BACKGROUND Recent studies have highlighted the possible influence of chemokines and cytokines on several types of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Increasing interest has also been focussed on their role as a cause of post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) organ dysfunction. HYPOTHESIS Chemokines and cytokines are involved in the pathobiology of rheumatic PAH. METHODS Serum levels of the c...

A massive accumulation of inflammatory cells in synovial tissues is a major pathological feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Neutrophiles dominate synovial fluid while rheumatoid synovium is infiltrated with mononuclear cells. Mechanisms regulating influx of particular subpopulations of leukocytes into articular cavity and synovium compartment are not completely defined. An increasing amount ...

Although 3':5' cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is known to modulate cytokine production in a number of cell types, little information exists regarding cAMP-mediated effects on this synthetic function of human airway smooth-muscle (HASM) cells. We examined the effect of increasing intracellular cAMP concentration ([cAMP](i)) on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced regulated on activat...

Chemokine receptor tyrosine sulfation plays a key role in the binding of chemokines. It has been suggested that is heterogeneous, but no experimental evidence provided so far. The potent anti-HIV chemokine analog 5P12-RANTES proposed to owe its inhibitory activity capacity bind larger pool cell surface CCR5 receptors than native chemokines such as CCL5, molecular details underlying this phenome...

Chemokines are a family of proinflammatory cytokines that attract and activate specific types of leukocytes. Chemokines mediate their effects via interaction with seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Using CCR5-transfected HEK-293 cells, we show that both the CCR5 ligand, RANTES, as well as its derivative, aminooxypentane (AOP)- RANTES, trigger immediate responses such as Ca2...

We have recently demonstrated that human bronchial epithelial cells can synthesise and release several inflammatory mediators, including the factor regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), which influence the activity of eosinophils, and may, therefore play a role in the aetiology of asthma. In this study we ...

Thrombin stimulation of human platelets results in the release of a preformed proteinaceous human eosinophil (Eo)-chemotactic activity. By the use of different high-performance liquid chromatography techniques, two Eo-chemotactic polypeptides (EoCPs), tentatively termed EoCP-1 and EoCP-2, were purified to homogeneity. Upon SDS-PAGE analysis, these chemotaxins showed molecular masses near 8 kD. ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of RANTES gene promoter polymorphism and RANTES receptor (CCR5 gene) promoter polymorphism on diabetic nephropathy in Japanese type 2 diabetic subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total 616 Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes were recruited. Polymorphisms of -28 C/G and -403 G/A in the RANTES gene promoter region, and of 59029 G/A in the CCR5 gene promot...