Bacteria cause allergic disease because of toxicity, invasiveness, immunopathology, or lends of these three mechanisms. Thus much of the interaction between a given bacterial species and the cellular immune response can be predicted by considering the immunological mechanisms available in relation to the mechanism of pathogenicity, and the structure of the bacterium. For a toxigenic bacterium, neutralizing antigen & antibody may be all that is needed. Otherwise destruction of the organism itself may be required. (more…)
One especially favored target for immune recognition is bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This macromolecule is found only in ...
Exotoxins are noxious proteins secreted by many bacteria. These toxins are often heat-labile and thus can be heat-inactivated f ...
Innate immune responses are seen in a very broad range of tissues. Indeed, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, one of the most important ...
An especially elaborate and important type of innate antimicrobial enzymes defense is provided by a group of serum proteins tha ...
Once it is tethered onto the venule wall, the neutrophil or other leukocyte comes into contact with a wide variety of inflammatory ...