Innate Immunity

The last decade has witnessed the delineation of innate immunity - a new area which has revolutionized our understanding of host-parasite interactions and their impact on defense mechanisms in infectious and noninfectious diseases. This volume of the book series 'Contributions to Microbiology' provides an update of the current knowledge of this expanding field of research and highlights some of its most important aspects. In eleven state-of-the-art articles, eminent international experts in the field address topics such as the innate immune system in mammals and insects, microbial protein ligands, antimicrobial peptides, complement, antibacterial chemokines, the role of neutrophils and monocytes, oxidative innate immune defenses and the effect of aging on innate immunity. The book will be a valuable resource for microbiologists, immunologists, students, scientists of other related disciplines, and clinicians with an interest in infectious or immunological diseases.

The concept of innate immunity refers to the first-line host defense that serves to limit infection in the early hours after exposure to microorganisms. Recent data have highlighted similarities between pathogen recognition, signaling pathways, and effector mechanisms of innate immunity in Drosophila and mammals, pointing to a common ancestry of these defenses. In addition to its role in the early phase of defense, innate immunity in mammals appears to playa key role in stimulating the subsequent clonal response of adaptive immunity. Recent exciting information has determined that the templates that are laid down in primitive life forms, like flowering plants and insects, form the basic principles of first line host defense that are conserved in mammalian systems. The next frontier in the field is to understand the dynamic adaptive changes that occur as a result of the inter play between host defenses and infectious agents. One emerging theme is that microorganisms are constantly seeking ways to co-opt host defenses. On the other hand, host defense to infection is mediated by the coordinate action of pattern recognition molecules and receptors that, in mammals, are important and probably necessary antecedents to the development of an adaptive immune response. Innate Immunity aims to explore the intersection between host pathogen interactions across an evolutionary spectrum that will inform our understanding of the dynamic interplay between infectious agents and host defense in man.

Innate immunity is a new branch of immunology, confirmed by three Nobel Prize winners in 2011. It is the first line of defense against pathogens and is in a way the preliminary step of adaptive immunity which occurs later, and only present in vertebrates. This book examines the way in which innate immunity was discovered in invertebrates. As a starting point, it looks at the work of Louis Pasteur on silkworm disease and the findings of Ilya Metchnikov, discoverer of phagocytosis. It also investigates André Paillot, who in 1920 demonstrated the existence of humoral immunity in insects, unrelated to the type of immunity that was initially thought to be present in all vertebrates. Finally, Innate Immunity shows how the group directed by Jules Hoffmann found strong similarities between the innate immunity response of insects and mammals. The discovery of a receptor protein in Drosophila, which is also found in humans, was what led to Jules Hoffmann being awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011. Presents the transformations experienced by the domains of innate immunity Shows the lineage of these results Bridges the gap between innate immunity of invertebrates and that of vertebrates

Immunologists today are interested in all of the diverse cell-types involved in host defense and have a deeper appreciation of the importance of innate immune mechanisms as a first line of protection against pathogens. This volume thus discusses the isolation and functional characterization of cells involved in innate immunity in mouse and man, including mast cells and eosinophils. Other focuses include natural killer cells, methods in statistics, in vivo imaging, genome engineering, and mutagenesis and culture that are adapted to the study of innate immunity in these hosts. These are complemented with a series of chapters dealing with alternative models: plants, worms, mosquitoes, flies, and fish. Together, these approaches and models are being used to dissect the complex interplay between hosts and pathogens and contribute to developing strategies to help fight infection. With chapters written by experts on the cutting-edge of this technology, Innate Immunity is an essential reference for immunologists, histologists, geneticists, and molecular biologists.

The book focuses on various aspects and properties of innate immunity, whose deep understanding is integral for safeguarding the human race from further loss of resources and economies due to innate immune response-mediated diseases. Throughout this book, we examine the individual mechanisms by which the innate immune response acts to protect the host from pathogenic infectious agents and other non-communicable diseases. Written by experts in the field, the volume discusses the significance of macrophages in infectious disease, tumor metabolism, and muscular disorders. Chapters cover such topics as the fate of differentiated macrophages and the molecular pathways that are important for the pathologic role of macrophages.

Plant innate immunity is a collective term to describe a complex of interconnected mechanisms that plants use to withstand potential pathogens and herbivores. The last decade has seen a rapid advance in our understanding of the induction, signal transduction and expression of resistance responses to oomycetes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and insects. This volume aims at providing an overview of these processes and mechanisms. Edited by Jean-Claude Kader and Michel Delseny and supported by an international Editorial Board, Advances in Botanical Research publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences. * Multidisciplinary reviews written from a broad range of scientific perspectives * For over 40 years, series has enjoyed a reputation for excellence * Contributors internationally recognized authorities in their respective fields

This book discusses novel concepts and discoveries concerning the regulation of innate immunity by autophagy and autophagy-related proteins. In the past decade, there have been major advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of autophagy and its physiological functions. This book highlights emerging studies on the underlying mechanisms of autophagy regulation of innate immunity, including inflammation, antiviral immunity and anti-bacterial responses and the signaling pathways that prompt or inhibit the initiation and progression of related diseases. It also offers new ideas and strategies for future drugs based on manipulating autophagy, especially selective autophagy mediated by cargo receptors. Providing a comprehensive overview of the autophagy regulation of innate immunity, it is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in the fields of immunology, cell biology and translational medicine.

Our understanding of the complex innate immune response is increasing rapidly. Its role in the protection against viral or bacterial pathogens is essential for the survival of an organism. However, it is equally important to avoid unregulated inflammation because innate immune responses can cause or promote chronic autoinflammatory diseases such as gout, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes or certain aspects of the metabolic syndrome. In this book leading international experts in the field of innate immunity share their findings, define the ‚state of the art‘ in this field and evaluate how insight into the molecular basis of these diseases could help in the design of new therapies. A tremendous amount of work on the innate immune response has been done over the last fifteen years, culminating in the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine awarded for the discoveries of Toll genes in immunity in flies, membrane-bound Toll-like receptors in mammals, and dendritic cells as initiators of adaptive immunity.

In the post genomic era, understanding of the innate immune system is enriched by findings on the specificity of innate immune reactions as well as to novel functions that do not strictly correlate with immunological defense and surveillance, immune modulation or inflammation. This volume covers natural killer cells, mast cells, phagocytes, toll-like receptors, complement, host defense in plants and invertebrates, evasion strategies of microorganisms, pathophysiology, protein structures, design of therapeutics, and experimental approaches.

The ability to remember an antigenic encounter for several decades, even for a life time, is one of the fundamental properties of the immune system. This book assembles a collection of essays from leading experts that span the entire spectrum of immunological research, from understanding the molecular mechanisms of innate immune recognition, to dendritic cell function, to the generation and maintenance of antigen-specific B and T-cell responses.

The innate immune system comprises the cells and mechanisms that are the first line of defence against infection by other organisms. This book provides a comprehensive synopsis of eye diseases, their immunological mechanisms and the role of the immune cells and mediators. Beginning with an introduction to the role of the innate immune system, the following chapters discuss the different types of immune cells in the eye and their role in the etiopathogenesis of various diseases including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Edited by Manfred Zierhut, recognised expert from the University of Tuebingen Germany, this book is presented in an easy to read format, enabling practitioners to understand even the most sophisticated eye disorders from an immunological perspective. Key points Comprehensive synopsis of the role of the innate immune system in eye diseases Covers different types of immune cells Edited by internationally recognised specialist in Germany

We acknowledge the initiation and support of this Research Topic by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). We hereby state publicly that the IUIS has had no editorial input in articles included in this Research Topic, thus ensuring that all aspects of this Research Topic are evaluated objectively, unbiased by any specific policy or opinion of the IUIS. Part of the APCs for articles in this collection were financed by the Fondazione Beppe e Nuccy Angiolini ONLUS. Publisher’s note: In this 2nd edition, acknowledgment for the Fondazione Beppe e Nuccy Angiolini ONLUS has been added.

Plants are endowed with innate immune system, which acts as a surveillance system against possible attack by pathogens. Plant innate immune systems have high potential to fight against viral, bacterial, oomycete and fungal pathogens and protect the crop plants against wide range of diseases. However, the innate immune system is a sleeping system in unstressed healthy plants. Fast and strong activation of the plant immune responses aids the host plants to win the war against the pathogens. Plant hormone signaling systems including salicylate (SA), jasmonate (JA), ethylene (ET), abscisic acid (ABA), auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins and brassinosteroids signaling systems play a key role in activation of the sleeping immune systems. Suppression or induction of specific hormone signaling systems may result in disease development or disease resistance. Specific signaling pathway has to be activated to confer resistance against specific pathogen in a particular host. Two forms of induced resistance, systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and induced systemic resistance (ISR), have been recognized based on the induction of specific hormone signaling systems. Specific hormone signaling system determines the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions, culminating in disease development or disease resistance. Susceptibility or resistance against a particular pathogen is determined by the action of the signaling network. The disease outcome is often determined by complex network of interactions among multiple hormone signaling pathways. Manipulation of the complex hormone signaling systems and fine tuning the hormone signaling events would help in management of various crop diseases. The purpose of the book is to critically examine the potential methods to manipulate the multiple plant hormone signaling systems to aid the host plants to win the battle against pathogens.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent an ancient group of molecules with diverse functions in innate immunity. To date, more than 1000 naturally-occurring AMPs have been identified which display considerable diversity in their primary sequences, lengths, structures and biological activities. Despite this variability, AMPs are broadly classified according to homologous secondary structures as cathelicidins (linear a-helical peptides), defensins (ß-strand peptides connected by disulfide bonds) and bactenecins (loop peptides). Most, but not all, AMPs are cationic with amphipathic faces. These biochemical properties bestow many peptides with potent antimicrobial activity by facilitating interactions with negatively charged microbial cell membrane components, thereby increasing membrane permeability and resulting in microbial death. Other indirect effects on microbial physiology have been reported including inhibition of DNA/RNA synthesis, impaired protein synthesis and folding, disruption of cell wall formation and inhibition of microbial cell metabolism. Thus, with the spread of antibiotic-resistant microbial pathogens, AMPs have emerged as exciting candidates for next generation anti-infective therapies. However, recent studies suggest that AMPs have evolved other mechanisms of pathogen clearance. Immunomodulation is a novel approach to antimicrobial therapy that centres on boosting host immunity rather than direct microbial killing. This is also an attractive means to treat sepsis and other immune-mediated diseases. Whilst several cationic peptides are under investigation as antimicrobial agents, a select few show a remarkable ability to protect against lethal endotoxaemia and clinically-relevant bacterial infections including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The molecular mechanisms responsible for this protection are only beginning to emerge but include prevention of innate cell activation by targeting key stages of bacterial endotoxin-mediated cell signalling. In this research topic, hosted by Frontiers in Molecular Innate Immunity, we aim to highlight key areas of AMP research including peptide diversity, structure-function relationships, antimicrobial activity and mechanisms of immune-modulation. We also aim to stimulate discussion on the emerging therapeutic potential of AMPs including antifungal, antiviral and anticancer applications.

The volume III of the book presents the ways and means to manipulate the signals and signaling system to enhance the expression of plant innate immunity for crop disease management. It also describes bioengineering approaches to develop transgenic plants expressing enhanced disease resistance using plant immunity signaling genes. It also discusses recent commercial development of biotechnological products to manipulate plant innate immunity for crop disease management. Engineering durable nonspecific resistance to phytopathogens is one of the ultimate goals of plant breeding. However, most of the attempts to reach this goal fail as a result of rapid changes in pathogen populations and the sheer diversity of pathogen infection mechanisms. Recently several bioengineering and molecular manipulation technologies have been developed to activate the ‘sleeping’ plant innate immune system, which has potential to detect and suppress the development of a wide range of plant pathogens in economically important crop plants. Enhancing disease resistance through altered regulation of plant immunity signaling systems would be durable and publicly acceptable. Strategies for activation and improvement of plant immunity aim at enhancing host’s capability of recognizing invading pathogens, boosting the executive arsenal of plant immunity, and interfering with virulence strategies employed by microbial pathogens. Major advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of plant immunity and of microbial infection strategies have opened new ways for engineering durable resistance in crop plants.

Plant innate immunity is a potential surveillance system of plants and is the first line of defense against invading pathogens. The immune system is a sleeping system in unstressed healthy plants and is activated on perception of the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP; the pathogen’s signature) of invading pathogens. The PAMP alarm/danger signals are perceived by plant pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). The plant immune system uses several second messengers to encode information generated by the PAMPs and deliver the information downstream of PRRs to proteins which decode/interpret signals and initiate defense gene expression. This book describes the most fascinating PAMP-PRR signaling complex and signal transduction systems. It also discusses the highly complex networks of signaling pathways involved in transmission of the signals to induce distinctly different defense-related genes to mount offence against pathogens.