0000000000471677
AUTHOR
Ken Ichi Yamamura
Interferon-γ Induces Chronic Active Myocarditis and Cardiomyopathy in Transgenic Mice
Chronic heart failure is associated with an activation of the immune system characterized among other factors by the cardiac synthesis and serum expression of proinflammatory cytokines. There is unequivocal clinical and experimental evidence that the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha is involved in the development of chronic heart failure, but a putative cardiotoxic potential of the proinflammatory cytokine interferon (IFN)-gamma remains primarily unknown. To investigate this issue we analyzed the cardiac phenotype of SAP-IFN-gamma transgenic mice, which constitutively express IFN-gamma in their livers and hence exhibit high circulating serum levels of this cytokine. SAP-IFN-gamma mice s…
IFN? expression inhibits LHBs storage disease and ground glass hepatocyte appearance, but exacerbates inflammation and apoptosis in HBV surface protein-accumulating transgenic livers
BACKGROUND/AIMS Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) controls hepatitis B virus replication. As systemic application may cause severe adverse effects, approaches of liver-directed IFNgamma gene therapy may represent an attractive alternative for treatment of chronic viral hepatitis B and thus needs testing in vivo in suitable animal models. METHODS We therefore crossbred Alb-1HBV transgenic mice overexpressing the large HBV surface protein (LHBs) in their livers and developing LHBs storage disease and ground glass hepatocyte appearance with SAP-IFNgamma transgenic animals previously shown to exhibit constitutive hepatic IFNgamma expression, and analyzed the resulting double-transgenic offspring. RES…
Chronic inflammatory IFN-γ signaling suppresses hepatocarcinogenesis in mice by sensitizing hepatocytes for apoptosis.
Abstract Chronic liver inflammation is a critical component of hepatocarcinogenesis. Indeed, inflammatory mediators are believed to promote liver cancer by upholding compensatory proliferation of hepatocytes in response to tissue damage. However, inflammation can also mediate the depletion of malignant cells, but the difference between tumor-suppressive and tumor-promoting inflammation is not defined at the molecular level. Here, we analyzed the role of the major inflammatory mediator IFN-γ in chemical hepatocarcinogenesis of transgenic mice that overexpress IFN-γ in the liver; these mice manifest severe chronic inflammatory liver damage and lasting compensatory regeneration. We found that …