Journal of Cellular and Molecular Immunology

Substance use disorders continue to be major medical and social problems worldwide. The use of opiate has grown substantially over the past three decades reaching the dimensions of a global epidemic. Current drug treatments have many limitations: long treatment times, dependency on treatment medications, relapses after treatment, high costs of treatment, and non-adherence by affected persons. Most of the available drug treatments for opiate addiction belong to the opioid family. Some worry that the availability of the drugs may simply cause substituting one opioid medication for another.

A popular western misconception dating back to at least the time of President John F Kennedy is that one of the Chinese characters in the word “crisis” means opportunity. The manuscript
“Management of anaphylaxis in children undergoing oral food challenges in an adapted COVID-19 field hospital” [1] detailed a highly successful attempt to not only mitigate the effects of the crisis for
elective care brought by the COVID-19 pandemic but to seek to maximize the opportunity by better utilization and redeployment of staff allowing the team to reduce pre-pandemic waiting lists by 57%.

Since Gershon and Kondo’s initial description of suppressor T cells as antigen-specific T cells that regulate immune responses [1], several advances have taken place on the biology and potential applications of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in clinical settings. After that, Sakaguchi et al. identified Treg cells capable of protecting lymphopenic mice against autoimmune disease produced by neonatal thymectomy [2], and Morrissey et al.

In the original research article, Parisa R et al. demonstrated that the induction of lupus-like autoimmune syndrome in BALB/c Mice caused disturbance in splenic T cell subpopulations. This study also elucidated those other mechanisms, apart from disturbance in T cells balance, may be responsible for the development of the disease’s symptoms [1].

Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, researchers have generated a live attenuated centrin gene deleted Leishmania major parasites (LmCen^-/-) which are able to protect against visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani parasite. Since LmCen^-/- vaccine is antibiotic resistant marker free, safe and prevents mortality, scientists are planning to use it in Phase I human clinical trials.

In an earlier manuscript, the author found a strong relationship between political views, vaccination levels and COVID-19 death rates. This study revealed that in U.S. counties where large proportions of voters cast their ballot for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, vaccination levels were lower and COVID-19 death rates were higher. This update explores this relationship six months later when more recent data are available. The updated analysis found that with the passage of time, the relationship between political views, vaccination levels and COVID-19 death rates became even stronger.

The promising results of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in tumors have changed the current treatment modality for cancer. ICIs response prediction is urgently needed for the personalized therapy approach. In the recent issue of the Journal of Oncology, Zixin Hu et al. proposed that DNA methylation alternations contribute to tumor microenvironment (TME) reshapement to predict the ICIs response. Notwithstanding the global DNA methylation loss, the repression of T cell receptor signaling and the fellow costimulators by DNA hypermethylation contributed to the cold TME and ICIs resistance.

Malan syndrome (Sotos Syndrome 2, OMIM 614753) is a rare autosomal dominant overgrowth disorder caused by either chromosome 19p13.2/19p13.13 microdeletion or Nuclear Factor 1 X-Type (NFIX) gene haploinsufficiency. Symptoms typically appear in infancy and include dysmorphic features, seizures, and behavioral issues; however, the degree of immune system involvement is not clear. Herein, we are reporting a case of Malan syndrome who presented to the immunology clinic with recurrent bacterial infections, including three episodes of pneumonia confirmed by chest X-ray.

A key feature of chronic inflammatory disease is heterogeneity. For clinicians, this poses problems not only in disease diagnosis and assessment, but also in providing personalized disease management for the patients. There are at least two explanations for disease heterogeneity: First, different patient subgroups have different etiologies and subsequent pathways involvement, leading to a similar clinical outcome. Secondly, patients have similar etiologies but with different pathway modulations in patient subgroups, resulting in different degree of clinical outcome.

Patients undergoing Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo HSCT) can develop late complications that limit their functioning and reduce their quality of life. This phase requires nursing-specific knowledge for care plans that can meet the patient’s real needs. For this reason, the purpose of this review is to compile the data available in the literature on late complications present in the follow-up of pediatric and adolescent patients after allo HSCT.

In developmental biology and physiology of reproduction the term nurse cells refers to cells which provide feeding, support, and stability to their neighboring cells. The notion of nurse cell is used in several unrelated ways in various scientific fields, such as parasitology, mycology, invertebrate and vertebrate development. In this review, we focus on “nurse cells” described to support hemopoietic cell differentiation which can act as a double-edged sword in normal versus pathological conditions. Particularly, the nurturing capacity of stromal cells to assist the differentiation and survival of normal cells within both the bone marrow or the synovium can turn to detrimental effects.

Metastatic breast cancer to brain carries poor prognostic features with increased risks of occurrence in Tripple- negative and HER- positive breast tumors. In addition, tumors with mutated BRCA tumors, carry as well increased metastatic incidence. However, new clinical evidence suggest distinct clinical features between BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutated breast cancer and brain metastasis. Review of literature may help characterize the distinctive differences between BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast tumors and subsequent metastasis to brain.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have emerged as promising treatment options for many cancers. ICIs exert their therapeutic effects by targeting immune inhibitory molecules on T-cells in adaptive immunity, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). ICIs, however, can result in a wide variety of immune-related adverse events (iRAE), including myocarditis, a rare and potentially deadly complication that necessitates early diagnosis.

Numerous animal studies have shown that the decrease in the tissue Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) levels during aging are closely related to age-related physiological decline and that the administration of NAD+ precursors restore NAD+ levels and promotes health and prolongs lifespan. Therefore, in order to demonstrate whether NAD+ supplementation by NAD+ precursors mitigate age-related physiological dysfunction including muscle weakness in older men. We conducted a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study in which Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) was administered to healthy older men for 12 weeks.

Today, roughly 30% of the global energy needs are met by coal, according to the International Energy Agency. Over the past few decades, although many measures have been taken to protect workers against dust inhalation, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) remains to be a significant threat to public health, especially in developing countries. Data from the global burden of disease (GBD) study showed that the number of pneumoconiosis cases increased by 66.0% from 1990 to 2017, reaching 60,000.

Psoriasis is primarily a chronic skin disease characterized by keratinocyte hyperplasia, as well as a systemic inflammatory disease associated with numerous comorbidities, including rheumatological psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular and psychiatric complications. Approximately 2-3% of the global population is affected by psoriasis, and despite advances in the treatment, there are still limitations. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to impact populations worldwide, emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic and treatment strategies. Understanding the immune response and identifying early diagnostic markers are crucial in this endeavor. In this comprehensive commentary, we delve into a recent study that investigated the immune cell profiles and NLRP3 gene expression as potential diagnostic markers in COVID-19 patients. 

Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by a localized or widespread lack of skin at birth. Most information about ACC exists as individual case reports and medium-sized studies. Recently, a study based on the European network of population-based registries for congenital anomalies (EUROCAT) showed that the scalp is the most common site of ACC (96.4%), and 33.8% of cases have related congenital abnormalities. Patau and Adams-Oliver syndromes are the most common among the associated chromosomal anomalies (88.3%) and the associated genetic syndromes (57.7%).

Brain metastases are a feared complication of breast cancer, occurring in 15-25% of patients and being associated with poor prognosis and reduced quality of life. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced technique that uses powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed three-dimensional (3D) images of the brain's neuroanatomy and any potential pathology, especially in the management of brain metastases. The review article by Mohammadi et al. provides a timely and comprehensive overview of the utility of MRI for detecting and characterizing brain metastases from breast cancer. 

An ancient proverb like “we are what we eat”, entails the significance and an influence of dietary habits and thereby nutrients on all living beings. A universal system encompasses various categories of classes that recognize consequences of various diets on immunity and thereby on the health of an individual. These mechanisms mainly consist of epigenetic machineries, metabolic pathways, circadian rhythms, and diet-responsive effectors. In this light, various clinical studies exhibit immune-modulatory and beneficial effects of interceding nutrients on various diseases.