bygger upp stabila nätverk för att cellerna ska ha sin rätta form, de transporterar in vatten, salt och andra molekyler in i cellerna så att vi kan ta upp näring och de katalyserar kemiska reaktioner. Proteiner är uppbyggda av aminosyror som binds ihop till en kedja och som sedan veckar ihop sig så att protSeveral neurodegenerative diseases are caused by peptides or proteins forming amyloid fibrils such as the Aβ peptide involved in Alzheimer’s disease and the huntingtin exon-1 with a prolonged polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch involved in Huntington’s disease. The ability to form amyloid fibrils is an intrinsic feature in all proteins. The fibrils are built up of monomers to form elongated structures w
In a joint project – Human Factors in ANS, HUFA - between the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration and Lund University the aim is to find out how a new team-based organization and the introduction of a new air traffic control system will affect safety culture and psychosocial working environment by changes in organizational climate, team climate and leadership. All in all, four studies will be co
Hipparcos observations of double stars, mainly A and F primaries, aremodelled in order to check the statistics of double-star solutions inthe Hipparcos Catalogue and to set quantitative limits on binarydistributions. The number of companions per primary is estimated to 0.25+/-0.05 for semi-major axes from 1 to 10 AU, and to 0.43 +/-0.20 for therange 10--100 AU. The total multiplicity found is betw
