In the present study, the concentration of TGF-beta1 secreted by adherent cells isolated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and either stimulated with PGL-1 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or left unstimulated was determined by ELISA. The cells were isolated from untreated patients with different clinical forms of leprosy and healthy individuals. The adherent cells exhibited spont...

PURPOSE In nonconfluent cultures, TGF-beta induces differentiation of corneal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. However, in confluent cultures, few fibroblasts differentiate to myofibroblasts after TGF-beta1 addition. This study investigated the hypothesis that functional TGF-beta receptor expression is greater in low-density cultures and is decreased in confluent cultures. METHODS Northern and ...

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells as well as to identify the signaling pathway/s involved in the increased IL-6 expression that occurs in response to mechanical stress and TGF-beta1. METHODS All experiments were performed in confluent monolayers of HTM cells at passage...

Widespread damage of airway epithelium and defective epithelial repair are hallmarks of chronic asthma. Growth factors and cytokines spatially and temporally regulate epithelial shedding and repair. Within this context, a key function is exerted by transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta. Recent growing evidence suggests that chloride (Cl(-)) channels are critical to cell apoptosis. We examined t...

Recent studies suggest that glial cells actively participate in the formation, function, maintenance, and repair of the chemical synapse. However, the molecular mechanisms of glia-synapse interactions are largely unknown. We have shown previously that Schwann cell-conditioned medium (SC-CM) promotes synaptogenesis in Xenopus nerve-muscle cocultures. The present study aimed to identify the synap...

BACKGROUND Reoxygenation injury is a result of several complex events, including release of reactive oxygen species, protein kinase C (PKC) activation, and altered expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta(1)). Nitric oxide (NO) generally protects tissues from reperfusion injury. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined the modulation of TGF-beta1 expression and activity and PKC activat...

PURPOSE This study was undertaken to investigate the role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and fibroblast-mediated collagen matrix contraction in the presence of mechanical stress. METHODS An in vitro three-dimensional contraction model of human corneal-fibroblast-seeded collagen lattices (FSCLs) in the presence of mechanical stress gene...

BACKGROUND Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 is considered to play central roles in the pathogenesis of airway remodeling in asthma. This notion is based primarily on the results of experimental studies; clinical evidence is limited. OBJECTIVES To ascertain the involvement of TGF-beta1 in asthma. METHODS We studied 27 patients with moderate-to-severe, but stable, asthma treated with in...

Mesangial cell activation is a predominant pathologic feature of diabetic nephropathy that precedes the accumulation of extracellular matrix leading to glomerulosclerosis. For understanding the potential mechanism by which hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) ameliorates diabetic nephropathy, the effects of HGF on mesangial cell activation induced by TGF-beta1 were investigated. Western blot analysis...

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) plays important roles in the early development of the nervous system and has been implicated in neuronal plasticity in adult organisms. It induces long-term increases in sensory neuron excitability in Aplysia as well as a long-term enhancement of synaptic efficacy at sensorimotor synapses. In addition, TGF-beta1 acutely regulates synapsin phosphoryl...