Background. Deposition of polymeric IgA1 (pIgA) in kidney mesangium is the hallmark of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Current consensus is that a fraction of IgA1 molecules in the circulation of IgAN patients exhibit aberrant structures or properties that may lead to their deposition. Our previous findings suggest that the anionic property of IgA1 may play a role in mesangial IgA1 deposition in patien...

BACKGROUND MIF is a critical mediator of the host defense, and is involved in both acute and chronic responses in the lung. Neutralization of MIF reduces neutrophil accumulation into the lung in animal models. We hypothesized that MIF, in the alveolar space, promotes neutrophil accumulation via activation of the CD74 receptor on macrophages. METHODS To determine whether macrophage CD74 surfac...

In diabetes, mesangial cell proliferation and extracellular matrix expansion are critical components in the development of glomerulosclerosis. We reported that diabetes alters the activity of the kallikrein-kinin system and that these alterations contribute to the development of diabetic nephropathy. The present study examined the influence of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the renal expres...

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector expressing mouse angiostatin (Kringle domains 1 to 4) in reducing retinal vascular leakage in an experimental diabetic rat model. METHODS rAAV-angiostatin was delivered by intravitreal injection to the right eyes of Sprague-Dawley rats. As a control, the contralateral eye received an intravitreal injection of...

Abstract Background Heat shock protein 22 (HSP22) belongs to class I of the small HSP family that displays ubiquitous expression in osteoblasts. We previously demonstrated prostaglandin F2? (PGF2?), a potent bone remodeling factor, induces synthesis interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) via p44/p42 mitogen-activated (MAP) kinase p38 MAP osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cell...

We report Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection of Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus ticks in Japan. Unique p44/msp2 paralogs (and/or 16S rRNA genes) were detected in tick tissues, salivary glands, and spleens of experimentally infected mice. These findings indicate the public health threat of anaplasmosis in Japan.

We analyzed the structure of the expression site encoding the immunoprotective protein MSP2/P44 from multiple Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains in the United States. The sequence of p44ESup1 had diverged in Ap-variant 1 strains infecting ruminants. In contrast, no differences were detected between A. phagocytophilum strains infecting humans and domestic dogs.

Doxorubicin (DOX)–induced cardiomyopathy has been found to be associated with impaired Ca handling in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), leading to reduced cardiac function. We have recently demonstrated that expression of mRNA encoding sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase 2 (SERCA2), a major Ca transport protein in SR, is markedly decreased in DOX-treated hearts. To extend this observation, we...