| 1. |
- Oertli, Mathias, et al.
(author)
-
DC-derived IL-18 drives Treg differentiation, murine Helicobacter pylori-specific immune tolerance, and asthma protection.
- 2012
-
In: The Journal of clinical investigation. - 1558-8238. ; 122:3, s. 1082-96
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Persistent colonization with the gastric bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori causes gastritis and predisposes infected individuals to gastric cancer. Conversely, it is also linked to protection from allergic, chronic inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. We demonstrate here that H. pylori inhibits LPS-induced maturation of DCs and reprograms DCs toward a tolerance-promoting phenotype. Our results showed that DCs exposed to H. pylori in vitro or in vivo failed to induce T cell effector functions. Instead, they efficiently induced expression of the forkhead transcription factor FoxP3, the master regulator of Tregs, in naive T cells. Depletion of DCs in mice infected with H. pylori during the neonatal period was sufficient to break H. pylori-specific tolerance. DC depletion resulted in improved control of the infection but also aggravated T cell-driven immunopathology. Consistent with the mouse data, DCs infiltrating the gastric mucosa of human H. pylori carriers exhibited a semimature DC-SIGN(+)HLA-DR(hi)CD80(lo)CD86(lo) phenotype. Mechanistically, the tolerogenic activity of H. pylori-experienced DCs was shown to require IL-18 in vitro and in vivo; DC-derived IL-18 acted directly on T cells to drive their conversion to Tregs. CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs from infected wild-type mice but not Il18(-/-) or Il18r1(-/-) mice prevented airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in an experimental model of asthma. Taken together, our results indicate that tolerogenic reprogramming of DCs ensures the persistence of H. pylori and protects against allergic asthma in a process that requires IL-18.
|
|
| 2. |
- Klingberg, J., et al.
(author)
-
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) accumulation in Quercus palustris and Pinus nigra in the urban landscape of Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2022
-
In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 805
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Trees have the potential to improve urban air quality as leaves and needles capture air pollutants from the air, but further empirical data has been requested to quantify these effects. We measured the concentration of 32 poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in leaves of pin oak (Quercus palustris) and needles of black pine (Pinus nigra) in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden, during the summer of 2018. Oak leaves were collected twice (June, Sep-tember), while one-year-old (C + 1) and three-year-old (C + 3) pine needles were sampled in June to study the temporal development of leaf/needle PAH concentrations. Specific leaf area (SLA) was estimated, which permit-ted calculation of leaf/needle area-based PAH content that were compared with the mass-based concentration. In addition, the air concentration of PAHs and NO2 was measured using passive samplers. There was a strong correlation between air concentrations of PAH and NO2, indicating that the pollutants to a large degree originate from the same sources. In the oak leaves there was a significant decrease in low molecular mass PAHs (L-PAH, mainly gaseous) between June and September, but a significant increase in high molecular mass PAHs (H-PAH, mainly particle-bound). There was a strong correlation between L-PAH concentration in leaves and in air indicating an influence of equilibrium processes between ambient air and leaf. In the pine needles, there was a significant increase of both L-PAH and H-PAH in three-year-old needles compared to one-year-old needles. Pine was superior to oak in accumulating PAHs from the air, especially for L-PAHs when comparing area-based content. However, H-PAH concentrations were higher in oak leaves compared to pine needles on a leaf mass basis, emphasizing the importance of how concentrations are expressed. The results from this study can contribute to the development of urban planning strategies regarding the effect of vegetation on air quality. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Linnakylä, Pirjo, et al.
(author)
-
Factors behind low reading literacy achievement.
- 2004
-
In: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170. ; 48:3, s. 231-249
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The initial results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicated that Finnish and Swedish students are among the best readers in all OECD countries. However, the literacy performance of 7% of Finnish and 12% of Swedish students remains at a level which is not sufficient for further studies or active citizenship. This article reports a further comparative study which explores, compares and contrasts, by means of two-level logistic regression models, students' personal, socio-economic and cultural factors and their effects on low as opposed to average reading literacy achievement in Finland and Sweden. The results indicate that the risk of being a low achiever is strongly determined by gender and by several sociocultural factors as well as by students' personal characteristics, attitudes and activities both at and outside school. The constructed model was relatively similar and predicted with approximately equal degrees of probability membership in the risk group in both countries. This lays a solid foundation for joint pedagogic developmental efforts
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
