Deadly combination

Macrophages and nitric oxide: A deadly combination

Mixed signals? The immunology field got a hint that NO might be a host product in 1985, when Michael Marletta and his graduate student Dennis Stuehr at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found an ex cess of nitrate in the urine of bacterially infected mice (1). To find its source, the researchers focused on macrophages, immune cells that help defend against infections. Meanwhile, at the ...

Deadly combination: Clostridium septicum and colorectal malignancy.

Gas gangrene is a life-threatening, necrotising soft tissue infection. Colorectal malignancy-associated Clostridiumsepticum is a rare cause of gas gangrene. This case outlines an initial presentation of colonic malignancy as gas gangrene from C.septicum infection.A 69-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation. Abdominal X-ray revealed dilated small bowel loops. Lacta...

Venous thromboembolism, age and hospitalisation: A potentially deadly combination.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of hospitalisation and is associated with morbidity and mortality (1, 2). The annual incidence of VTE increases sharply with age (3). Thus, as the population ages the health burden associated with VTE is expected to grow dramatically. Many studies have identified highrisk groups of surgical and acutely ill medical patients who benefit from a...

ATP and potassium ions: a deadly combination for astrocytes

The ATP release channel Pannexin1 (Panx1) is self-regulated, i.e. the permeant ATP inhibits the channel from the extracellular space. The affinity of the ATP binding site is lower than that of the purinergic P2X7 receptor allowing a transient activation of Panx1 by ATP through P2X7R. Here we show that the inhibition of Panx1 by ATP is abrogated by increased extracellular potassium ion concentra...

The Costs and Impacts of a Deadly Combination