Critical Role of IRF-5 in the Development of T helper 1 responses to Leishmania donovani infection

The transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF-5) has been shown to be involved in the induction of proinflammatory cytokines in response to viral infections and TLR activation and to play an essential role in the innate inflammatory response. In this study, we used the experimental model of visceral leishmaniasis to investigate the role of IRF-5 in the generation of Th1 responses and in the formation of Th1-type liver granulomas in Leishmania donovani infected mice. We show that TLR7-mediated activation of IRF-5 is essential for the development of Th1 responses to L. donovani in the spleen during chronic infection. We also demonstrate that IRF-5 deficiency leads to the incapacity to control L. donovani infection in the liver and to the formation of smaller granulomas. Granulomas in Irf5-/- mice are characterized by an increased IL-4 and IL-10 response and concomitant low iNOS expression. Collectively, these results identify IRF-5 as a critical molecular switch for the development of Th1 immune responses following L. donovani infections and reveal an indirect role of IRF-5 in the regulation of iNOS expression

Critical Role of IRF-5 in the Development of T helper 1 responses to Leishmania donovani infection

The transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF-5) has been shown to be involved in the induction of proinflammatory cytokines in response to viral infections and TLR activation and to play an essential role in the innate inflammatory response. In this study, we used the experimental model of visceral leishmaniasis to investigate the role of IRF-5 in the generation of Th1 responses and in the formation of Th1-type liver granulomas in Leishmania donovani infected mice. We show that TLR7-mediated activation of IRF-5 is essential for the development of Th1 responses to L. donovani in the spleen during chronic infection. We also demonstrate that IRF-5 deficiency leads to the incapacity to control L. donovani infection in the liver and to the formation of smaller granulomas. Granulomas in Irf5-/- mice are characterized by an increased IL-4 and IL-10 response and concomitant low iNOS expression. Collectively, these results identify IRF-5 as a critical molecular switch for the development of Th1 immune responses following L. donovani infections and reveal an indirect role of IRF-5 in the regulation of iNOS expression

Recent achievements in the production of biobased 1,3-propanediol

The increasing concerns related to the high prices and limited availability of fossil fuels have led to a remarkable growth of biodiesel industry in recent years. This, in turns resulted in the accumulation of high quantities of crude glycerol as a byproduct of the transesterification reaction. It is indeed estimated that the production of 100 kg of biodiesel results in the production of 10 kg of crude glycerol. The obtained crude glycerol byproducts could be purified and further used in several processes but this purification process is costly. The biorefinery concept i.e. the exploitation of wastes or byproducts for the obtainment of high value products has been then considered as an interesting alternative strategy for the valorization of this byproduct. In this context, several fine chemicals among which 1,3-propanediol are produced from biodiesel-derived raw glycerol feedstock . In this chapter, we report on recent achievements in the production of 1,3-propanediol from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol including a detailed literature review on the biotechnological processes developed and the strategies employed for yields improvement. The bottlenecks of these biorefinery processes are also discussed