Problem statement: Nutritional factors appear to be quite important in the pathogenesis and prognosis among patients of Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) or Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). Increased consumption of proinflammatory foods; such as refined starches and sugar, trans fat, saturated fat and w-6 fatty acids may increase proinflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress and free fatty acids ca...

The primary function of well-differentiated ciliated epithelium in the paranasal sinus is to eliminate harmful agents through the beating action of cilia. Respiratory epithelium also contributes to local inflammatory processes through the release of various proinflammatory cytokines. Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the intimate relationship between the cytokine-dependent re...

Infection and inflammation affect adipose triglyceride metabolism, resulting in increased plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and VLDL levels during the acute-phase response. Lipin-1, a multifunctional protein, plays a critical role in adipose differentiation, mitochondrial oxidation, and triglyceride synthesis. Here, we examined whether LPS [a Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 activator], zymosan (a TLR-2 a...

OBJECTIVE Insulin resistance and other features of the metabolic syndrome have been causally linked to adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) in mice with diet-induced obesity. We aimed to characterize macrophage phenotype and function in human subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue in relation to insulin resistance in obesity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Adipose tissue was obtained from lean and...

Patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection underwent liver biopsies and laboratory studies for evaluation and to determine subsequent treatment. Changes in status of drug metabolism and disposition may vary with chronic hepatitis C stage and should be assessed. Total RNA was extracted from liver biopsy specimens (n = 63) and reverse transcribed to yield cDNA. Relative mRNA levels of drug...

The accumulation of reactive microglia in the degenerating areas of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) tissue is a key cellular event creating a chronic inflammatory environment that results in motoneuron death. We have developed a new culture system that consists in rat spinal cord embryonic explants in which motoneurons migrate outside the explant, growing as a monolayer in the presence of g...

Type 2 diabetes is associated with significantly accelerated rates of macrovascular complications such as atherosclerosis. Emerging evidence now indicates that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease and that certain inflammatory markers may be key predictors of diabetic atherosclerosis. Proinflammatory cytokines and cellular adhesion molecules expressed by vascular and blood cells during st...

The ductal epithelium plays a key role in physiological secretion of pancreatic enzymes into the digestive system. Loss of barrier properties of the pancreatic duct may contribute to the development of pancreatitis and metastatic dissemination of pancreatic tumors. Proinflammatory cytokines are essential mediators of pancreatic inflammation and tumor progression; however, their effects on the i...

BACKGROUND Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) are proinflammatory cytokines that increased the development of Th1 immune response, but have a different type of regulation of the gene expression. Whereas TNF-α has an inducible expression, IL-18 is translated as an inactive protein and required proteolytic cleavage by Casp-1 in inflammasome complexes. AIM To investig...

Frankincense extracts and boswellic acids, biologically active pentacyclic triterpenes of frankincense, block leukotriene biosynthesis and exert potent anti-inflammatory effects. Screening for additional effects of boswellic acids on further proinflammatory pathways, we observed that acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid, an established direct, nonredox and noncompetitive 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor,...