The chemokine receptor CXCR2 is involved in different inflammatory diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis; therefore, it is considered an attractive drug target. Different classes of small CXCR2 antagonists have been developed. In this study, we selected seven CXCR2 antagonists from the diarylurea, imidazolylpyrimide, and th...

Upon inflammation, circulating monocytes leave the bloodstream and migrate into the tissues, where they differentiate after exposure to various growth factors, cytokines or infectious agents. The best defined macrophage polarization types are M1 and M2. However, the platelet-derived CXC chemokine CXCL4 induces the polarization of macrophages into a unique phenotype. In this study, we compared t...

Current therapies for preterm labour (PTL) focus on arresting myometrial contractions but are largely ineffective, thus alternative therapeutic targets need to be identified. Leukocytes infiltrate the uterus around the time of labour, and are in particularly abundant in decidua (maternal-fetal interface). Moreover, decidual inflammation precedes labour in rat pregnancies and thus may contribute...

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) using in vitro expanded T cells from biopsy material represents a highly promising treatment of disseminated cancer. ACT in its present form is rather crude and improvements seem within reach. Recruitment of transferred lymphocytes to the tumor site is a crucial step in ACT efficacy; however, quite few T cells actually reach the tumor site upon administration. In th...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is characterized by upper lobe emphysema together with lower lobe fibrosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether cytokine levels in the alveolar space are associated with emphysematous changes superimposed on pulmonary fibrosis. METHODS Consecutive patients (n = 102), diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis were retro...

The constitutively active G-protein-coupled receptor and viral oncogene ORF74, encoded by Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus 8), binds a broad range of chemokines, including CXCL1 (agonist), CXCL8 (neutral ligand), and CXCL10 (inverse agonist). Although chemokines interact with the extracellular N terminus and loops of the receptor, we demonstrate that helix 8 (Hx8) in the...

PURPOSE To investigate the signaling pathways involved in interleukin (IL)-17A -mediated production of interleukin 8 (CXCL8), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) by ARPE-19 cells, a spontaneously arisen cell line of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). METHODS Flow cytometry analysis and western blot were used to detect the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regu...

Prebiotics and probiotics are considered natural alternatives to dietary antibiotics in animal production. Plant extracts and yeast cell walls are mannose-rich products that can be used as substrate for adhesion of Gram-negative bacteria. We assessed whether the structure of these saccharides is relevant to develop their role as prebiotics and therefore, their suitability to be used as alternat...

CD8 T cells play a key role in host defense against intracellular pathogens. Efficient migration of these cells into sites of infection is therefore intimately linked to their effector function. The molecular mechanisms that control CD8 T-cell trafficking into sites of infection and inflammation are not well understood, but the chemokine/chemokine receptor system is thought to orchestrate this ...

OBJECTIVE In this study, the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in triggering platelets to induce the inflammatory potential chemokines CCL3, CCL5, CCL7 and CXCL8 in atherosclerotic patients was investigated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Venous blood from control subjects (n = 35) and atherosclerotic patients (n = 35) was collected in tubes with and without EDTA. Platelets from controls and patients were s...