A5059955356- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
- Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
- Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
- Mycobacterium research and diagnosis
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Fungal Infections and Studies
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- HIV Research and Treatment
- Immunodeficiency and Autoimmune Disorders
- Immune Response and Inflammation
- vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
- Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response
- Immune cells in cancer
- Immune responses and vaccinations
- Chemokine receptors and signaling
- Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Peptidase Inhibition and Analysis
- Pharmacological Receptor Mechanisms and Effects
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Pharmacological Effects and Assays
- Cancer Cells and Metastasis
- Cancer therapeutics and mechanisms
- Growth Hormone and Insulin-like Growth Factors
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
2008-2024
Instituto Hidrográfico
2021
Institute of Studies for the Integration of Systems
2008-2020
Menarini Group (Italy)
1994-2006
In-Q-Tel
2006
Consorzio Roma Ricerche
1999
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori
1993
University of South Florida
1992
Florida College
1992
Istituto di Tipizzazione Tissutale e Problemi della Dialisi
1989
The protective effects of the tuberculosis vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) on unrelated infections are thought to be mediated by long-term metabolic changes and chromatin remodeling through histone modifications in innate immune cells such as monocytes, a process termed trained immunity. Here, we show that BCG induction immunity monocytes is accompanied strong increase glycolysis and, lesser extent, glutamine metabolism, both an in-vitro model after vaccination mice humans....
Current literature shows that secondary bacterial infections, although less frequent than in previous influenza pandemics, affect COVID-19 patients. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella pneumophila, Streptococcus Haemophilus and Klebsiella spp. are the main species isolated. Of note, Mycobacterium tuberculosis-COVID-19 coinfections also reported. However, coinfection rates increase patients admitted intensive care units, those diseases can be due to super-infections by...
A murine monoclonal antibody (MAB AF-1) class IgM was raised to a soluble glucomannoprotein extract (GMP) of Candida albicans. Agglutination and indirect immunofluorescence assays with purified MAB showed that AF-1 directed against cell-surface epitope shared by C. albicans serotypes B, tropicalis, guilliermondii viswanathii, but not krusei, parapsilosis, kefyr (pseudotropicalis) T. glabrata. Treatment heat, protease or periodate-treated GMP other cell-wall extracts provided evidence the...
Following brain injury, astrocytes express receptors for cytokines and neuropeptides secrete several regulatory mediators that have a well established role in inflammation, immunity, tissue development or repair. To elucidate the of substance P (SP), neurotransmitter peptide tachykinin family, inducing astrocyte secretory activities, we examined expression SP functional consequences their activation cultured from human embryonic spinal cord. Radioligand binding studies revealed only one type...
Astrocytes harbour functional receptors to many neurotransmitters, including substance P (SP), an undecapeptide belonging the tachykinin family of peptide transmitters. SP activates malignant glial cells induce cytokine release and proliferation, both responses being relevant for tumour progression. In tumours developed in nude mice transplanted subcutaneously (s.c.) U373 MG human glioma cells, presence was observed at immunohistochemistry. Although administration exogenous did not...
The neuropeptide substance P (SP), by stimulating tachykinin NK1 receptors (NK1R), triggers a number of biological responses in human glioma cells which are potentially relevant for tumour growth. First, radioligand binding studies demonstrated the presence NK1R on SNB-19, DBTRG-05 MG and U373 MG, but not U138 MOG-G-GCM cell lines. Second, application SP or neurokinin A (NKA) to NK1R+ lines increased secretion interleukin 6 (IL-6) potentiated IL-6 induced IL-1beta. also up-regulated release...
Two major proteoglycan constituents (designated F1 and F2) of the cell wall Candida albicans were separated by ion-exchange chromatography from a crude carbohydrate-rich extract (GMP), investigated for their chemical molecular composition, antigenicity immunomodulatory properties in cultures human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Both fractions consisted predominantly Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) concanavalin A (Con A)-reactive material consisting >90% mannose, 3·5% protein small...
Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) from Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, and Salmonella typhimurium, at doses 1 to 100 ng/ml, strongly enhanced growth inhibition of Candida albicans by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in vitro. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that LPS markedly augmented phagocytosis cells increasing the number yeasts ingested per neutrophil as well neutrophils capable ingesting fungal cells. activation caused release lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein which...
Infectious diseases remain a major health and socioeconomic problem in many low-income countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. For years, the three most devastating diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis (TB) have received of world's attention. However, rural impoverished urban areas, number infectious neglected cause massive suffering. It has been calculated that group 13 affects over one billion people, corresponding to sixth population. These include infections with different types...
A major challenge to tuberculosis (TB) vaccine development is the lack of a validated immune correlate protection. Mycobacterial growth inhibition assays (MGIAs) represent an unbiased measure ability control mycobacterial in vitro. successful MGIA could be applied preclinical and clinical post-vaccination samples aid selection novel candidates at early stage provide relevant immunogenicity However, assay harmonisation critical ensure that comparable information can extracted from different...
Mucosal candidiasis is one of the first opportunistic diseases in HIV-infected subjects. In order to understand relationship between this disease and immunodeficiency chemically defined, immunodominant Candida antigens, a mannoprotein fraction from C. albicans cell wall (GMP) was used analyse proliferative non-MHC-restricted cytotoxic responses peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) normal former, GMP induced extensive blastogenesis, generation powerful cytotoxicity against tumour line...
Clarifying how an initial protective immune response to tuberculosis may later loose its efficacy is essential understand pathology and develop novel vaccines. In mice, a primary vaccination with Ag85B-encoding plasmid DNA (DNA-85B) was against Mycobacterium (MTB) infection associated Ag85B-specific CD4+ T cells producing IFN-gamma controlling intramacrophagic MTB growth. Surprisingly, this protection eliminated by Ag85B protein boosting. Loss of overwhelming cell proliferation production in...
Mannoprotein fractions of Candida albicans were assayed for their effects on the anticandidal activity human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). One fraction, MP-F2, enhanced PMNL inhibition candidal growth in vitro as potently bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and interleukin-8. MP-F2-mediated activation was manifested yeast mycelial forms fungus, required integrity mannan, due to an increase actual number phagocytic rather than...
The immunological mechanisms that modulate protection during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection or vaccination are not fully understood. Secretion of IFN-γ and, to a lesser extent, IL-17 by CD4(+) T cells plays major role both in and immunopathology. Few Mtb Ags interacting with DCs affect priming, activation, regulation Ag-unrelated T-cell responses. Here we demonstrate PstS1, 38 kDa-lipoprotein Mtb, promotes Ag-independent activation memory lymphocytes specific for Ag85B Ag85A, two...
Most microbes invading through mucosal surfaces cause disease and therefore strategies to induce immune responses are strongly needed. Vitamin A metabolites, such as retinoic acid (RA), play crucial roles in programming T B cells home compartments, we evaluated the capacity of RA elicit against tuberculosis (TB) after parenteral vaccination. We found that mice immunized subcutaneous injections with TB subunit vaccine (CAF01+H56) presence show enhanced H56-specific IgA Ag-specific CD4+...
Abstract CD137, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family, provides expansion and survival signal to T cells. Its ligand, CD137L, in addition its ability costimulate cells, signals back into antigen presenting cells promoting their activation differentiation. Recently, CD137 has been proposed as therapeutic target improve sustain anticancer immune response. Several activated leukemia B lymphoma cell lines expressed or respectively, soluble CD137L found sera patients. However,...
The ability of recombinant, SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein to modulate the production two COVID-19 relevant, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IFN-γ) in PBMC cultures healthy, pre-COVID-19 subjects was investigated. We observed that cytokine largely diversely modulated by S depending on antigen or mitogen stimulation, as well source, insect (S-in) human (S-hu) cells. While both proteins co-stimulated polyclonally CD3-activated T cells, activation mitogenic lectin Concanavalin A (Con A)...
Polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN; or neutrophils) from uninfected human immunodeficiency virus-infected subjects were tested for their ability to inhibit growth of Candida albicans and produce interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) IL-6 in vitro. It was seen that PMN AIDS (Centers Disease Control stage IV) patients expressed equal if not greater anticandidal activity compared with the by neutrophils all other examined. On exposure granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor a mannoprotein...