DEEP WORK

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..

1. IntroductionIntracellular pathogens are organisms that are capable of growing and reproducing inside host cells. These pathogens can be divided into facultative intracellular parasites and obligate intracellular parasites [1]. Intracellular microorganisms are very important because they cause many human diseases, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Some examples of infectious di..

Abbreviations: SP: Signal peptide, SPase: Signal peptidase, ER: endoplasmic reticulum, LHCGR: Human luteinizing hormone receptor, CADA: Cyclotriazadisulfonamide, hCD4: Human CD4, aa: amino acid, PMF: proton motive force, VSV-G: vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein, MBP: maltose-binding protein, ALP: Alkaline phosphatase, Cel-CD: cellulase catalytic domain, RBP: ribose-binding peptide, GM-CSF: gr..

1. IntroductionInterferons (IFNs) are virus inducible cytokines that share antiviral properties. IFNs are classified into three subfamilies, type I, II and III, on the basis of the cognate receptors they interact with and the subsequent immune responses they initiate. They differ also in genomic structure and the cell sources producing them. In tetrapods, both type I and III families contain mul..

MALThe second adaptor in the TIR-domain-containing adaptor family to be discovered was MAL54,55. MAL is required for signalling by TLR2 and TLR4, serving as a bridge to recruit MyD88 (REFS 54–58). A dominantnegative version, in which the Box 2 proline in MAL was mutated to a histidine, resulted in the inhibition of TLR4 signalling, but not IL-1 signalling55. In addition, a peptide based on the B..

IntroductionProtein secretion is required for numerous aspects of the bacterial life cycle, including organelle biogenesis, nutrient acquisition, and virulence-factor expression. Gram-negative bacteria face a special challenge in this regard, as secreted proteins must cross the periplasm and the outer membrane (OM) in addition to the cytoplasmic or inner membrane (IM). Secretion is defined in th..

IntroductionIn the past decade, trogocytosis (named from the ancient Greek trogo-, which means gnaw or nibble) has been attracting increasing attention in the vast fields of biology research, including immunology, microbiology, neurology, and developmental biology [1–7]. Trogocytosis is an active process, in which one cell rapidly acquires the fraction of another cell in a cell contact-dependent..

TROGOCYTOSISTrogocytosis, a form of cell-to-cell interaction widely existing in a species or between different species, involves one cell contacting and quickly “biting” another cell. This interaction was first described in 1970 as part of the process of parasites attacking and killing host cells (1). In 2002,it was given its name from the ancient Greek word “trogo”, which means “nibbling” to de..

IntroductionThe defence system of vertebrates uses sophisticated microbial recognition patterns as a defence mechanism against microbial invasion. On the other hand, pathogens exerts their own invasion and pathogenesis mechanism that are (in most cases) capable of overcoming host defence mechanism, and subsequently establishing infection. The immune defence mechanism including the recognition sy..