new biomarkers of innate and adaptive immunity in...

HindawiJournal of Immunology ResearchVolume 2017, Article ID 7047405, 3 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7047405

EditorialNew Biomarkers of Innate and Adaptive Immunity inInfectious Diseases

Sergey Morzunov,1 Varough Deyde,2 and Levon Abrahamyan3

1University of Nevada, Reno, USA2CDC, Pretoria, South Africa3Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Correspondence should be addressed to Sergey Morzunov; [email protected]

Received 9 September 2017; Accepted 10 September 2017; Published 14 December 2017

Copyright © 2017 Sergey Morzunov et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work isproperly cited.

Despite dramatic achievements in the field of infectiousdisease control and prevention in economically developedcountries, infectious diseases still remain the leading causeof morbidity, disability, and mortality worldwide. Accordingto the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 millionfatalities were attributed to infectious diseases in 2010. It isextremely alarming that the WHO predicts 13 millioninfectious disease-related deaths for 2050 [1]. In particular,emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, which can beexplained by many factors like microbial adaptation to newhosts, selective pressures of the treatment, migration of thenatural hosts, and so on. Emerging infectious diseases oftenhave deadly consequences which may threaten the existenceof humanity. Although much has been learnt about the path-ogenesis of infectious diseases, reliable early diagnosis andeffective treatment for many of these diseases are still notavailable. These limitations could be explained by our limitedknowledge of the molecular host-pathogen interactions andimmune response to many particular infections, whichhampers the discovery of the early diagnostic biomarkers.

Recent advances in molecular biology and immunologyresulted in a rapid expansion in the field of immune bio-markers. These biomarkers can help make an early diagnosis,evaluate the efficacy of treatment, and improve or predict thedisease outcome. The increase of emerging infections andspread of the antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains make thesearch for biomarkers especially urgent. Recently, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration addressed the need forImmune Biomarkers regarding development and approval

of the new diagnostics as essential for improving thetreatment of infectious diseases. The ongoing search forbiomarkers is wide and includes correlation analysis betweenclinical presentation and genetic mutations, cytokines,receptors, growth factors, and so on found in the host orthe infectious agent. Despite extensive research, the needfor novel biomarkers remains critical. For example, not muchis known about immune biomarkers for such emerging/reemerging infections as Zika virus-caused disease and Ebolahemorrhagic fever. There is also ongoing search for bio-markers of the immune dysfunction in HIV and severedengue disease. Novel biomarkers for cytomegalovirus andMycobacterium tuberculosis provide useful information onthe human host response to the corresponding infections.

We invited prospective authors to contribute originalmanuscripts, case reports, clinical trials, and reviews focusingon genetic aberrations, cytokines, growth factors, and othersmall biologically active molecules as potential biomarkersin infectious disease. As a result, the manuscripts selectedfor this special issue reflect the current diversity of thisresearch field.

The investigation of C. C. Emene et al. presents geneticmarkers associated with an increased chance of developingerysipelas. The authors also identified genetic markers associ-ated with the localization of the infection on different partsof the body. In addition, elevated serum cytokines IL-1β,CCL11, IL-2Rα, CXCL9, TRAIL, PDGF-BB, and CCL4 werefound in erysipelas patients. Furthermore, increased serumlevels of IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, G-CSF, and

https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7047405

2 Journal of Immunology Research

VEGF were detected in patients with recurrent erysipelas.Finally, correlation analysis revealed that level variations ofIL-1β, IL-7, IL-8, IL-17, CCL5, and HGF were associatedwith SNPs in the SOD2 gene, while variations of PDFG-BBand CCL2 were found to be associated with SNPs in theCAT gene.

N. Molaee et al. investigated the immune response inmice to the Vibrio cholera recombinant pili and flagella pro-teins. High levels of IL5 and low levels of IFNγ observed inresponse to injection of FlaA and TcpA suggest that theseproteins stimulate immune responses toward Th2, while highlevels of IL5 and high IgG1 antibody titer observed afterinjection of TcpB suggest that it mostly directs immuneresponses toward Th1. The data provided on the immuneresponse in humans is identical; combining these recombi-nant antigens with potential Vibrio cholera vaccine can causehigher immunogenicity and better protection against cholera.

Y. A. Tyurin et al. evaluated a cytokine profile in nasalsecretion and blood serum of the patients with seasonal(SAR) and perennial (PAR) allergic rhinitis. The authorsshowed that increased GM-CSF production is maintainedin the patients with PAR sensitized to the house mite allergencomponents. A higher production profile of TNFα and TSLPwas also detected in nasal secretion in the patients with PARand additional high sensitization to SEs. Sensitization tomold fungi allergen components was significantly higher inpatients with SAR. In particular, these patients displayed ahigh level of sensitization to the Aspergillus fumigatuscomponent m3. A negative correlation was demonstratedbetween serum TGF-β level and the age of patients withSAR. TGF-β can inhibit the immune response and prolifera-tion of immunocompetent cells. Thus, along with otherclinical trials, the study performed and clarified some aspectsof the molecular pathogenesis of human allergic rhinitis.

In the second investigation of Y. A. Tyurin et al., thecorrelation between polymorphisms of the Toll-like receptorgenes TLR2 and TLR4 in relation to clinical and immuno-logical parameters in atopic dermatitis patients was analyzed.Observed dysregulation of cytokine production (IL-4, IL-10)in the patients with heterozygous polymorphic genotypesprobably reflects an imbalance of Th1/Th2/Th17 regulationof immune response in these individuals.

N. S. Zakharchenko et al. evaluated the antimicrobialefficacy of the Kalanchoe pinnata extract containing cecropinP1 (CecP1). K. pinnata extracts were tested for the treatmentof wounds infected with Candida albicans. The therapeuticefficacy of K. pinnata extract was comparable with that of acommercial fungicide clotrimazole. However, clotrimazoleneither facilitated wound healing nor caused remodeling ofthe scar matrix. The improved therapeutic effect of the K.pinnata extract was attributed to a synergism between thefungicide activity of CecP1 and wound healing (antiscar),revascularizing, and immunomodulating effect of naturalbiologically active components ofK. pinnata. Taken together,data presented suggest that CecP1-enriched K. pinnataextracts could be a candidate drug for the treatment ofdermatomycoses and fungus-contaminated wounds.

In a related investigation performed by A. A. Lebedevaet al., the therapeutic effect of K. pinnata water extracts

containing CecP1 on healing of wounds contaminated withS. aureus or combined S. aureus with P. aeruginosa wasevaluated. The efficacy of K. pinnata extract treatment ofS. aureus turned out to be equal to that of cefazolinum; how-ever, it performed better than cefazolinum when treating thewounds simultaneously contaminated with S. aureus withP. aeruginosa. K. pinnata extracts (both wild-type andtransgenic) did not exhibit general toxicity while acceleratingwound recovery. Immunomodulating and microbicide activ-ity of K. pinnata synergize with microbicide activity of CecP1accelerating elimination of bacteria.

In the study of E. V. Martynova et al., several importantcorrelations were detected for the nephropathia epidemica(NE) patients. In particular, elevated levels of triglyceridesand decreased HDCL were found in NE patients, while totalcholesterol did not differ between NE cases and controls.Higher triglyceride levels were found in males as comparedto female NE cases. Furthermore, data indicated that hightriglycerides are associated with the lowest thrombocytecounts and high serum VEGF, as well as a high severity score.On the other hand, low levels of triglycerides were associatedwith upregulated IFN-γ and IL-12. Activation of the Th1type immune response was suggested, since IFN-γ andIL-12 levels were increased in patients with lower severityscores. This relationship strongly indicates that Th1 lympho-cytes play a protective role in NE. These data advance ourunderstanding of NE pathogenesis and establish a clear linkof the high triglyceride level with the severity of the disease.

Kh. S. Khaertynov et al. evaluated the serum levels of theproinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL1-β, and IL-6) and theanti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) in neonatalsepsis cases. It was demonstrated that both the late onset ofsepsis (LOS) cases and the early onset of sepsis (EOS) caseswere characterized by increased serum level of TNF-α. How-ever, increased serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were found inLOS cases only. Moreover, levels of the proinflammatorycytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-6, were elevated in the acutephase of sepsis, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokines,such as IL-10, were substantially upregulated during thepostacute phase of the disease. The authors concluded thatthe analysis of serum cytokines can provide valuable infor-mation when determining the most effective therapy fortreating neonatal sepsis.

In the study by D. Akberova et al., serum cytokinelevels were investigated in several autoimmune diseasesincluding autoimmune liver diseases (AILD), autoimmunehepatitis (AIH), and overlap syndrome. AILD cases werecharacterized by increased levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-αas compared to controls. Statistical analysis revealed acorrelation between high IL-8 and diagnosis of AILD,AIH, and overlap syndrome.

Due to an excellent response, this special issue includesa number of the original research articles aimed at thedetection and analysis of the various potential biomarkers(genetics, proteomics, cytokines, growth factors, hormones,and so forth) of infectious disease contributing to diagnosis,treatment, and prophylaxis. The analysis of these novelbiomarkers was based on the bioinformatics approaches thatwere employed to characterize biomarkers associated with

3Journal of Immunology Research

the clinical presentation, severity, and treatment efficacy ofinfectious diseases. In addition, this issue includes data onnovel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of infectiousdisease using both novel and presently known biomarkers.Finally, new data on the biomarkers of the immune evasionand development of resistance to viral and microbial patho-gens are presented in this issue.

Sergey MorzunovVarough Deyde

Levon Abrahamyan

References

[1] World Health Organization, Mortality and Global HealthEstimates, p. 170, WHO Press, World Health Organization,Geneva, Switzerland, 2013.

Submit your manuscripts athttps://www.hindawi.com

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014


MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of


Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of



Disease Markers


BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of



Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity


PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of



Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of


Diabetes ResearchJournal of



Research and TreatmentAIDS


Gastroenterology Research and Practice


Parkinson’s Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com

new biomarkers of innate and adaptive immunity in...

Documents