Search results for " type II"
showing 10 items of 542 documents
Inducible nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic heart failure
1998
Abstract Objectives. The expression and localization of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS II) was evaluated as a source of NO which has been shown to affect muscle contraction. Background. Advanced stages of chronic heart failure are associated with systemic activation of cytokines which have been shown to stimulate the expression of NOS II in various cell types, including myocytes. We hypothesized that systemic cytokine activation could lead to expression of NOS II in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic heart failure. Methods. Skeletal muscle specimens were obtained by percutaneous needle biopsy in six normal volunteers and eight patients with heart failure (New York Heart Ass…
Spectrum of mutations and phenotypic expression in patients with autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia identified in Italy.
2013
Abstract Objective To determine the spectrum of gene mutations and the genotype–phenotype correlations in patients with Autosomal Dominant Hypercholesterolemia (ADH) identified in Italy. Methods The resequencing of LDLR , PCSK9 genes and a selected region of APOB gene were conducted in 1018 index subjects clinically heterozygous ADH and in 52 patients clinically homozygous ADH. The analysis was also extended to 1008 family members of mutation positive subjects. Results Mutations were detected in 832 individuals: 97.4% with LDLR mutations, 2.2% with APOB mutations and 0.36% with PCSK9 mutations. Among the patients with homozygous ADH, 51 were carriers of LDLR mutations and one was an LDLR / …
Expression and distribution of key enzymes of the cyclic GMP signaling in the human clitoris: relation to phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5)
2011
The clitoris contributes to the normal female sexual response cycle. A significance of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP) has been assumed in the control of clitoral vascular smooth muscle. As only a few investigations on the physiology of the vascular and non-vascular clitoral tissue have been carried out, knowledge on the mechanisms controlling this particular female genital organ is still vague. It has been suggested that human clitoral corpus cavernosum smooth muscle is regulated by nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic GMP and related key enzymes, such as NO synthases (NOSs) and the phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5). The present study evaluated in the human clitoris, by means of immunohistochemistr…
Cancer relapse under chemotherapy: why TLR2/4 receptor agonists can help.
2007
Liver or lung metastases usually relapse under chemotherapy. Such life-threatening condition urgently needs new, systemic anticancer compounds, with original and efficient mechanisms of action. In B16 melanoma mice treated with cyclophosphamide, D'Agostini et al. [D'Agostini, C., Pica, F., Febbraro, G., Grelli, S., Chiavaroli, C., Garaci, E., 2005. Antitumour effect of OM-174 and Cyclophosphamide on murine B16 melanoma in different experimental conditions. Int. Immunopharmacol. 5, 1205-1212.] recently found that OM-174, a chemically defined Toll-like receptor(TLR)2/4 agonist, reduces tumor progression and prolongs survival. Here we review 149 articles concerning molecular mechanisms of TLR2…
T cell killing by tolerogenic dendritic cells protects mice from allergy.
2011
It is well established that allergy development can be prevented by repeated low-dose exposure to contact allergens. Exactly which immune mechanisms are responsible for this so-called low zone tolerance (LZT) is not clear, although CD8⁺ suppressor T cells are known to have a role. Here, we show that TNF released by tolerogenic CD11⁺CD8⁺ DCs located in skin-draining lymph nodes is required and sufficient for development of tolerance to contact allergens in mice. DC-derived TNF protected mice from contact allergy by inducing apoptosis in allergen-specific effector CD8⁺ T cells via TNF receptor 2 but did not contribute to the generation and function of the regulatory T cells associated with LZ…
4-dimethylamino-3′,4′-dimethoxychalcone downregulates iNOS expression and exerts anti-inflammatory effects
2001
Abstract Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species contribute to the pathophysiology of inflammatory conditions. We have studied the effects of a novel superoxide scavenger, 4-dimethylamino-3′,4′-dimethoxychalcone (CH11) in macrophages and in vivo. CH11 has been shown to inhibit the chemiluminescence induced by zymosan in mouse peritoneal macrophages and the cytotoxic effects of superoxide. In the same cells, the modulation by superoxide of nitric oxide (NO) production in response to zymosan was investigated. CH11 was more effective than the membrane-permeable scavenger Tiron for inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression and nitrite production. We have shown that CH…
Differential in vitro Anti-HIV Activity of Natural Lignans
1990
Abstract Two naturally occurring lignanolides, isolated from the tropical climbing shrub Ipomoea cairica, (-)-arctigen in and (-)-trachelogen in , were found to inhibit strongly replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1; strain HTLV-III B) in vitro. At a concentration of 0.5 (μм , (-)-arctigenin and (-)-trachelogenin inhibited the expression of HIV-1 proteins p 17 and p24 by 80 -90 % and 60 -70 % , respectively. The reverse transcriptase activity in the culture fluids was reduced by 80 -90 % when the cells (HTLV-III B/H 9) were cultivated in the presence of 0.5 μм (-)-arctigen in or 1 μм (-)-trachelogenin . At the same concentrations, the formation of syncytia in the HTLV-I…
Influence of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein promoter polymorphism -493 GT on fasting plasma triglyceride values and interaction with treatm…
2005
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). Phenotypic expression is highly variable, being influenced by diet, age, gender, body mass index, apolipoprotein E genotype and type of LDL-receptor gene mutation. Microsomal triglyceride (TG) transfer protein (MTP) is a protein involved in lipid metabolism. Polymorphism MTP -493 GT has been shown to modulate lipid levels in several populations. To analyse the effect of this polymorphism in the lipid phenotype expression of FH and treatment response, we studied a sample of 222 Spanish FH patients, of whom 147 were studied before and after trea…
Genetic polymorphisms affecting the phenotypic expression in familial hypercholesterolemia
2004
The clinical expression of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is highly variable even in patients carrying the same LDL receptor (LDL-R) gene mutation. This variability might be due to environmental factors as well as to modifying genes affecting lipoprotein metabolism. We investigated Apo E (2, 3, 4), MTP (-493G/T), Apo B (-516C/T), Apo A-V (-1131T/C), HL (-514C/T and -250G/A), FABP-2 (A54T), LPL (D9N, N291S, S447X) and ABCA1 (R219K) polymorphisms in 221 unrelated FH index cases and 349 FH relatives with defined LDL-R gene mutations. We found a significant and independent effect of the following polymorphisms on: (i) plasma LDL-C (Apo E, MTP and Apo B); (ii) plasma HDL-C (HL, …
No association between Glu298Asp endothelial nitric oxide synthase polymorphism and Italian sporadic Alzheimer's disease.
2003
A great amount of evidence suggests that neuroinflammation may be a major pathogenetic mechanism in the pathophysiology of sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (sAD). Recently, polymorphisms in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) gene have been associated to late onset Alzheimer's Disease in a British population. However, other groups failed to replicate this finding in Asiatic and Caucasian populations. We conducted a case-control study including a clinically well-defined group of 149 sAD patients and 149 age and sex matched controls to test the association between NOS3 Glu298Asp polymorphism and sAD in an ethnically homogenous Italian population. All subjects were genotyped at NOS3 and a…