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Inflammation and Cellular Immune Response in Healthy Ageing and Chronic Disease

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A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 19086

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Dr. Katharina Kurz

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Guest Editor

Department of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Diseases, Pneumology, Rheumatology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, Innsbruck, Austria
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Acute inflammation is essential to promote the healing of infection or injury. Chronic inflammation and immune activation, on the other hand, have been proposed to contribute significantly to the progression of chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, or autoimmune disease. Patients with chronic diseases often present with elevated inflammation markers like C-reactive protein or the Th1 type immune activation marker neopterin. An increase in inflammation markers in healthy elderly patients has also been found. “Inflammageing” has been linked with frailty, and increased morbidity and mortality. Accordingly, higher inflammation markers are predictive for a decreased survival of patients, e.g., due to cancer or cardiovascular disease.

In elderly individuals, immune-mediated alterations, e.g., of tryptophan, iron, and vitamin metabolism, are frequently observed, especially in patients with cancer or cardiovascular disease. The decreased availability of essential nutrients like tryptophan, iron, or vitamins may redound to higher morbidity and mortality of patients. Recent studies furthermore suggest that alterations of gut microbiota influence nutrient uptake and the “inflammatory status” of patients importantly. This Special Issue will focus on the role of inflammation and especially Th1 type immune response in healthy aging and chronic disease.

Dr. Katharina Kurz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 2989 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Changing Metabolic Patterns along the Colorectal Adenoma–Carcinoma Sequence

by Julia Tevini, Sebastian K. Eder, Ursula Huber-Schönauer, David Niederseer, Georg Strebinger, Johanna M. Gostner, Elmar Aigner, Christian Datz and Thomas K. Felder

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(3), 721; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcm11030721 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2414

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major public health burden and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Screening programs facilitate early diagnosis and can help to reduce poor outcomes. Serum metabolomics can extract vital molecular information that may increase the sensitivity and specificity of colonoscopy in combination with histopathological examination. The present study identifies serum metabolite patterns of treatment-naïve patients, diagnosed with either advanced adenoma (AA) or CRC in colonoscopy screenings, in the framework of the SAKKOPI (Salzburg Colon Cancer Prevention Initiative) program. We used a targeted flow injection analysis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry metabolomics approach (FIA- and LC-MS/MS) to characterise the serum metabolomes of an initial screening cohort and two validation cohorts (in total 66 CRC, 76 AA and 93 controls). The lipidome was significantly perturbed, with a proportion of lipid species being downregulated in CRC patients, as compared to AA and controls. The predominant alterations observed were in the levels of lyso-lipids, glycerophosphocholines and acylcarnitines, but additionally, variations in the quantity of hydroxylated sphingolipids could be detected. Changed amino acid metabolism was restricted mainly to metabolites of the arginine/dimethylarginine/NO synthase pathway. The identified metabolic divergences observed in CRC set the foundation for mechanistic studies to characterise biochemical pathways that become deregulated during progression through the adenoma to carcinoma sequence and highlight the key importance of lipid metabolites. Biomarkers related to these pathways could improve the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis, as well as the monitoring of therapies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammation and Cellular Immune Response in Healthy Ageing and Chronic Disease)

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15 pages, 783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Immune Activation and Anemia Are Associated with Decreased Quality of Life in Patients with Solid Tumors

by Patricia Kink, Eva Maria Egger, Lukas Lanser, Michaela Klaunzner, Bernhard Holzner, Wolfgang Willenbacher, Maria Theresia Kasseroler, Dietmar Fuchs, Günter Weiss and Katharina Kurz

J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(10), 3248; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcm9103248 - 12 Oct 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1959

Abstract

Anemia often coincides with depression and impaired quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients. Sustained immune activation can lead to the development of anemia. Furthermore, it also may go along with changes in tryptophan and phenylalanine metabolism. The aim of our pilot study was to study the relationship between anemia, immune-mediated changes in amino acid metabolism, and the QoL and mood of cancer patients. Questionnaires to measure QoL and depression were completed by 152 patients with solid tumors. Hemoglobin, parameters of immune activation as well as tryptophan and phenylalanine metabolism were determined in the patients’ sera. Anemic patients (51.7%) presented with higher inflammatory markers, and a higher tryptophan breakdown with lower tryptophan concentrations. They reported an impaired QoL and had higher depression scores. Patients with an impaired QoL (65.8%) also suffered from more fatigue and impaired physical, emotional, and social functioning. They, furthermore, presented with higher concentrations of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP) and neopterin) as well as higher tryptophan degradation (in men) and higher phenylalanine concentrations (in women). Sixty-one patients (40.1%) had (mostly mild) depression. In these patients, a higher degree of Th1 immune activation was found. The results of our study suggest that cancer-related anemia goes along with an impaired QoL, which is also associated with immune-mediated disturbances of tryptophan and phenylalanine metabolism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammation and Cellular Immune Response in Healthy Ageing and Chronic Disease)

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Review

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23 pages, 942 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Association between Early-Life Gut Microbiota and Long-Term Health and Diseases

by Anujit Sarkar, Ji Youn Yoo, Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra, Katherine H. Morgan and Maureen Groer

J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(3), 459; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcm10030459 - 25 Jan 2021

Cited by 123 | Viewed by 11720

Abstract

Early life gut microbiota have been increasingly recognized as major contributors to short and/or long-term human health and diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human gut microbial colonization begins at birth, but continues to develop a succession of taxonomic abundances for two to three years until the gut microbiota reaches adult-like diversity and proportions. Several factors, including gestational age (GA), delivery mode, birth weight, feeding types, antibiotic exposure, maternal microbiome, and diet, influence the diversity, abundance, and function of early life gut microbiota. Gut microbial life is essential for assisting with the digestion of food substances to release nutrients, exerting control over pathogens, stimulating or modulating the immune system, and influencing many systems such as the liver, brain, and endocrine system. Microbial metabolites play multiple roles in these interactions. Furthermore, studies provide evidence supporting that imbalances of the gut microbiota in early life, referred to as dysbiosis, are associated with specific childhood or adult disease outcomes, such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, diabetes, allergic diseases, obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and neurological disorders. These findings support that the human gut microbiota may play a fundamental role in the risk of acquiring diseases that may be programmed during early life. In fact, it is critical to explore the role of the human gut microbiota in early life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammation and Cellular Immune Response in Healthy Ageing and Chronic Disease)

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Other

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7 pages, 750 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Safety and Long-Term Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 Vaccine in Individuals with Down Syndrome

by Diletta Valentini, Nicola Cotugno, Vittorio Scoppola, Chiara Di Camillo, Luna Colagrossi, Emma Concetta Manno, Carlo Federico Perno, Cristina Russo, Paolo Palma, Paolo Rossi and Alberto Villani

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(3), 694; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcm11030694 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2158

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the BNT162b2 vaccine in young people with Down syndrome (DS), and to compare their humoral immune response with those of the healthy controls (HC). Individuals with DS and HC received the BNT162b2 vaccine. Longitudinal blood samples were collected on the day of vaccination, twenty-one days after the first dose, seven days after the second dose, and six months after the first dose. Both the local and systemic adverse events reported by participants were mild. Pain at the injection site was the most reported local adverse event, while fever was the systemic adverse event. Humoral responses showed a significant increase of anti-S and anti-S trimeric antibody (Ab) levels after both doses of vaccine in both groups. In comparison with HC, Ab levels in individuals with DS were similar at T21, but significantly lower, both in terms anti-S and anti-S trimeric, at T28 (respectively p = 0.0003 and p = 0.0001). At T180 both groups showed a significant reduction of anti-S trimeric Ab levels compared to T28 (p = 0.0004 and p < 0.0001 for DS and HC, respectively). Individuals with DS exhibit a good humoral response to the BNT162b2 vaccine; however, similarly to in HC, the immune response wanes over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammation and Cellular Immune Response in Healthy Ageing and Chronic Disease)

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