Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLAs) promote inflammatory and procoagulant responses in endothelial cells and monocytes. Previous studies have shown that MyD88, TRAF6, and NF-kappaB mediate cell activation by APLAs. These intermediates are also used by toll-like receptors (TLRs). We investigated the role of TLRs in the cellular response to APLAs. IgGs were isolated from the plasma of 5 patients ...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns and are indispensable for antibacterial and antiviral immunity. Our previous report showed that ionizing radiation increases the cell surface expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 and enhances their responses to agonists in human monocytic THP1 cells. The present study investigated how ioni...

Mycobacterial infection has been implicated as a possible factor in AIDS progression in populations where HIV-1 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are coendemic. In support of this concept, we have previously shown that HIV-1-transgenic (Tg) mice infected with mycobacteria display enhanced viral gene and protein expression. In this study, we demonstrate that the induction of HIV-1 observed in this ...

The gut microbiota is an environmental factor that determines renewal of the intestinal epithelium and remodeling of the intestinal mucosa. At present, it is not resolved if components of the gut microbiota can augment innate immune sensing in the intestinal epithelium via the up-regulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Here, we report that colonization of germ-free (GF) Swiss Webster mice wit...

This present study was aimed to investigate the roles of the receptors of Th1/Th2 cytokines and chemokines in the pathogenesis of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). Thirty patients with CIU, 30 patients with dermographism and 30 healthy controls were randomly enrolled. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) was used to analyze the mRNA of cytokine receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the high potential of glucose in inhibiting the innate immune in cultured human cornea epithelial cells (HCEC) and try to determine whether the role of high glucose on the HCEC relate to toll-like receptor (TLR)2 and TLR4. METHODS Cells were cultured for 3 days in 5 mmol/l (normal glucose). Then high glucose (25 mmol/l) was added along with...

BACKGROUND Skeletal muscle wasting is an important comorbidity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is strongly correlated with morbidity and mortality. Patients who experience frequent acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) have more severe muscle wasting and reduced recovery of muscle mass and function after each exacerbation. Serum levels of the pro-inflammatory acute phase prot...

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), the gene mutated in the human immunodeficiency X-linked agammaglobulinemia, is activated by LPS and is required for LPS-induced TNF production. In this study, we have investigated the role of Btk both in signaling via another TLR (TLR2) and in the production of other proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8. Our data show that in X-linked agamma...

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have a high risk of developing colorectal cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression pattern of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the colonic mucosa of patients with UC. Colonic mucosal biopsy specimens were collected during colonoscopy from 30 patients with UC and 30 patients with normal findings as controls. The protein and mRNA expre...

BACKGROUND Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is an anaerobic, Gram-positive bacteria encountered in inflammatory acne lesions, particularly in the pilosebaceous follicle. P. acnes triggers a strong immune response involving keratinocytes, sebocytes and monocytes, the target cells during acne development. Lipoteicoic acid and peptidoglycan induce the inflammatory reaction, but no P. acnes surfa...