Medical Sciences Commons^™

Alterations In Gene Array Patterns In Dendritic Cells From Aged Humans, Jia-Ning Cao, Anshu Agrawal, Edward Sharman, Zhenyu Jia, Sudhir Gupta

Zhenyu Jia

Dendritic cells (DCs) are major antigen-presenting cells that play a key role in initiating and regulating innate and adaptive immune responses. DCs are critical mediators of tolerance and immunity. The functional properties of DCs decline with age. The purpose of this study was to define the age-associated molecular changes in DCs by gene array analysis using Affymatrix GeneChips. The expression levels of a total of 260 genes (1.8%) were significantly different (144 down-regulated and 116 upregulated) in monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) from aged compared to young human donors. Of the 260 differentially expressed genes, 24% were down-regulated by more than 3-fold, …

Inhibition Of Sterile Danger Signals, Uric Acid And Atp, Prevents Inflammasome Activation And Protects From Alcoholic Steatohepatitis In Mice., Arvin Iracheta-Vellve, Jan Petrasek, Abhishek Satishchandran, Benedek Gyongyosi, Banishree Saha, Karen Kodys, Katherine Fitzgerald, Evelyn Kurt-Jones, Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo

Background & Aims: The inflammasome is a well-characterized inducer of inflammation in alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). Inflammasome activation requires two signals for mature interleukin (IL)-1β production. Here we asked whether metabolic danger signals trigger inflammasome activation in ASH.

Results:The sterile danger signals, ATP and uric acid, were increased in the serum and liver of alcohol-fed mice. Depletion of uric acid or ATP, or lack of ATP signaling attenuated ASH and prevented inflammasome activation and its major downstream cytokine, IL-1β. Pharmacological depletion of uric acid with allopurinol provided significant protection from alcohol-induced inflammatory response, steatosis and liver damage, and additional protection was …

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.

Natural Killer Cells In Patients With Severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ekua Brenu, Sharni Hardcastle, Gunn Atkinson, Mieke Van Driel, Sanne Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Kevin Ashton, Don Staines, Sonja Marshall-Gradisnik

Kevin Ashton

Maintenance of health and physiological homeostasis is a synergistic process involving tight regulation of proteins, transcription factors and other molecular processes. The immune system consists of innate and adaptive immune cells that are required to sustain immunity. The presence of pathogens and tumour cells activates innate immune cells, in particular Natural Killer (NK) cells. Stochastic expression of NK receptors activates either inhibitory or activating signals and results in cytokine production and activation of pathways that result in apoptosis of target cells. Thus, NK cells are a necessary component of the immunological process and aberrations in their functional processes, including equivocal …