Search results for "SORBENT"
showing 10 items of 635 documents
The prophenoloxidase system is activated during the tunic inflammatory reaction of Ciona intestinalis
2008
Phenoloxidase (PO) activity was examined in the tunic tissue of Ciona intestinalis following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intratunic injection. Tunic homogenate supernatant (THS), assayed with the Dopa-MBTH reaction, displayed Ca(2+)-independent PO activity that was raised by LPS and further enhanced by proteases. Specific inhibitors (tropolone, phenylthiourea, diethylthiocarbamate) supported the specificity of the reaction. Assay with soybean trypsin inhibitor showed that, in the tunic, PO activation with trypsin was not significantly inhibited suggesting that proteases diverse from serine proteases were involved. In vivo experiments were carried out by injecting isosmotic medium or LPS, and T…
Application of X-ray microanalysis to study of the expression of endothelial adhesion molecules on human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro
1994
A semi-quantitative procedure is described, which allows the evaluation of expression levels of endothelial adhesion molecules on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) using energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX). As a model two adhesion molecules, E-selection (CD62E; ELAM-1/endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1) and ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1; CD54), were localized by the use of the silver-enhancement colloidal gold method after stimulation of HUVEC with endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumour necrosis factor (TNF) or a phorbol ester (PMA). The analysis was performed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at an accelerating voltage of 15 kV wit…
Corynebacterium parvum (Propionibacterium acnes): an inducer of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and monocytes…
1990
The present study investigates the potential capacity of the immunostimulant Corynebacterium parvum (C.p.) to induce tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and blood monocytes (BMo) in vitro. Both at the mRNA and protein level, stimulation of PBMC and BMo upon C.p. induces TNF-alpha. Compared to the hitherto used TNF-alpha inducers in vitro such as Sendai virus, phytohemagglutinin or lipopolysaccharide the C.p. stimulus displayed a threefold stronger induction of TNF-alpha production (p less than 0.001). Using C.p. as an inducer it was possible to demonstrate that TNF-alpha production is regulated by prostaglandin E2; preincubation of the …
Plasma Pro-C3 (N-terminal type III collagen propeptide) predicts fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
2014
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Fibrogenesis results in release of certain extracellular matrix protein fragments into the circulation. We evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic performance of two novel serological markers, the precisely cleaved N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen (Pro-C3) and a peptide of helical collagen type III degradation (C3M), in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. METHOD: Pro-C3 and C3M were measured by ELISA in plasma from CHC patients (n = 194) from a prior phase II antifibrotic trial (NCT00244751). Plasma samples and paired liver biopsies were obtained at baseline and after 1-year. Patients were stratified according to Ishak stages 2-4. Internal cross-validation w…
IL-6 -174G/C polymorphism and IL-6 serum levels in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
2011
Recently, a link between high levels of circulating IL-6 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been proposed. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of the IL-6 gene have been reported to be related to several inflammatory-related conditions, including cancer. The purpose of this article is: (1) to evaluate the frequencies of SNPs in the IL-6 promoter region at position -174 and IL-6 serum levels in a group of patients with HCC and underlying liver cirrhosis (LC), and compare them with a group of LC patients without HCC; (2) to determine whether a possible correlation exists between the allelic variations, IL-6 serum levels, and the risk of developing HC…
Inhibition of cAMP Degradation Improves Regulatory T Cell-Mediated Suppression
2009
Abstract Naturally occurring regulatory T cells (nTreg cells) are crucial for the maintenance of peripheral tolerance. We have previously shown that a key mechanism of their suppressive action is based on a contact-dependent transfer of cAMP from nTreg cells to responder T cells. Herein, we further elucidate the important role of cAMP for the suppressive properties of nTreg cells. Prevention of cAMP degradation by application of the phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor rolipram led to strongly increased suppressive potency of nTreg cells for Th2 cells in vitro and in vivo. Detailed analyses revealed that rolipram caused, in the presence of nTreg cells, a synergistic increase of cAMP in responder T…
SeroGRID: an improved method for the rapid selection of antigens with disease related immunogenicity
2003
Screening of cDNA expression libraries derived from human tumors with autologous sera (SEREX) permits the definition of immunogenic antigens in individual cancer patients. However, only a minority of SEREX-derived cDNA clones show a clear cancer-relatedness in the sense that circulating autoantibodies to them occur exclusively in the sera of tumor patients but not in healthy individuals. Evaluation of multiple SEREX-defined clones in serological assays using panels of allogeneic sera from cancer patients as well as appropriate control groups is an important step towards focussing on the relevant antigens. This in turn is the basis for defining disease parameters of diagnostic and prognostic…
Analysis of cell-free human alpha1 integrin with a monoclonal antibody to the I-domain: detection in ocular fluid and function as an adhesion substra…
2002
The alpha1 beta1 integrin, an inserted (1) domain containing collagen receptor, is expressed in the cell surface membrane of normal and malignant cells, and may play a role in their migration through tissues or in metastatic spread. Here we report that a functional anti-human alpha1beta1 integrin monoclonal antibody (mAb) (1B3.1) directly and specifically binds plastic bound recombinant human alpha1 I-domain protein containing the collagen binding site. Detection was diminished by acidification of the I-domain protein but was enhanced by increasing concentrations of Mg2+ cation. Furthermore, we detected binding of the mAb to proteins from the ocular fluids of 6 patients, with the highest co…
Activation of MAP kinase signaling pathway in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis as biomarker of environmental pollution
2010
Stimulation of MAP kinase signal transduction pathway by various stressful stimuli was investigated in the marine bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis. Analyses were performed in animals exposed in laboratory to selected pollutants and in mussels collected in winter and summer along the eastern Adriatic coast (Croatia). Effects of oxidative stress, induced by tributyltin, hydrogen peroxide and water soluble fraction of diesel fuel on the activation/phosphorylation of the three Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) p38, JNK and ERK using a newly developed ELISA procedure were evaluated. MAP kinase activation was analyzed 1 h after exposure of mussels to chemical agents, and after recovery p…
The nucleotide excision repair protein XPC is essential for bulky DNA adducts to promote interleukin-6 expression via the activation of p38-SAPK
2016
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants, and many are potent carcinogens. Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), one of the best-studied PAHs, is metabolized ultimately to the genotoxin anti-B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE). BPDE triggers stress responses linked to gene expression, cell death and survival. So far, the underlying mechanisms that initiate these signal transduction cascades are unknown. Here we show that BPDE-induced DNA damage is recognized by DNA damage sensor proteins to induce activation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) p38. Surprisingly, the classical DNA damage response, which involves the kinases ATM and ATR, is not involved in p38-SA…