Current Immunology Reviews (Discontinued) - Volume 8, Issue 4, 2012

Polyglandular Autoimmune Syndromes (PAS) form different clusters of autoimmune disorders characterized by the coexistence of at least two glandular autoimmune mediated diseases [1]. They are generally classified into three types: a very rare juvenile type 1(PAS I) and a relatively common adult type with (PAS II) or without adrenal failure (PAS III) [2, 3]. PAS I, also known as autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidia Read More

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease, rare and of unknown etiology, that affects patients who lack tolerance to self antigens. Genetic and environmental factors are related to the disease etiology. The pathology, mainly prevalent in females, is characterized by the presence of interface hepatitis with biochemical changes, such as increased levels of transaminase, the presence of hypergammaglobul Read More

All sensory modalities are essentially important, but pain serves a protective function and is indispensable for survival, and, technically, pain is considered one of the most common symptoms of injuries and related diseases. Inflammatory cells and inflammatory mediators are crucially involved in the propensity, genesis, persistence and severity of pain, commonly known as nociception or hyperalgesia, following trauma, Read More

The innate-like natural killer T (NKT) cells are essential regulators of immunity. These cells comprise at least two distinct subsets and recognize different lipid antigens presented by the MHC class I like molecules CD1d. The CD1ddependent recognition pathway of NKT cells is highly conserved from mouse to humans. While most type I NKT cells can recognize αGalCer and express a semi-invariant T cell receptor (TCR), a major p Read More

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that contributes to majority of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the world. Immune system is involved in atherogenesis and disease pathogenesis. Several studies have suggested a pivotal role for immune response to autoantigens, particularly oxidized lipoproteins and heat shock proteins, in the development of the disease. Several autoimmune disorders such as infl Read More

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related member A (MICA) encodes a stress-induced cellsurface glycoprotein that is expressed in keratinocytes, fibroblasts and gastrointestinal epithelium, among others. MICA is not associated with β2-microglobulin and does not appear to present peptides. MICA displays a high degree of allele polymorphism within the non-classical HLA gene loci. The functional significance Read More