To determine whether kinin receptor expression is regulated by kinins, prostaglandins, and/or nitric oxide (NO), rabbits were treated with a B1 receptor (B1R) antagonist, a B2 receptor (B2R) antagonist, a prostacyclin mimetic, or inhibitors of NO synthase, cyclooxygenase, or angiotensin-converting enzyme. The mRNA concentrations for B1R and B2R (multiplex RT-PCR) were measured in several organs...

Background and Purpose: Injection of arginine vasopressin into the cerebral ventricles in animals with brain injury increased brain water, whereas injection of atrial natriuretic peptide reduced water content. Therefore, to determine the role of endogenous arginine vasopressin in brain edema, we attempted to inhibit edema from a hemorrhagic lesion with an arginine vasopressin Vt receptor antago...

The normal flora furnishes the host with ecological barriers that prevent pathogen attack while maintaining tissue homeostasis. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) constitute a highly relevant model of microbial adaptation in which some patients infected with Escherichia coli develop acute pyelonephritis, while other patients with bacteriuria exhibit an asymptomatic carrier state similar to bacteri...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Injection of arginine vasopressin into the cerebral ventricles in animals with brain injury increased brain water, whereas injection of atrial natriuretic peptide reduced water content. Therefore, to determine the role of endogenous arginine vasopressin in brain edema, we attempted to inhibit edema from a hemorrhagic lesion with an arginine vasopressin V1 receptor antagon...

Introduction. Public healthcare urgently needs new pharmaceuticals – alternative to traditional antibiotics that pathogens develop no resistance to. Of special interest in this regard are antimicrobial, ribosomally synthesized bacterial peptides or bacteriocins. In work, we aimed study the structure and properties of antimicrobial produced by antagonist microorganisms isolated from natural obje...

Abstract During infection, the host utilizes multiple mechanisms to prevent colonization and dissemination. Protection begins at surface, often via commensal community found within our respiratory, skin, intestinal tract. Microbiota disruption reduces effectiveness of this protective barrier. Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is misdiagnosed as acquired bacterial pneumonia treated with antib...

Introduction and Aim: Proteus mirabilis is a Gram-negative bacterium that responsible for urinary tract infections (UTI), especially catheter-associated UTI. In this study, we investigated whether certain painkillers anti-inflammatory drugs, when used alongside antibiotics, could lower P. growth consequently resistance to antibiotics. Materials Methods: Urine samples (n=119) were collected from...

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by bacterial infection, or by sterile inflammatory insult is a primary trigger of spontaneous preterm birth. Here we utilize mouse models to investigate the efficacy of a novel small molecule TLR4 antagonist, (+)-naloxone, the non-opioid isomer of the opioid receptor antagonist (-)-naloxone, in infection-associated preterm birth. Treatment with (+)-naloxon...

Bacterial superantigens trigger an excessive, Th1-cytokine response leading to toxic shock. We designed a peptide antagonist that inhibits SEB-induced expression of human genes for IL-2, IFN-gamma, and TNF-beta, cytokines that mediate shock. The peptide antagonist shows homology to a beta-strand-hinge-alpha-helix domain that is conserved structurally in superantigens produced by Staphylococcus ...