The chemical specificity of the colchicine-binding site of tubulin is less stringent for the presence of the B-ring than the A- and C-rings of colchicine, Colchicine analogues with modifications in the B-ring bind to tubulin at the same site as colchicine. Analogues with smaller or no substituents in the B-ring bind tubulin remarkably faster than colchicine. Thus, a compound without the B-ring ...

background: familial mediterranean fever (fmf) has episodic or subclinical inflammation that may lead to a decrease in bone mineral density (bmd). the objective of this study was to assess bmd in egyptian children with fmf on genetic basis. methods: a cross sectional study included 45 fmf patients and 25 control children of both sexes in the age range between 3-16 years old. the patients were r...

The functional significance of fibrin deposits typically seen in inflammatory lesions, carcinomas and in healing wounds is not fully understood. In the present study, we demonstrate that fibrinogen/fibrin specifically bound to native Col I (collagen type I) and used the Col I fibre network as a base to provide a functional interface matrix that connects cells to the Col I fibres through αVβ3 in...

Endothelial dysfunction, considered as a defective vascular dilatation after certain stimuli, is characteristic of different pathological conditions, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, or diabetes. A decreased synthesis or an increased degradation of nitric oxide (NO) has been postulated as the mechanism responsible for this alteration. The present experiments were designed to test the hypo...

We report a case of colchicine-induced myopathy related to short-term, customary administration of colchicine. A 49-year-old male was admitted because of muscle weakness and myalgia that had developed 10 days previously. He had received renal transplantation 5 years previously and took cyclosporine as an immunosuppressant. Two weeks before admission, gout was developed and he took colchicine (1...

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that colchicine is an effective treatment of psoriatic arthritis. METHODS Twenty five patients with psoriatic arthritis were entered into a two centre, double blind, crossover study of 23 weeks' duration comparing the therapeutic effect of colchicine (0.6-1.8 mg/day) with placebo. RESULTS No significant difference was noted between colchicine or placebo trea...

Aims: We evaluated whether urinary excretion of type IV collagen (U-COL) may predict an increase in the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and what factors regulate U-COL in 145 normoalbuminuric patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We measured HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 at start of this st...

Colchicine overdose is rare but potentially a life threatening toxicological emergency. The severity of colchicine toxicity does not necessarily correlate with the amount of colchicine ingested and may depend on co-ingested agents. Some patients require intensive care. We report two cases of colchicine overdose with unusual presentations requiring intensive care. Case 1: A 37-year-old man took ...

RATIONALE Considerable evidence shows atherosclerosis to be a chronic inflammatory disease in which immunity to self-antigens contributes to disease progression. We recently identified the collagen type V [col(V)] α1(V) chain as a key autoantigen driving the Th17-dependent cellular immunity underlying another chronic inflammatory disease, obliterative bronchiolitis. Because specific induction o...

The mechanism whereby organisms interact and differentiate between others has been at the forefront of scientific inquiry, particularly in humans and certain animals. It is widely accepted that plants also interact, but the degree of this interaction has been constricted to competition for space, nutrients, water and light. Here, we analyzed the root secreted metabolites and proteins involved i...