Search results for "inflammation"

Do Intestinal Unicellular Parasites Have a Role in the Inflammatory and Redox Status among the Severely Obese?

2022

The diagnosis of obesity comprises subjects with totally different phenotypes and metabolic profiles. Systemic inflammation and oxidative stress derived from the white adipose tissue are suggested as the link between this disease and the development of insulin resistance and metabolic comorbidities. The presence of unicellular eukaryotic parasites colonizing the human gut ecosystem is a common circumstance, and yet their influence on the inflammatory and redox status of the obese host has not been assessed. Herein, a set of inflammatory and redox biomarkers were assessed together with a parasitological analysis of 97 severely obese subjects. Information was also collected on insulin resista…

Neutralization of interleukin-18 reduces severity in murine colitis and intestinal IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha production.

2001

Interleukin (IL)-18, initially described as interferon (IFN)-gamma-inducing factor, is expressed in the inflamed mucosa of patients with Crohn's disease. To investigate the role of IL-18 in intestinal inflammation, the effect of neutralizing antimurine IL-18 antiserum in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice was examined. During a dose response of DSS, levels of colonic IL-18 increased parallel with clinical worsening. With the use of confocal laser microscopy, the increased IL-18 was localized to the intestinal epithelial layer. Anti-IL-18 treatment resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of the severity of colitis in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Colon sho…

Dynamic deformation of migratory efferent lymph-derived cells ?trapped? in the inflammatory microcirculation

2002

The cellular immune response depends on the delivery of lymphocytes from the lymph node to the peripheral site of antigenic challenge. During their passage through the inflammatory microcirculaton, the migratory cells can become transiently immobilized or "trapped" in small caliber vessels. In this report, we used intravital microscopy and temporal area mapping to define the dynamic deformation of efferent lymph-derived mononuclear cells trapped in the systemic inflammatory microcirculation. Mononuclear cells obtained from the efferent lymph draining the oxazolone-stimulated microcirculation were labeled with fluorescent dye and reinjected into the feeding arterial circulation. Intravital v…

TLR4 abrogates the Th1 immune response through IRF1 and IFN-β to prevent immunopathology during L. infantum infection

2020

A striking feature of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is chronic inflammation in the spleen and liver, and VL patients present increased production levels of multiple inflammatory mediators, which contribute to tissue damage and disease severity. Here, we combined an experimental model with the transcriptional profile of human VL to demonstrate that the TLR4-IFN-β pathway regulates the chronic inflammatory process and is associated with the asymptomatic form of the disease. Tlr4-deficient mice harbored fewer parasites in their spleen and liver than wild-type mice. TLR4 deficiency enhanced the Th1 immune response against the parasite, which was correlated with an increased activation of de…

Redox Properties, Bioactivity and Health Effects of Indicaxanthin, a Bioavailable Phytochemical from Opuntia ficus indica, L.: A Critical Review of A…

2022

Phytochemicals from plant foods are considered essential to human health. Known for their role in the adaptation of plants to their environment, these compounds can induce adaptive responses in cells, many of which are directed at maintaining the redox tone. Indicaxanthin is a long-known betalain pigment found in the genus Opuntia of cactus pear and highly concentrated in the edible fruits of O. ficus indica, L. whose bioactivity has been overlooked until recently. This review summarizes studies conducted so far in vitro and in vivo, most of which have been performed in our laboratory. The chemical and physicochemical characteristics of Indicaxanthin are reflected in the molecule’s reducing…

Anti-inflammatory effects of sicilian pistachio (pistacia vera l.) Nut in an in vitro model of human intestinal epithelium

2015

Intestinal epithelial cells play an important role in the mucosal inflammatory response. These cells synthesize and secrete inflammatory mediators, and selectively modulate the permeability of the epithelial monolayer thus exposing immune cells to antigens. Although intestinal inflammatory response is crucial to maintain gut structural integrity and function, alteration and dysregulation of inflammatory pathways contribute to tissue damage and ulceration, and are thought to be pivotal factors in the pathogenesis of different inflammatory gut diseases [1]. The limited efficacy of conventional pharmacological therapy in the intestinal inflammatory conditions has fostered research on alternati…

Anti-inflamamtory effects of Sicilian pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) nut in an in vitro model of human intestinal epithelium

2013

LEMON-DERIVED EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES EXERT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS BY INHIBITING THE ERK/NF-KB PATHWAY

2021

nflammation can be the leading cause of several diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and ulcerative colitis; however, the existing anti-inflammatory drugs cause side effects. For these reasons, it is necessary to find new supportive therapeutic agents. In recent years, plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) are gaining increasing interest in the scientific community as they have been found to possess a variety of biological properties; among those, the anti-inflammatory effects have been described by different groups that evaluated the effects of PDEVs in in vitro and in vivo models. We successfully isolated and characterized extracellular vesicles from Citrus limon juice (LEVs) and …

Development of polymer-based nanoparticles for Zileuton delivery to the lung : PMeOx and PMeOzi surface chemistry reduces interactions with mucins

2021

In this paper, two amphiphilic graft copolymers were synthesized by grafting polylactic acid (PLA) as hydrophobic chain and poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PMeOx) or poly(2-methyl-2-oxazine) (PMeOzi) as hydrophilic chain, respectively, to a backbone of α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-D,L-aspartamide (PHEA). These original graft copolymers were used to prepare nanoparticles delivering Zileuton in inhalation therapy. Among various tested methods, direct nanoprecipitation proved to be the best technique to prepare nanoparticles with the smallest dimensions, the narrowest dimensional distribution and a spherical shape. To overcome the size limitations for administration by inhalation, the nano-into-micr…

Core Cross-Linked Polymeric Micelles for Specific Iron Delivery: Inducing Sterile Inflammation in Macrophages.

2021

Iron is an essential co-factor for cellular processes. In the immune system, it can activate macrophages and represents a potential therapeutic for various diseases. To specifically deliver iron to macrophages, iron oxide nanoparticles are embedded in polymeric micelles of reactive polysarcosine-block-poly(S-ethylsulfonyl-l-cysteine). Upon surface functionalization via dihydrolipoic acid, iron oxide cores act as crosslinker themselves and undergo chemoselective disulfide bond formation with the surrounding poly(S-ethylsulfonyl-l-cysteine) block, yielding glutathione-responsive core cross-linked polymeric micelles (CCPMs). When applied to primary murine and human macrophages, these nanoparti…