• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2016

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells, and play an important role in the induction of antigen-specific adaptive immunity. However, some DC populations are involved in immune regulation and immune tolerance. These DC populations are believed to take part in the control of immune exaggeration and immune disorder, and maintain immune homeostasis in the body. Tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs) can be generated in vitro by genetic or pharmacological modification or by controlling the maturation stages of cytokine-derived DCs. These tolDCs have been investigated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in experimental animal models. In the last decade, several in vitro and in vivo approaches have been translated into clinical trials. As of 2015, three tolDC trials for RA are on the list of ClinicalTrial.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov). Other trials for RA are in progress and will be listed soon. In this review, we discuss the evolution of tolDC-based immunotherapy for RA and its limitations and future prospects.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.16
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• 2019

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein coding RNAs of more than 200 nucleotides in length. Despite the term "noncoding", lncRNAs have been reported to be involved in gene expression. Accumulating evidence suggests that lncRNAs play crucial roles in the regulation of immune system and the development of autoimmunity. lncRNAs are expressed in various immune cells including T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and NK cells, and are also involved in the differentiation and activation of these immune cells. Here, we review recent studies on the role of lncRNAs in immune regulation and the differential expression of lncRNAs in various autoimmune diseases.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.31.1-31.16
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• 2024

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent one of the most prevalent bacterial infections globally, manifesting in diverse clinical phenotypes with varying degrees of severity and complications. The mechanisms underlying UTIs are gradually being elucidated, leading to an enhanced understanding of the immune responses involved. Innate immune cells play a crucial defensive role against uropathogenic bacteria through various mechanisms. Despite their significant contributions to host defense, these cells often fail to achieve complete clearance of uropathogens, necessitating the frequent prescription of antibiotics for UTI patients. However, the persistence of infections and related pathological symptoms in the absence of innate immune cells in animal models underscore the importance of innate immunity in UTIs. Therefore, the host protective functions of innate immune cells, including neutrophils, macrophages, mast cells, NK cells, innate lymphoid cells, and γδ T cells, are delicately coordinated and timely regulated by a variety of cytokines to ensure successful pathogen clearance.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.22
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• 2022

The approval of immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines has revolutionized the way cancer treatment is approached. While immunotherapies have improved clinical outcome in a variety of tumor types, some cancers have proven harder to combat using single agents, underscoring the need for multi-targeted immunotherapy approaches. Efficacy of CPIs and cancer vaccines requires patients to have a competent immune system with adequate cell numbers while the efficacy of adoptive cellular therapy is limited by the expansion and persistence of cells after infusion. A promising strategy to overcome these challenges is combination treatment with common gamma-chain cytokines. Gamma-chain cytokines play a critical role in the survival, proliferation, differentiation and function of multiple immune cell types, including CD8 T-cells and NK cells, which are at the center of the anti-tumor response. While the short halflife of recombinant cytokines initially limited their application in the clinic, advancements in protein engineering have led to the development of several next-generation drug candidates with dramatically increased half-life and bioactivity. When combining these cytokines with other immunotherapies, strong evidence of synergy has been observed in preclinical and clinical cancer settings. This promising data has led to the initiation of 70 ongoing clinical trials including IL-2, IL-7, IL-15 and IL-21. This review summarizes the recent advancements of common gamma-chain cytokines and their potential as a cancer immunotherapy.

• The Zoological Society Korea : Newsletter
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 1998

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.163-167
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• 2013

The dynamics of the virus-host interface in the response to respiratory virus infection is not well-understood; however, it is at this juncture that host immunity to infection evolves. Respiratory viruses have been shown to modulate the host response to gain a replication advantage through a variety of mechanisms. Viruses are parasites and must co-opt host genes for replication, and must interface with host cellular machinery to achieve an optimal balance between viral and cellular gene expression. Host cells have numerous strategies to resist infection, replication and virus spread, and only recently are we beginning to understand the network and pathways affected. The following is a short review article covering some of the studies associated with the Tripp laboratory that have addressed how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) operates at the virus-host interface to affects immune outcome and disease pathogenesis.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.679-688
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• 2003

In order to navigate the mobile robots safely in unknown environments, many researches have been studied to devise navigational algorithms for the mobile robots. In this paper, we propose a navigational algorithm that consists of an obstacle-avoidance behavior module, a goal-approach behavior module and a radial basis function network(RBFN) supervisor. In the obstacle-avoidance behavior module and goal-approach behavior module, the fuzzy-artificial immune networks are used to select a proper steering angle which makes the autonomous mobile robot(AMR) avoid obstacles and approach the given goal. The RBFN supervisor is employed to combine the obstacle-avoidance behavior and goal-approach behavior for reliable and smooth motion. The outputs of the RBFN are proper combinational weights for the behavior modules and velocity to steer the AMR appropriately. Some simulations and experiments have been conducted to confirm the validity of the proposed navigational algorithm.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.8-11
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• 2009

There is mounting evidence that autophagy is involved in diverse physiological and pathological processes that have immense relevance in human development, diseases and aging. Immunity and inflammation are not exceptions. Here, the role of autophagy in the control of immune processes particularly that related to cell death and inflammation is discussed.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.111-115
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• 2013

Recent investigations have demonstrated extensive reciprocal interactions between the immune and skeletal systems, resulting in the establishment of osteoimmunology as a cross-disciplinary field. Here we highlight core concepts and recent advances in this emerging area of study.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.81-84
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• 2010

B cells, by virtue of their diverse roles in immune responses to foreign and self antigens, have become of increasing interest to the clinician as well as the basic immunologist. In particular, it is now apparent that the development of B cell unresponsiveness in antibody and T cell mediated autoimmune disorders and the transplant setting is both worthwhile and achievable.