For other genetic immune defects, including CVID, the pathogenesis of autoimmunity remains more obscure, although recently genetic studies have provided some illumination. However, the heterogeneity in both pathogenesis and clinical complications in CVID makes these investigations challenging. This paper is part of a supplement supported by an unrestricted grant from Grifols. The author received payment for the preparation of this article and attendance at the symposium in which it was presented. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, AI 101093,

AI-467320, and AI-48693. “
“Neospora caninum is an Apicomplexa parasite that in the last two decades was acknowledged as the main pathogenic find protocol agent responsible for economic losses in the cattle industry. In the present study, the effectiveness of intranasal immunization with N. caninum R428 membrane antigens plus CpG adjuvant was assessed in a murine model of intragastrically established neosporosis. Immunized mice presented a lower parasitic burden in the brain on infection

with 5 × 107 tachyzoites, showing that significant protection was achieved by this immunization strategy. Intestinal IgA antibodies raised by immunization markedly agglutinated live N. caninum tachyzoites whereas previous opsonization with IgG antibodies purified from immunized mice sera reduced parasite survival within macrophage cells. Although an IgG1 : IgG2a ratio < 1 was detected in the immunized mice before and after infection, indicative of a predominant T helper type 1 immune response, no increased production of interferon-γ was detected in the spleen or mesenteric lymph nodes of the immunized mice. Altogether, these results show that mucosal immunization with N. caninum membrane proteins plus CpG adjuvant protect against intragastrically

established neosporosis and indicate that parasite-specific mucosal and circulating antibodies have a protective role against this parasitic infection. “
“The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression and regulation of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin (PCSK) 6, which is known to be an important factor in the production Hydroxychloroquine molecular weight of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) cytokines in human ovary. The localization of PCSK 6 protein in normal human ovaries was examined by immunohistochemistry. Human granulosa cells (GC), obtained from 34 patients undergoing ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization, were cultured with BMP-2, BMP-6, BMP-7, BMP-15, growth differentiation factor (GDF)-9, and activin-A with or without FSH. PCSK 6 mRNA expression level was evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).