Biological Sciences and Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a polyspecific pooled immunoglobulin G preparation and one of the commonly used therapeutics for autoimmune diseases including those of neurological origin. A recent report in murine model proposed that IVIG expands regulatory T (Treg) cells via induction of interleukin 33 (IL-33). However, translational insight on these observations is lacking. Methods: Ten newly diagnosed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) patients were treated with IVIG at the rate of 0.4 g/kg for three to five consecutive days. Clinical evaluation for muscular weakness was performed by Medical Research Council (MRC) and modified Rankin scoring (MRS) system. Heparinized blood samples were collected before and 1, 2, and 4-5 weeks post-IVIG therapy. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stained for surface CD4 and intracellular Foxp3, IFN-γ, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and were analyzed by flow cytometry. IL-33 and prostaglandin E2 in the plasma were measured by ELISA. Results: The fold changes in plasma IL-33 at week 1 showed no correlation with the MRC and MRS scores at weeks 1, 2, and ≥4 post-IVIG therapy. Clinical recovery following IVIG therapy appears to be associated with Treg cell response. Contrary to murine study, there was no association between the fold changes in IL-33 at week 1 and Treg cell frequency at weeks 1, 2, and ≥4 post-IVIG therapy. Treg cell-mediated clinical response to IVIG therapy in GBS patients was associated with reciprocal regulation of effector T cells-expressing TNF-α. Conclusion: Treg cell expansion by IVIG in patients with autoimmune diseases lack correlation with IL-33. Treg cell frequency, but not plasma IL-33 levels, represents potential immunological biomarker to predict clinical response to IVIG therapy. © 2017 The Author(s).

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Fulltext

Journal of Neuroinflammation

Regulatory T cell frequency, but not plasma IL-33 levels, represents potential immunological biomarker to predict clinical response to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy

EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS

Functional amyloids from the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

This review (with 121 references) gives a summary on recent advances in the use of nanomaterials for the optical determination of dopamine. It includes a brief overview of the clinical significance of dopamine followed by a discussion on the recent advances in various nanomaterial-based distinctive optical spectroscopic methods such as (a) colorimetry and spectrophotometry, (b) surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), (c) fluorescence spectrometry and (d) electrochemiluminescence (ECL) spectrometry. All sections are further divided into subsections based on the type of nanomaterial used and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. A discussion on the validity of the nanomaterial-based optical detection of dopamine for human samples is also included. This review concludes with highlights of current challenges of nanomaterial-based optical sensors and an outlook on future perspectives. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Microchimica Acta

Recent advances in optical detection of dopamine using nanomaterials

This book provides comprehensive knowledge on diseases in livestock that are caused by viruses, parasites and bacteria. Emerging and re-emerging pathogens are presented in detail for various animal groups and in-depth insights into pathogenesis and epidemiology will be provided for each of them. In addition, state-of-the-art treatment possibilities, control measures as well as vaccination strategies are discussed. The recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of livestock and many of these, including Influenza, Corona and Hanta are of public health importance. The reasons for this development are manifold:changes in the climate, life cycle of vectors and increased global travel. Also, due to extensive deforestation, livestock are increasingly coming in direct contact with wild animals that are reservoirs of many emerging pathogens. Recent progress in diagnosis and management of emerging infectious diseases are also topic of this book. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.

Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases of Livestock

Circulating immunoglobulins including immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM play a critical role in the immune homeostasis by modulating functions of immune cells. These functions are mediated in part by natural antibodies. However, despite being second most abundant antibody in the circulation, the immunoregulatory function of IgA is relatively unexplored. As Th17 cells are the key mediators of a variety of autoimmune, inflammatory, and allergic diseases, we investigated the ability of monomeric IgA (mIgA) isolated from pooled plasma of healthy donors to modulate human Th17 cells. We show that mIgA inhibits differentiation and amplification of human Th17 cells and the production of their effector cytokine IL-17A. mIgA also suppresses IFN-γ responses under these experimental conditions. Suppressive effect of mIgA on Th17 responses is associated with reciprocal expansion of FoxP3-positive regulatory T cells. The effect of mIgA on Th17 cells is dependent on F(ab')2 fragments and independent of FcαRI (CD89) and DC-SIGN. Mechanistically, the modulatory effect of mIgA on Th17 cells implicates suppression of phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. Furthermore, mIgA binds to CD4+ T cells and recognizes in a dose-dependent manner the receptors for cytokines (IL-6Ra and IL-1RI) that mediate Th17 responses. Our findings thus reveal novel anti-inflammatory functions of IgA and suggest potential therapeutic utility of mIgA in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that implicate Th17 cells. © 2017 Saha, Das, Patil, Stephen-Victor, Sharma, Wymann, Jordi, Vonarburg, Kaveri and Bayry.

Frontiers in Immunology

Monomeric immunoglobulin A from plasma inhibits human Th17 responses in vitro independent of FcαRI and DC-SIGN

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a pooled normal IgG formulation prepared from thousands of healthy donors’ plasma, is extensively used for the immunotherapy of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Recent reports demonstrate that IVIG exerts anti-inflammatory actions by stimulating the activation and expansion of regulatory T (Treg) cells by multiple mechanisms via antigen-presenting cells (APCs). © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Trends in Immunology

Circulating Normal IgG as Stimulator of Regulatory T Cells: Lessons from Intravenous Immunoglobulin

Adjuvants are substances that boost the protective immune response to vaccine antigens. The majority of known adjuvants have been identified through the use of empirical approaches. Our aim was to identify novel adjuvants with well-defined cellular and molecular mechanisms by combining a knowledge of immunoregulatory mechanisms with an in silico approach. CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3 + regulatory T cells (Tregs) inhibit the protective immune responses to vaccines by suppressing the activation of antigen presenting cells such as dendritic cells (DCs). In this chapter, we describe the identification and functional validation of small molecule antagonists to CCR4, a chemokine receptor expressed on Tregs. The CCR4 binds the chemokines CCL22 and CCL17 that are produced in large amounts by activated innate cells including DCs. In silico identified small molecule CCR4 antagonists inhibited the migration of Tregs both in vitro and in vivo and when combined with vaccine antigens, significantly enhanced protective immune responses in experimental models. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017.

Methods in Molecular Biology

In silico adjuvant design and validation

CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are key players for maintaining immune tolerance and for reducing the inflammation-mediated tissue damage following infection. However, Tregs also suppress protective immune responses to pathogens (including virus, bacteria, parasites, and fungi) and vaccines and enhance pathogen persistence by inhibiting the activation and functions of both innate and adaptive immune cells such as dendritic cells, macrophages, and T and B lymphocytes and by promoting immunosuppressive environment. Therefore, equilibrium in the Treg number and function is important to ensure pathogen clearance and protection from infection-associated immunopathologies. Recent advances in understanding of Treg influence on the outcome of infection opened new avenues to target them. Various small molecules, pharmacological inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies that target Tregs provided proof of concept in experimental models. The field also benefits from advances in other subjects, particularly oncology and autoimmunity, where Treg-targeted therapies are exploited in the clinic to a greater extent. The future research should aim at translating this preclinical success to human application. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Cellular Microbiology

The Yin and Yang of regulatory T cells in infectious diseases and avenues to target them

Future Medicinal Chemistry

Harnessing the regulators to enhance viral vaccine efficacy

Intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) is used in the therapy of various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The mechanisms by which IVIG exerts anti-inflammatory effects are not completely understood. IVIG interacts with numerous components of the immune system including dendritic cells, macrophages, T and B cells and modulate their functions. Recent studies have reported that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway plays an important role in the regulation of inflammatory response in several pathologies. Several therapeutic agents exert anti-inflammatory effects via induction of HO-1. Therefore, we aimed at exploring if anti-inflammatory effects of IVIG are mediated via HO-1 pathway. Confirming the previous reports, we report that IVIG exerts anti-inflammatory effects on innate cells as shown by the inhibitory effects on IL-6 and nitric oxide production and confers protection in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. However, these effects were not associated with an induction of HO-1 either in innate cells such as monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages or in the kidneys and liver of IVIG-treated EAE mice. Also, inhibition of endogenous HO-1 did not modify anti-inflammatory effects of IVIG. These results thus indicate that IVIG exerts anti-inflammatory effects independent of HO-1 pathway.