Search results for "Tumor necrosis factor."

Update on the principles and novel local and systemic therapies for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis.

2012

Ocular inflammatory disorders constitute a sight-threatening group of diseases that might be managed according to their severity. Their treatment guidelines experience constant changes with new agents that improve the results obtained with former drugs. Nowadays we can make use of a five step protocol in which topical, periocular and systemic corticosteroids remain as the main therapy for non-infectious uveitis. In addition, immunosuppresive drugs can be added in order to enhance the anti-inflammatory effects and to play the role of corticosteroid-sparing agents. These can be organized in four other steps: cyclosporine and methotrexate in a second one; azathioprine, mycophenolate and tacrol…

Investigational agents for Crohn's disease.

2010

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: Increased understanding of the biological mechanisms of Crohn's disease has opened the door to a large number of new molecules; some of these are approved for clinical use, while others remain under evaluation. In this review, we examine the clinical efficacy of all the new drugs that have been evaluated in controlled trials in the last 12 years. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: Anti-TNF therapy has been reviewed briefly, given the many comprehensive reviews on this topic; attention is focused mainly on the other biological therapies. In assessing the clinical efficacy of these molecules, we consider only the remission rate, as this is considered the most meaningful en…

FRI0613 H-ferritin and pro-inflammatory cytokines are increased in the bone marrow of adult patients affected by macrophage activation syndrome

2017

Background During macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), an inflammatory life-threatening syndrome, extremely high levels of serum ferritin may be observed [1]. Ferritin is an intracellular iron storage protein comprising 24 subunits that may be divided in heavy (H) subunits and light (L) subunits, based on their molecular weight [2]. The H-/L-subunits ratio may change, depending on the specific tissue and the physiologic status of the cell. In the normal condition, ferritin enriched in L subunits (L-ferritin) has been found in the liver and in the spleen, whereas the ferritin enriched in H subunits (H-ferritin), may be mainly observed in the heart and kidneys [2]. Objectives We investigated…

P611 Outcome in ulcerative colitis after switch from subcutaneous anti-TNF to intravenous anti-TNF: A multicentre study

2018

Mitochondrial complex I impairment in leukocytes from polycystic ovary syndrome patients with insulin resistance.

2009

Insulin resistance is a feature of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and is related to mitochondrial function.Our objective was to assess mitochondrial function by evaluating mitochondrial oxygen (O(2)) consumption, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, levels of glutathione (GSH), the oxidized glutathione/GSH ratio, TNFalpha levels, and membrane potential. Additionally, we have evaluated mitochondrial complex I as a target of the oxidative stress responsible for PCOS in polymorphonuclear cells.This was a prospective controlled study conducted in an academic medical center.The study population consisted of 20 lean reproductive-age women with PCOS and 20 body composition-matched controls.…

Human antiphospholipid antibodies induce TNFα in monocytes via Toll-like receptor 8

2009

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by recurrent arterial and/or venous thromboses, pregnancy loss and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). One of the discussed mechanisms of this thrombotic activity in APS patients is attributed to TNFalpha secretion in monocytes after aPL stimulation. To investigate this mechanism in detail, we employed a monoclonal aPL and IgG fractions of APS patients for stimulation of human peripheral monocytes. Stimulation with this monoclonal aPL resulted in an increased expression and secretion of TNFalpha, caused by specific upregulation of TLR8 mRNA and protein expression levels. To confirm the specificity of this finding we could d…

Effect of Soluble Interleukin-6 Receptor on Interleukin-6 Synthesis in Human Skin Fibroblasts

1996

Abstract In this study the ability of soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R) to stimulate interleukin-6 (IL-6) synthesis in human fibroblasts is described. It was found that sIL-6R, in combination with endogenous or exogenous IL-6, markedly upregulated IL-6 synthesis. These data suggest that increased IL-6 production after stimulation by either interleukin-1 or tumor necrosis factor-α would result in complex formation with sIL-6R, rapid uptake, and further synthesis of this cytokine. Furthermore, it would explain the decrease in sIL-6R plasma levels observed in patients suffering from sepsis.

Infliximab and ulcerative colitis

2006

Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2006 Apr;6(4):401-8. Infliximab and ulcerative colitis. Cottone M, Mocciaro F, Modesto I. Università di Palermo, Istituto di Medicina Generale e Pneumologia, Via Trabucco 180, Palermo, Italy. dickens@tin.it Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is an inflammatory cytokine that plays a main role in the inflammatory process underlying inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Despite the fact that the cytokine profiles associated with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are classically considered different (a Th2 pattern in UC and a Th1 pattern in CD), there are several evidences in vitro and in vivo that TNF-alpha has an important role in UC. For this reason, inflixi…

Induction of dendritic cell maturation and modulation of dendritic cell-induced immune responses by prostaglandins

2000

Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. In this study we investigated the effects of various prostaglandins (PG) on the stimulatory capacity of DC. DC were generated from peripheral progenitor cells in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF and stimulated with IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha on day 7. Simultaneously, PG (PGD(2), PGE(1), PGE(2), PGF(2 alpha), PGI(2)) were added at various concentrations (10(-5) to 10(-9) M) on day 7. In all experiments, PGE(2) had the most potent influence on the maturation of the DC, followed by other PG in the order PGE(1) > PGD(2) > PGF(2 alpha) > PGI(2). In addition, the expression of the surface molecules CD40, CD54, CD…

Modulation of IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-4 production in mice of different ages by thymopentin

1992

The effect of an immunomodulator drug thymopentin (TP5) on the production of various cytokines (IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, TNF-alpha) in mice of different ages has been studied. TP5 enhanced IL-2, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma production but reduced the IL-4 secretion by splenocytes from aged mice (greater than 120 week old) in vitro. However, it had no effect on the IL-2, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha or IL-4 production by splenocytes from young and adult mice. TP5 injected subcutaneously was able to induce high levels of IL-2 production by splenocytes from all groups of mice. The TP5 effect on TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma was similar, even though it was significant only in old mice. Furthermore, TP5 was able to …