Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infections. Immunity to RSV is initiated upon detection of the virus by pattern recognition receptors, such as RIG-I-like receptors. RIG-I-like receptors signal via MAVS to induce the synthesis of proinflammatory mediators, including type I interferons (IFNs), which trigger and shape antiviral responses and protect c...

Infection/inflammation is commonly associated with preterm birth (PTB), initiating uterine contractions and rupture of fetal membranes. Proinflammatory cytokines induce matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and prostaglandins which initiate uterine contractions. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and activator-protein- (AP-)1 have key roles in the formation of thes...

BACKGROUND Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including mainly ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract caused by an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Murine colitis model induced by Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) is an animal model of IBD that is commonly used to address the pathogenesis of IBD as well as to test eff...

Purpose To investigate which cytokines and chemokines are involved in the immunopathogenesis of acute retinal necrosis (ARN), and whether cytokine profiles are associated with clinical manifestations, such as visual outcome. Methods Serum and aqueous humor (AH) samples of 19 patients with ARN were analyzed by multiplex immunoassay. Infectious controls consisted of 18 patients with rubella vir...

INTRODUCTION We sought to investigate the capacity of interleukin (IL)-7 to enhance collagen-induced arthritis and to study by what mechanisms this is achieved. METHODS Mice received multiple injections with IL-7 or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control. Arthritis severity and incidence were determined by visual examination of the paws. Joint destruction was determined by assessing rad...

PURPOSE Invasion is the critical step in progression of a precancerous lesion to squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). Invasion is regulated by multiple proinflammatory mediators. Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an mRNA-degrading protein that regulates multiple proinflammatory mediators. TTP may serve as an excellent treatment target. Rap1 is a ras-like oncoprotein that induces critica...

Flagellin, the primary structural component of bacterial flagella, is recognized by Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) present on the basolateral surface of intestinal epithelial cells. Utilizing biochemical assays of proinflammatory signaling pathways and mRNA expression profiling, we found that purified flagellin could recapitulate the human epithelial cell proinflammatory responses activated by fla...

Preterm birth remains one of the leading causes of neonatal death. Inflammation and maternal infection are two of the leading aetiological factors for preterm birth. Labour is associated with increased production of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and prolabour mediators in human gestational tissues. In non-gestational tissues, synthesis of proinflammatory and prolabour mediators is regul...

Hepatocyte injury during cholestasis depends in part on the release of proinflammatory mediators that cause neutrophils to accumulate in the liver and become activated to damage hepatocytes. The mechanism by which cholestasis stimulates production of proinflammatory mediators in the liver is not completely understood. The studies presented here tested the hypothesis that the transcription facto...

Ishii, Hiroshi, Takeshi Fujii, James C. Hogg, Shizu Hayashi, Hiroshi Mukae, Renaud Vincent, and Stephan F. van Eeden. Contribution of IL-1 and TNFto the initiation of the peripheral lung response to atmospheric particulates (PM10). Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 287: L176–L183, 2004. First published March 5, 2004; 10.1152/ajplung.00290.2003.—Alveolar macrophages (AM) play a key role in clea...