Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Treatment Of Obesity: Weight Loss And Bariatric Surgery, Bruce M. Wolfe, Elizaveta Walker, Robert H. Eckel

Elizaveta Walker

Adiposity Is Associated With Early Reduction In Bone Mass In Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Nithya Setty-Shah, Louise S. Maranda, Benjamin U. Nwosu

Benjamin U. Nwosu

Background: The effect of adiposity on bone mass in the early phases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children and adolescents is unclear.

Aims: To determine the role of adiposity on bone mass in the first 3 years of diagnosis of IBD.

Hypothesis: Increased adiposity will be associated with increased bone mass in both the controls and IBD subjects.

Setting: University tertiary institution.

Methods: Height-adjusted bone mineral density (BMD) z-scores of 25 subjects, age 13.97 ± 2.70y, diagnosed with IBD for < 4 years were compared to 24 controls, age 13.65 ± 2.60y. Overweight was defined as BMI of ≥85^th but <95^th percentile, and obesity as BMI ≥95^thpercentile. Severity of IBD was determined by the Pediatric …

Osteopontin: A Bridge Between Bone And The Immune System, Ellen M. Gravallese

Ellen M. Gravallese

The molecular mechanisms underlying the putative role of osteopontin in the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis are unclear. A study in a murine model of arthritis now demonstrates that a specific antibody directed against the exposed osteopontin epitope SLAYGLR is capable of preventing inflammatory cell infiltration in arthritic joints.

Critical Roles For Interleukin 1 And Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha In Antibody-Induced Arthritis, Hong Ji, Allison Pettit, Koichiro Ohmura, Adriana Ortiz-Lopez, Veronique Duchatelle, Claude Degott, Ellen M. Gravallese, Diane Mathis, Christophe Benoist

Ellen M. Gravallese

In spontaneous inflammatory arthritis of K/BxN T cell receptor transgenic mice, the effector phase of the disease is provoked by binding of immunoglobulins (Igs) to joint surfaces. Inflammatory cytokines are known to be involved in human inflammatory arthritis, in particular rheumatoid arthritis, although, overall, the pathogenetic mechanisms of the human affliction remain unclear. To explore the analogy between the K/BxN model and human patients, we assessed the role and relative importance of inflammatory cytokines in K/BxN joint inflammation by transferring arthritogenic serum into a panel of genetically deficient recipients. Interleukin (IL)-1 proved absolutely necessary. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha was also …

Chronic Alcohol-Induced Microrna-155 Contributes To Neuroinflammation In A Tlr4-Dependent Manner In Mice, Dora Lippai, Shashi Bala, Timea Csak, Evelyn A. Kurt-Jones, Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol-induced neuroinflammation is mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP1) and interleukin-1-beta (IL-1beta). Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) pathway induced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation is involved in the pathogenesis of alcohol-induced neuroinflammation. Inflammation is a highly regulated process. Recent studies suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial role in fine tuning gene expression and miR-155 is a major regulator of inflammation in immune cells after TLR stimulation. AIM: To evaluate the role of miR-155 in the pathogenesis of alcohol-induced neuroinflammation. METHODS: Wild type (WT), miR-155- and TLR4-knockout (KO) mice received 5% ethanol-containing or isocaloric …

Selective Effects Of Intrinsic A2aar Activity On Cardiac And Coronary Injuries With Lps Challenge, Melissa Reichelt, Kevin Ashton, S Mustafa, B Tang, Catherine Ledent, Xing Tan, John Headrick, R Morrison

Kevin Ashton

We assessed the impact of A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAR) knockout (KO) on LPS-triggered cardiovascular injuries, inflammation, gene expression and mortality. LPS precipitated cardiac injury, with 7-fold elevations in serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and 25–35% reductions in ventricular contractility. Coronary dysfunction was evident as a 20% reduction in reactive hyperaemic flows. A2AAR KO augmented cTnI release 3-fold without modifying ventricular dysfunction. Coronary effects of LPS and A2AAR KO were identical, and LPS no longer modified hyperaemia in A2AAR KO hearts. Effects of A2AAR activity were largely independent of shifts in acute phase reactants (CRP, haptoglobin) and circulating cytokines. Thus, up …

Cardiovascular Adenosine Receptors: Expression, Actions And Interactions, John Headrick, Kevin Ashton, Roselyn Rose'meyer, Jason Peart

Kevin Ashton

Intra- and extracellular adenosine levels rise in response to physiological stimuli and with metabolic/energetic perturbations, inflammatory challenge and tissue injury. Extracellular adenosine engages members of the G-protein coupled adenosine receptor (AR) family to mediate generally beneficial acute and adaptive responses within all constituent cells of the heart. In this way the four AR sub-types—A1, A2A, A2B, and A3Rs—regulate myocardial contraction, heart rate and conduction, adrenergic control, coronary vascular tone, cardiac and vascular growth, inflammatory–vascular cell interactions, and cellular stress-resistance, injury and death. The AR sub-types exert both distinct and overlapping effects, and may interact in mediating these cardiovascular responses. The …

Reduction In Hepatic Inflammation Is Associated With Less Fibrosis Progression And Fewer Clinical Outcomes In Advanced Hepatitis C, Chihiro Morishima, Mitchell Shiffman, Jules Dienstag, Karen Lindsay, Gyongyi Szabo, Gregory Everson, Anna Lok, Adrian Di Bisceglie, Marc Ghany, Deepa Naishadham, Timothy Morgan, Elizabeth Wright

Gyongyi Szabo

OBJECTIVES:During the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis Trial, 3.5 years of maintenance peginterferon-alfa-2a therapy did not affect liver fibrosis progression or clinical outcomes among 1,050 previous interferon nonresponders with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. We investigated whether reduced hepatic inflammation was associated with clinical benefit in 834 patients with a baseline and follow-up biopsy 1.5 years after randomization to peginterferon or observation. METHODS:Relationships between change in hepatic inflammation (Ishak hepatic activity index, (HAI)) and serum alanine aminotransferase level, fibrosis progression and clinical outcomes after randomization, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA decline before and after randomization were evaluated. Histological …

Residential Traffic Exposure, Pulse Pressure, And C-Reactive Protein: Consistency And Contrast Among Exposure Characterization Methods, Christine L. Rioux, Katherine L. Tucker, Mkaya Mwamburi, David M. Gute, Steven A. Cohen, Doug Brugge

Katherine L. Tucker

Background: Traffic exposure may increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk via systemic inflammation and elevated blood pressure, two important clinical markers for managing disease progression. Objectives: We assessed degree and consistency of association between traffic exposure indicators as predictors of C-reactive protein (CRP) and pulse pressure (PP) in an adult U.S. Puerto Rican population (n = 1,017). Methods: Cross-sectional information on health and demographics and blood data was collected. Using multiple linear regression, we tested for associations between CRP, PP, and six traffic exposure indicators including residential proximity to roads with > 20,000 vehicles/day and traffic density [vehicle miles traveled per square …

A Recent Perspective On Alcohol, Immunity, And Host Defense, Gyongyi Szabo, Pranoti Mandrekar

Gyongyi Szabo

BACKGROUND: Multiple line of clinical and experimental evidence demonstrates that both acute, moderate, and chronic, excessive alcohol use result in various abnormalities in the functions of the immune system.

METHODS: Medline and PubMed databases were used to identify published reports with particular interest in the period of 2000-2008 in the subject of alcohol use, infection, inflammation, innate, and adaptive immunity.

RESULTS: This review article summarizes recent findings relevant to acute or chronic alcohol use-induced immunomodulation and its consequences on host defense against microbial pathogens and tissue injury. Studies with in vivo and in vitro alcohol administration are both discussed. The …

Spine Pathology And Disability At Lesbos, Greece, Anastasia Tsaliki

Dr Anastasia Tsaliki, PhD

No abstract provided.