Clinical anxiety, cortisol and interleukin-6: evidence for specificity in emotion-biology relationships. O’Donovan A, Hughes BM, Slavich GM, Lynch L, Cronin MT, O’Farrelly C, Malone KM. October 2010 Abstract Anxiety confers increased risk for inflammatory diseases, and elevated inflammatory activity in anxious individuals may contribute to this increased risk. One complication, however, is that anxiety could be associated with inflammatory activity either

Natural killer cells in obesity: impaired function and increased susceptibility to the effects of cigarette smoke O’Shea D, Cawood TJ, O’Farrelly C, Lynch L. January 2010 Abstract Background: Obese individuals who smoke have a 14 year reduction in life expectancy. Both obesity and smoking are independently associated with increased risk of malignancy. Natural killer cells (NK) are critical mediators of anti-tumour immunity

The A2aR adenosine receptor controls cytokine production in iNKT cells. Nowak M, Lynch L, Yue S, Ohta A, Sitkovsky M, Balk SP, Exley MA. March 2010 Abstract The purine nucleoside adenosine is an important anti-inflammatory molecule, inhibiting a variety of immune cells by adenosine receptor-mediated mechanisms. Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells recognize glycolipids presented on CD1d molecules and produce vigorous amounts of

Invariant NKT cells and CD1d(+) cells amass in human omentum and are depleted in patients with cancer and obesity Lynch L, O’Shea D, Winter DC, Geoghegan J, Doherty DG, O’Farrelly C. July 2009 Abstract Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells recognize lipid antigens presented by CD1d and respond rapidly by killing tumor cells and release cytokines that activate and regulate adaptive immune

Are natural killer cells protecting the metabolically healthy obese patient? Lynch L, O’Connell JM, Kwasnik AK, Cawood TJ, O’Farrelly C, O’Shea DB. March 2009 Abstract With the emerging obesity pandemic, identifying those who appear to be protected from adverse consequences such as type 2 diabetes and certain malignancies will become important. We propose that the circulating immune system plays a

Changes in endometrial natural killer cell expression of CD94, CD158a and CD158b are associated with infertility McGrath E, Ryan EJ, Lynch L, Golden-Mason L, Mooney E, Eogan M, O’Herlihy C, O’Farrelly C. April 2009 Abstract Problem: Cycle-dependent fluctuations in natural killer (NK) cell populations in endometrium and circulation may differ, contributing to unexplained infertility. Method of study: NK cell phenotypes were determined by

Detection and characterization of hemopoietic stem cells in the adult human small intestine. Lynch L, O’Donoghue D, Dean J, O’Sullivan J, O’Farrelly C, Golden-Mason L. May 2006 Abstract The concept of lymphoid differentiation in the human gastrointestinal tract is controversial but is the focus of this study, which examined adult human small intestinal tissue for the presence of CD34(+)CD45(+) hemopoietic