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Cytokines and chemokines, their role in the infections with helminths.
Majer, Martin ; Panská, Lucie (advisor) ; Leštinová, Tereza (referee)
Parasitic helminths belong to extracellular pathogens of mammals, including human. Immunologic response depends on their migration and site of dwelling within host body. The response is among other affected by cytokines and chemokines. These small proteins are responsible for appropriate proliferation and migration of other components of immune system. These bachelor thesis summarizes current knowledge about their role during helminth infection in mammals.
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Immune response against skin-penetrating helminths with a focus on schistosomes
Revalová, Alena ; Macháček, Tomáš (advisor) ; Leštinová, Tereza (referee)
Breaching the vertebrate skin and overcoming the local immunity represents a critical step in the life cycles of many helminths. This bachelor thesis summarized the current knowledge of the skin immune response against schistosomes. Both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms are activated soon after the infection. Despite certain differences between mice and humans, complement, granulocytes and especially CD4+ T-lymphocytes are considered as key players in anti-schistosomal immunity of both species. However, several aspects of the host immune response, such as the initial source of cytokine IL-4, IL-10 or expression pattern of certain co- receptors remain unclear and warrant further research. A comprehensive understanding of the host immune response in the skin as well as the respective parasite immune evasion strategies is needed to boost vaccine development. Keywords: immune response, skin, lymph nodes, helminths, schistosomes
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Molecular genetics of celiac disease
Němečková, Iva ; Daňková, Pavlína (advisor) ; Tučková, Ludmila (referee)
Celiac disease is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that arises as a consequence of hypersensitivity to the grain gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Genetic predisposition are HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes, which are necessary but not sufficient for the emergence of celiac disease; it is involved in approximately 40% of the inheritance. In the course of the time, other genes that might contribute to the pathogenesis of celiac disease are being discovered. Among these so-called candidate genes, which are sought on the basis of known knowledge of molecular mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune responses, are for example: MIC, TNF, CTLA-4, CD28, ICOS, MYO9B, MMP, TLR and PTPN22. Immune response triggered by gluten peptide penetration into the lamina propria leads to mucosal damage. Different gluten peptides are involved in the pathology of celiac disease in different ways, some peptides trigger an adaptive immune response, while others, such as peptide p31- 43, triggers an innate immune response.
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The function of telomeres and cell-free DNA in the healthy volunteers and patients with chosen pathological condition
Zinková, Alžběta ; Korabečná, Marie (advisor) ; Vodička, Radek (referee) ; Drábek, Jiří (referee)
More than 70 years have passed since the discovery of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), but the greatest interest in this topic and knowledge has undoubtedly occurred in the last thirty years. It is used mainly in oncology and prenatal diagnostics. While it is routinely used diagnostically in these fields, little is known about its physiological functions in the organism. Our research therefore focuses on understanding this role and in experiments works mainly with samples obtained from healthy individuals. The first study focused on the differences between plasma and serum in healthy individuals. We asked the question whether they differ in cfDNA concentration and telomeric sequences abundance. We found that the serum contains significantly more cfDNA than plasma, on the other hand, plasma is relatively richer in telomeric sequences. In stimulation experiments with THP1 cells, samples cultured with DNase-treated serum (without cfDNA) showed a higher expression of mRNA TNF-α (Tumor necrosis factor α) than samples untreated. The same trend was observed when plasma samples were stimulated. A study involving plasma samples from ten patients with celiac disease and ten healthy controls showed significant differences in mRNA TNF-α expression between experiments in which THP1 cells were stimulated by DNase-treated...
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The immune response of naïve mice infected with the neuropathogenic schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti
Macháček, Tomáš
Helminth neuroinfections represent a serious health issue, but the mechanisms of the host immune response often remain neglected despite the fact they might contribute to pathogenesis. This is partly due to the unavailability of clinical samples and the lack of suitable laboratory models. Herein, I focused on the characterization of several aspects of the immune response of mice infected with the neuropathogenic avian schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti. After the percutaneous infection of mice (accidental hosts), most T. regenti schistosomula are entrapped and eliminated in the skin, but the parasite antigens initiating the protective immune reaction are not known. Our in vitro experiments revealed that T. regenti cathepsin B2, a cysteine peptidase used for the skin penetration, activates bone marrow-derived dendritic cells much stronger than the parasite homogenate, suggesting its role in initiating the mixed type1/2 host immune response. However, some schistosomula manage to escape from the skin and continue their migration to the spinal cord. Here they crawl preferentially within the white matter which we demonstrated by the robust 3D imaging techniques, ultramicroscopy and micro-CT. The invasion of the spinal cord is accompanied by striking hypertrophy of astrocytes and microglia. We showed...
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The immune response of naïve mice infected with the neuropathogenic schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti
Macháček, Tomáš
Helminth neuroinfections represent a serious health issue, but the mechanisms of the host immune response often remain neglected despite the fact they might contribute to pathogenesis. This is partly due to the unavailability of clinical samples and the lack of suitable laboratory models. Herein, I focused on the characterization of several aspects of the immune response of mice infected with the neuropathogenic avian schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti. After the percutaneous infection of mice (accidental hosts), most T. regenti schistosomula are entrapped and eliminated in the skin, but the parasite antigens initiating the protective immune reaction are not known. Our in vitro experiments revealed that T. regenti cathepsin B2, a cysteine peptidase used for the skin penetration, activates bone marrow-derived dendritic cells much stronger than the parasite homogenate, suggesting its role in initiating the mixed type1/2 host immune response. However, some schistosomula manage to escape from the skin and continue their migration to the spinal cord. Here they crawl preferentially within the white matter which we demonstrated by the robust 3D imaging techniques, ultramicroscopy and micro-CT. The invasion of the spinal cord is accompanied by striking hypertrophy of astrocytes and microglia. We showed...
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The immune response of naïve mice infected with the neuropathogenic schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti
Macháček, Tomáš ; Horák, Petr (advisor) ; Bilej, Martin (referee) ; Schabussova, Irma (referee)
Helminth neuroinfections represent a serious health issue, but the mechanisms of the host immune response often remain neglected despite the fact they might contribute to pathogenesis. This is partly due to the unavailability of clinical samples and the lack of suitable laboratory models. Herein, I focused on the characterization of several aspects of the immune response of mice infected with the neuropathogenic avian schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti. After the percutaneous infection of mice (accidental hosts), most T. regenti schistosomula are entrapped and eliminated in the skin, but the parasite antigens initiating the protective immune reaction are not known. Our in vitro experiments revealed that T. regenti cathepsin B2, a cysteine peptidase used for the skin penetration, activates bone marrow-derived dendritic cells much stronger than the parasite homogenate, suggesting its role in initiating the mixed type1/2 host immune response. However, some schistosomula manage to escape from the skin and continue their migration to the spinal cord. Here they crawl preferentially within the white matter which we demonstrated by the robust 3D imaging techniques, ultramicroscopy and micro-CT. The invasion of the spinal cord is accompanied by striking hypertrophy of astrocytes and microglia. We showed...
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Immune response against skin-penetrating helminths with a focus on schistosomes
Revalová, Alena ; Macháček, Tomáš (advisor) ; Leštinová, Tereza (referee)
Breaching the vertebrate skin and overcoming the local immunity represents a critical step in the life cycles of many helminths. This bachelor thesis summarized the current knowledge of the skin immune response against schistosomes. Both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms are activated soon after the infection. Despite certain differences between mice and humans, complement, granulocytes and especially CD4+ T-lymphocytes are considered as key players in anti-schistosomal immunity of both species. However, several aspects of the host immune response, such as the initial source of cytokine IL-4, IL-10 or expression pattern of certain co- receptors remain unclear and warrant further research. A comprehensive understanding of the host immune response in the skin as well as the respective parasite immune evasion strategies is needed to boost vaccine development. Keywords: immune response, skin, lymph nodes, helminths, schistosomes
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