In the present study the formation of lipid soluble metabolites from 3H-aldosterone was investigated in vitro in isolated kidneys and kidney and liver slices of Sprague Dawley rats. The steroids were separated by HPLC (forward and reversed phase systems) and detected on-line as UV- or 3H-chromatograms. Apart from an unenzymatically formed substance, isoaldosterone, three less polar metabolites ...

Clostridium difficile toxin B (269 kDa), which is one of the causative agents of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis, inactivates Rho GTPases by glucosylation. Here we studied the uptake and membrane interaction of the toxin with eukaryotic target cells. Bafilomycin A1, which prevents acidification of endosomal compartments, blocked the cellular uptake of toxin B in Chin...

Adenosine is a proangiogenic purine nucleoside released from ischemic and hypoxic tissues. Of the 4 adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3), the A2 and A3 have been previously linked to the modulation of angiogenesis. We used the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model to determine whether A1 AR activation affects angiogenesis. We cloned and pharmacologically characterized ...

AIM The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of neem leaf extract (NLE) supplementation on immunological response and pathology of different lymphoid organs in experimentally Escherichia coli challenged broiler chickens. MATERIALS AND METHODS For this study, we procured 192-day-old broiler chicks from local hatchery and divided them into Groups A and Group B containing 96 birds...

OBJECTIVE Familial clustering of juvenile autoimmune liver disease (AILD), including autoimmune hepatitis and autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis (ASC), is rare, despite a high prevalence of autoimmune disorders in AILD families. METHODS To investigate this discrepancy, we measured autoantibodies diagnostic for AILD, anti-nuclear, anti-smooth muscle, anti-liver kidney microsomal type 1, anti-li...

Adenosine is a proangiogenic purine nucleoside released from ischemic and hypoxic tissues. Of the 4 adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3), the A2 and A3 have been previously linked to the modulation of angiogenesis. We used the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model to determine whether A1 AR activation affects angiogenesis. We cloned and pharmacologically characterized ...

Sir, – Neuromyelitis optica is a relapsingremitting autoimmune disease associated with the anti-aquaporin-4 antibody (NMOIgG) and complement-mediated perivascular inflammation disease on pathology [1]. Although not specific for NMO, complement deposition is characteristic of the humoral immunopathogenesis. Empiric and laboratory evidence for the involvement of the NMO-IgG as a harmful pathogeni...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to establish the prevalence and characteristics of anti-HLA in antibody acquired aplastic anemia patients following cessation of antithymocyte globulin therapy and to characterize antibody in terms of epitope specificity. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS One hundred and fifty multitransfused, untransplanted patients from eight European centers were investigated by serologi...