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Tick-borne diseases are a growing global health concern. Despite extensive studies, ill-defined tick-associated pathologies remain with unknown aetiologies. Human immunological responses after tick bite, and inter-individual variations of immune-response phenotypes, are not well characterised.
Children typically experience more mild symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) when compared to adults. There is a strong body of evidence that children are also less susceptible to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with the ancestral viral isolate.
The textbook view of vaccination is that it functions to induce immune memory of the specific pathogen components of the vaccine, leading to a quantitatively and qualitatively better response if the host is exposed to infection with the same pathogen
Human adenosine deaminases (ADAs) modulate the immune response: ADA1 via metabolizing adenosine, a purine metabolite that inhibits pro-inflammatory and Th1 cytokine production, and the multi-functional ADA2, by enhancing T-cell proliferation and monocyte differentiation. Newborns are relatively deficient in ADA1 resulting in elevated plasma adenosine concentrations and a Th2/anti-inflammatory bias compared to adults.
Tick-associated diseases present challenges due to tridirectional interactions among host-specific responses, tick toxins and salivary proteins as well as microbes. We aimed to uncover molecular mechanisms in tick-bitten skin samples and contralateral skin samples collected simultaneously from the same participants, using spatial transcriptomics.
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the most commonly administered vaccine in human history. The medical application of BCG extends far beyond the fight against tuberculosis. Despite its stellar medical record over 100 years, insight into how BCG provides this vast range of benefits is largely limited, both for its pathogen-specific (tuberculosis) as well as pathogen-agnostic (other infections, autoimmunity, allergies, and cancer) effects.
Accumulating evidence indicates that an early, robust type 1 interferon (IFN) response to SARS-CoV-2 is important in determining COVID-19 outcomes, with an inadequate IFN response associated with disease severity. Our objective was to examine the prophylactic potential of IFN administration to limit viral transmission.
We describe here the effects of treatment with interferon-α2b in a cohort of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China
Baseline signatures might contribute to identifying interventional targets to be modulated prior to vaccination in order to improve vaccination responses
In Australia, there is a paucity of data about the extent and impact of zoonotic tick-related illnesses. Even less is understood about a multifaceted illness referred to as Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks (DSCATT). Here, we describe a research plan for investigating the aetiology, pathophysiology, and clinical outcomes of human tick-associated disease in Australia.