AA: alopecia areata RANK: receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa RANKL: receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa b ligand TNF: tumor necrosis factor INTRODUCTION In the last 2 decades, various biologic agents have been developed to treat autoimmune disorders. Along with their high clinical efficacy, these agents have been associated with several paradoxical proinflammatory or autoimmune r...

During the inflammatory response, endothelial cells (EC) transiently upregulate a set of genes encoding, among others, cell adhesion molecules and chemotactic cytokines that together mediate the interaction of the endothelium with cells of the immune system. Gene upregulation is mediated predominantly at the transcriptional level and in many cases involves the transcription factor nuclear facto...

Background and Aims: Diabetes mellitus causes testicular damage by increasing oxidative stress and inflammation. In the present study, modulation of oxidative stress by pioglitazone, a synthetic ligand of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, was examined in testis of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Diabetes was induced by a single dose of streptozot...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate involvement of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) in the increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) stimulated by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in primary rheumatoid synoviocytes. METHODS We treated early-passage rheumatoid synoviocytes with IL-1 beta and examined the time course of NF-kappa B translocation to the nucleus by Western blot ...

Transcription factor NF-κB and relevant cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 play a pivotal role in thepathogenesis of inflammation. Sinapic acid is a natural product and was demonstrated to possessanti-inflammatory activity. In this paper, we synthesized a series of sinapic acid derivativesand evaluated their anti-inflammatory effects. The result suggested that all of the targetscompounds 7a-j inhibit NF-κ...

Activation of endothelial cells by lipid oxidation products is a key event in the initiation and progression of the atherosclerotic lesion. Minimally modified low-density lipoprotein (MM-LDL) induces the expression of certain inflammatory molecules such as tissue factor (TF) in endothelial cells. This study examined intracellular signaling pathways leading to TF up-regulation by oxidized 1-palm...