By virtue of their position at the crossroads between the innate and adaptive immune
response, macrophages play an essential role in the control of bacterial infections …

Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is one of the underlying mechanisms in
cardiovascular diseases. Cathepsin cysteine proteases have a central role in ECM …

The endosomes and lysosomes of antigen-presenting cells host the processing and
assembly reactions that result in the display of peptides on major histocompatibility complex …

In response to Toll-like receptor ligands, dendritic cells (DCs) dramatically enhance their
antigen presentation capacity by stabilizing at the cell-surface MHC II molecules. We …

Phagocytosis, the process by which cells engulf large particles, requires a substantial
contribution of membranes. Recent studies have revealed that intracellular compartments …

Human cysteine cathepsins form a family of eleven proteases (B, C, F, H, K, L, O, S, V, W,
X/Z) that play important roles in a considerable number of biological and pathophysiological …

Presentation of peptide antigens by MHC-II proteins is prerequisite to effective CD4 T cell
tolerance to self and to recognition of foreign antigens. Antigen uptake and processing …

Since the last century, advances in healthcare, housing, and education have led to an
increase in life expectancy. Longevity is accompanied by a higher prevalence of age-related …

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules present peptide antigens to T
lymphocytes and initiate immune responses. The peptides loaded onto MHC class I or MHC …

Stepwise degradation of the invariant chain (Ii) is required for the binding of antigenic
peptides to MHC class II molecules. Cathepsin (Cat) L in the murine thymus and Cat S in …