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Influenza virus activates inflammasomes: Influenza virus, a negative-stranded RNA virus that causes severe illness in humans and animals, stimulates the inflammasome through the Nod-like receptor NLRP3. However, the mechanism by which influenza virus activates the NLRP3 inflammasome is unknown. Here we show that the influenza virus M2 protein, a proton-selective ion channel important in viral pathogenesis, stimulates the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. M2 channel activity was required for the activation of inflammasomes by influenza and was sufficient to activate inflammasomes in primed macrophages and dendritic cells. M2-induced activation of inflammasomes required its localization to the Golgi apparatus and was dependent on the pH gradient...read more here Regulators of cell invasion: Cell invasion through basement membranes during development, immune surveillance, and metastasis remains poorly understood. To gain further insight into this key cellular behavior, we performed an in vivo screen for regulators of cell invasion through basement membranes, using the simple model of Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell invasion, and identified 99 genes that promote invasion, including the genes encoding the chaperonin complexcct. Notably, most of these genes have not been previously implicated in invasive cell behavior.....read more here Diverse functions of Platlets: Platelets not only save us from bleeding to death, but in recent years, platelets have also displayed powers no one imagined they had. They are healers that pour out growth factors and other soothing molecules that help damaged tissue rebuild. They are soldiers that spark the protective response known as inflammation, alert immune cells, and even attack microbial interlopers. They are long-haul truckers that pick up and deliver chemicals such as serotonin, which helps the liver regenerate after injury. They are even engineers, shaping the vascular system in newborns. Additional platelet functions continue to come to light, and biologists have just described a novel way that the body might make these multitalented cells—a finding that could one day ease the demand for donated blood....read more here Top killer diseases share genes: Cancer, obesity, and even atherosclerosis share a common set of differentially expressed genes, suggesting a diverse number of human diseases share the same disrupted biological pathways, according to new research published this week in Cancer Cell. The genetic link also suggests that drugs currently used for the treatment of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases might also be used against cancer, researchers say...read more here Tuberculosis Exacerbated By Clinical Trial Drug In Mice: Type I IFNs are immune molecules that have a central role in antiviral host defense. They have been shown to be of clinical benefit in the treatment of a number of viral infections and cancers, and molecules such as Poly-ICLC that potently induce long-lived type I IFN responses are in clinical trials. However, data generated by Lis Antonelli and colleagues, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, indicate that Poly-ICLC exacerbates lung damage and bacterial load in mice infected with the bacterium that causestuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, leading them to suggest that such agents should be used with caution in individuals in which M. tuberculosis is dormant ...read more here
Swine flu: The news on swine flu (swine influenza) outbreaks has created a lot of discussion and concern throughout the world. However it is not as serious as it is projected because most of the deaths reported were not primarily due to swine flu infection alone. With the pre-existing disease conditions, this infection resulted mortality. For more details visit these pages (1, 2, 3, 4).
Old Drugs Stop New TB Strains: Thanks to a barroom conversation, researchers may have stumbled on a powerful drug combination to battle antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis (TB), a growing threat throughout the world. New work suggests that meropenem and clavulanate, both of which are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fight bacterial infections, tame some of the most virulent TB strains ...more. Septicemia: Septicemia, sometimes referred as a bacteremia, is a syndrome that results from an acute invasion of the bloodstream by ceratin microorganisms or their toxic products. Fever, chills, tachycardia (rapid heart beat), and tachypnea (rapid respirations) are common acute symptoms of septicemia. When hypotension (low blood pressure) and signs of inadequate organ perfusion develop, the condition is termed septic shock.Unfortunately, with the spread of the microorganisms, the tissue injury and the development of organ failure, septic shock has a mortality rate as high as 40 to 60 percent in patients with severe underlying disease (immunosuppression). In patients with no underlying disease, the mortality rate is about 5 percent (healthscout.com). Any pathogenic organism can cause septicemia and septic shock. Septic shock is most commonly caused by gram-negative bacteria. Staphylococci, streptococci and other gram-positive organisms are less frequent, as are fungi and certain rare viruses (Brazilian model died at age 20 due to septicemia: Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa, whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness, died early Saturday, two friends of the model told CNN).
Immune 2 Anxiety: Feeling relaxed? Thank your immune system. A new study suggests that mast cells, which lead the charge against microbial invaders, may also be responsible for tamping down anxiety. Mast cells have a split personality. They are often the first cells to attack foreign microbes, and they coordinate and control other immune cells. Yet they can also be traitors. Upon encountering pollen or dust, they release histamines and other chemicals that can trigger allergies and asthma. Mast cells may also incite or abet conditions as diverse as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autism, and migraines. Although researchers know the functions of many mast cells in the body, a subset that inhabits the brain has remained mysterious...more
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