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Medicina
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Infection, Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease
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Infection, Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Disease".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2025) | Viewed by 3612

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Das Undurti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
UND Life Sciences, 2221 NW 5th St, Battle Ground, WA 98604, USA
Interests: essential fatty acids; eicosanoids; cytokines; free radicals; nitric oxide; melatonin and their role in various clinical conditions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humans are constantly exposed to various environmental agents, including but not limited to microbes. To overcome the deleterious actions of these environmental agents, the human body needs to have a robust immune system and a timely inflammation resolution capacity in order to maintain normal health and homeostasis. Thus, infection, inflammation, and immunity play a significant role in human health. Factors that regulate the body’s capacity to adequately deal with inflammation when needed and its resolution in a timely fashion, induce a robust immune response against microbes, and perform the appropriate repairs of the damage induced by various environmental agents need to be deciphered, understood and exploited in the prevention and management of various diseases. Some of the factors that are important in human health and disease include cytokines, eicosanoids, growth factors, adhesion molecules, etc., along with various genes that regulate their secretion and function. It is important to know how all of these endogenous molecules interact with each other in the regulation of infection, inflammation and immunity to maintain homeostasis. These factors have a fundamental role in metabolic, immunological, degenerative and genetic diseases across various subspecialties of medicine, such as rheumatology, cardiology, gastroenterology, genetics, oncology, endocrinology, nephrology, etc. Gene therapy, siRNA-based drugs, exosomes, immune check point inhibitors, and other modes of therapy may ultimately prove to be of value in several diseases. It is the purpose of this Special Issue to bridge the gap between the laboratory and the clinic and to highlight the advances in various areas that may have an impact on the prevention and management of various diseases including but not limited to infections, inflammation, immunological diseases, genetic diseases and inborn errors of metabolism and ageing. Coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis and sarcopenia of senility are all considered as low-grade systemic inflammatory conditions.

This Special Issue aims to cover various aspects of infection, inflammation, and immunity applicable to various diseases/disorders. All types of manuscripts are welcome for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Das Undurti
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. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2200 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.

Keywords

  • infection
  • inflammation
  • immunity
  • oncogenesis
  • cancer
  • autoimmunity
  • ageing

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 428 KiB  
Article
Role of Inflammatory Markers as a Risk Factor for Community-Acquired Pneumonia Management
by Ruta Nutautiene, Irmantas Aleksa, Ieva Janulaityte, Erika Skrodeniene, Kristina Bieksiene, Diana Zaliaduonyte, Darius Batulevicius and Astra Vitkauskiene
Medicina 2025, 61(6), 1078; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061078 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 912
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a major health burden worldwide, with high morbidity and mortality, particularly among older adults and those with comorbidities. This study aimed to evaluate the etiological factors of CAP and to investigate systemic inflammatory markers (IL-6, [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a major health burden worldwide, with high morbidity and mortality, particularly among older adults and those with comorbidities. This study aimed to evaluate the etiological factors of CAP and to investigate systemic inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and G-CSF) in blood samples collected from CAP patients to identify which markers could be targets for potential etiological, clinical, and therapeutic interventions. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in 41 patients with confirmed CAP hospitalised during the winter season of 2024–2025. Clinical, demographic, and laboratory data were collected at admission and seven days later. Serum IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and G-CSF concentrations were measured using a multiplex assay. Results: Aetiology was identified in 87.8% of cases, with typical bacterial pathogens being more prevalent among older, smoking patients, while atypical pathogens were more common among younger, non-smoking patients. Hospitalisation and increased inflammatory markers were associated with older age. After seven days of treatment, significant decreases in IL-6, IFN-γ, and G-CSF concentrations were observed. IFN-γ levels were significantly higher in patients with atypical aetiology. Higher concentrations of IL-8 and G-CSF were associated with hospitalisation. IL-6 levels were positively correlated with age, C-reactive protein (CRP), and pneumonia severity index (PSI) scores. Conclusions: Systemic inflammatory markers, especially IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and G-CSF, may be valuable tools in managing generalised pneumonia. They can help to differentiate etiologically, assess disease severity, and make treatment decisions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection, Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease)
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16 pages, 4960 KiB  
Article
Protective Effect of Probiotics on Cardiac Damage in Experimental Sepsis Model Induced by Lipopolysaccharide in Rats
by Necip Gökhan Taş, Osman Aktaş, Hakan Gökalp Taş, Selim Zırh, Nezahat Kurt and Hakan Uslu
Medicina 2025, 61(4), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61040589 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 943
Abstract
Background and Objective: Probiotics have been shown to be effective in controlling various adverse health conditions such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and neurological diseases. However, to our knowledge, there is no research on the preventive effect of probiotics on [...] Read more.
Background and Objective: Probiotics have been shown to be effective in controlling various adverse health conditions such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and neurological diseases. However, to our knowledge, there is no research on the preventive effect of probiotics on heart damage caused by infections. This study examined the preventive benefits of probiotics against sepsis-related heart injury using a rat model caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Materials and Methods: Four groups of twenty-four male Wistar albino rats, each with six rats, were set up. For 14 days, Group 1 (Sham Group) was given oral normal saline, intraperitoneal Escherichia coli O111-B4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS Group) was given to Group 2, and oral probiotics were given to Group 3 (Probiotic Group). Escherichia coli O111-B4 lipopolysaccharide was injected intraperitoneally after Group 4 (Probiotic + LPS) received oral probiotics containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 (109 CFU/day). Blood samples were taken twenty-four hours following the administration of LPS. The animals were then euthanized by cervical dislocation, and samples of cardiac tissue were taken in order to assess any damage to the heart. The following serum values were measured: C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), cardiac troponin subunit I (cTn-I), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), Total Oxidant Status (TOS), Total Antioxidant Status (TAS), Oxidative Stress Index (OSI), CRP, CK-MB, and cTn-I levels were assessed in tissue samples. Additionally, staining techniques were used to analyze histopathological alterations in tissues. Results: With the exception of serum IL-6 (p = 0.111), tissue and serum cytokine levels were considerably greater in the sepsis group (Group 2) than in the other groups (p < 0.05 to <0.001). The TAS, GSH, and SOD levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05 to <0.001) in septic rats, although the tissue levels of TOS, OSI, and MDA were significantly higher. With the exception of serum CRP in Group 3 (p = 0.328), the CK-MB, CRP, and cTn-I levels were considerably higher in Group 2 than in the other groups (p < 0.01 to <0.001). When compared to the other groups, histopathological examination showed significant alterations in the LPS group. Conclusions: Probiotics showed positive effects on oxidative stress markers and dramatically decreased sepsis-induced cardiac damage in the LPS-induced sepsis model. These results imply that probiotics could be used as a therapeutic approach to lessen the cardiac damage brought on by sepsis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection, Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease)
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17 pages, 3518 KiB  
Article
Lymphocyte Inhibition Mechanisms and Immune Checkpoints in COVID-19: Insights into Prognostic Markers and Disease Severity
by Martina Schniederova, Anna Bobcakova, Marian Grendar, Adam Markocsy, Andrej Ceres, Michal Cibulka, Dusan Dobrota and Milos Jesenak
Medicina 2025, 61(2), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61020189 - 22 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1051
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 and TIM-3 play an important role in regulating the host immune response and are proposed as potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets in severe cases of COVID-19. We evaluated the expression of PD-1 [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 and TIM-3 play an important role in regulating the host immune response and are proposed as potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets in severe cases of COVID-19. We evaluated the expression of PD-1 and TIM-3 on T cells, as well as the concentration of sPD-1 in plasma, to clarify the role of these molecules in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analysed the expression of PD-1 and TIM-3 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells upon admission and after 7 days of hospitalisation in 770 adult patients. We also evaluated sPD-1 levels in the plasma of 145 patients at different stages of COVID-19 and of 11 control subjects. Molecules were determined using conventional flow cytometry and ELISA and the data were statistically processed. Results: We observed a significantly higher expression of PD-1 on CD4+ cells in deceased patients than in those with mild-to-moderate disease. All patients with COVID-19 exhibited a significantly higher expression of TIM-3 on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells compared to controls. After 1 week of hospitalisation, there was no significant change in PD-1 or TIM-3 expression on CD4+ or CD8+ T cells across the studied groups. sPD-1 concentrations were not significantly different between survivors and non-survivors. Plasma sPD-1 levels did not correlate with PD-1 expression on T cells, but a significant correlation was observed between CD4+ PD-1 and CD8+ PD-1. Using machine-learning algorithms, we supported our observations and confirmed immunological variables capable of predicting survival, with AUC = 0.786. Conclusions: Analysis of the immune response may be useful for monitoring and predicting the course of COVID-19 upon admission. However, it is essential to evaluate complex immune parameters in conjunction with other key clinical and laboratory indicators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection, Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease)
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