DEEP WORK

1. INTRODUCTIONThe canonical Th1 cytokine, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), is critical for innate and adaptive immunity against viral and intracellular bacterial infections. In humans, genetic deficiencies in the interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23/IFN-γ pathways that result in decreased IFN-γ induction or signaling are associated with strikingly increased susceptibility to mycobacterial infections (Filipe-Santos e..

INTRODUCTIONThe interferon (IFN)-mediated innate immune response, selected by evolution, is hardwired within genomes and provides a robust first line of defense against invading pathogens. Following pathogen detection and subsequent IFN production, IFN molecules bind to cell surface receptors and initiate a signaling cascade through the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcripti..

INTRODUCTION Type I (predominantly α and β) and type II (γ ) interferons (IFNs) signal through distinct but related pathways. Enormous progress has been made in recent years in understanding how cells respond to IFNs, especially in uncovering the pathways that mediate inducible gene expression. We now know that these pathways involve (a) specific type I and type II receptors, which bind to the J..

1. introduction Fish are in intimate contact with their environment, which can contain very high concentrations of bacteria and viruses. Many of these are saprophytic, some are pathogenic and both are very capable of digesting and degrading the fish's tissues. However, under normal conditions the fish maintains a healthy state by defending itself against these potential inva- ders by a complex s..

1. IntroductionIt is customary to divide the immune system into the innate (non-specific) and the acquired (specific) immune system. However, an increasing body of evidence, both from fish and mammalian immunology, shows that these are combinational systems. Innate response generally precedes the adaptive response, activates and determines the nature of the adaptive response and co-operates in t..

INTRODUCTION A vaccine is any biologically based preparation intended to establish or to improve immunity to a particular disease or group of diseases. Vaccines have been used for many years in humans, terrestrial livestock, and companion animals against a variety of diseases. One analogy used for vaccines is that of an insurance policy (Komar et al, 2004). A vaccine, if effective, can help prev..

Many of the most widespread and devastating diseases in humans and livestock are caused by viruses and bacteria that enter cells for replication. Being obligate intracellular parasites, viruses have no choice. They must transport their genome to the cytosol or nucleus of infected cells to multiply and generate progeny. Bacteria and eukaryotic parasites do have other options; most of them can rep..

Induction of Regulatory Responses by the MicrobiotaMaintenance of tissue homeostasis is imperative for host survival. This fundamental process relies on a complex and coordinated set of innate and adaptive responses that selects and calibrates responses against self, food, commensals, and pathogens in the most appropriate manner. To this end, specialized populations of cells have to integrate lo..

IntroductionMulticellular organisms exist as meta-organisms comprised of both the macroscopic host and its symbiotic commensal microbiota. With an estimated composition of 100 trillion cells, human symbionts outnumber host cells by at least a factor of 10 and express at least 10-fold more unique genes than their host’s genome (Ley et al., 2006a). These complex communities of microbes that includ..

1. IntroductionInfectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites can be categorized into extracellular or intracellular pathogens from an immunopathological perspective. Most encounters with these pathogenic agents lead to an acute infection, followed by the development of clinical signs. These infections are relatively brief, and in a healthy host, following onset of appropr..