0000000000171785
AUTHOR
Heinz H. Köhler
Heterozygosity for the hemochromatosis gene in liver diseases - prevalence and effects on liver histology
:Background/Aims: The effect of heterozygosity for the C282Y mutation in the HFE hemochromatosis gene on iron accumulation and disease progression in liver disease patients is unclear. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of this mutation in 531 patients and 205 healthy controls. In addition, we assessed the influence of the mutation on liver histology in 34 C282Y heterozygous and 124 age-, sex- and disease-matched controls without the mutation using the modified HAI and Chevallier score. Results: The highest prevalence of the C282Y mutation was observed in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (17.2%, p<0.01) compared to 6.4% in healthy controls. Heterozygotes with hepatitis C and B virus …
TGF-beta regulates airway responses via T cells.
Abstract Allergic asthma is characterized by airway hyperreactivity, inflammation, and a Th2-type cytokine profile favoring IgE production. Beneficial effects of TGF-β and conflicting results regarding the role of Th1 cytokines have been reported from murine asthma models. In this study, we examined the T cell as a target cell of TGF-β-mediated immune regulation in a mouse model of asthma. We demonstrate that impairment of TGF-β signaling in T cells of transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative TGF-β type II receptor leads to a decrease in airway reactivity in a non-Ag-dependent model. Increased serum levels of IFN-γ can be detected in these animals. In contrast, after injection of OVA …
Impairment of TGF-β signaling in T cells increases susceptibility to experimental autoimmune hepatitis in mice
In autoimmune hepatitis, strong TGF-beta1 expression is found in the inflamed liver. TGF-beta overexpression may be part of a regulatory immune response attempting to suppress autoreactive T cells. To test this hypothesis, we determined whether impairment of TGF-beta signaling in T cells leads to increased susceptibility to experimental autoimmune hepatitis (EAH). Transgenic mice of strain FVB/N were generated expressing a dominant-negative TGF-beta type II receptor in T cells under the control of the human CD2 promoter/locus control region. On induction of EAH, transgenic mice showed markedly increased portal and periportal leukocytic infiltrations with hepatocellular necroses compared wit…