Background: Sulfhydryl (SH) compounds are essential in maintaining mucosal integrity in the gastrointestinal tract. A decrease in colonic mucosal SH compounds affects the redox status of the mucosa, resulting in vulnerability to further attacks. Therefore, there is a strong need for in vivo evaluation of SH compounds in the colonic mucosa. Aims: The aim of the current study was to establish a m...

Intestinal helminth antigens are inducers of type 2 responses and can elicit regulatory immune responses, resulting in dampened inflammation. Several platyhelminth proteins with anti-inflammatory activity have been reported. We have identified, cloned and expressed the Taenia solium calreticulin (rTsCRT) and shown that it predominantly induces a type 2 response characterized by IgG1, IL-4 and I...

Essential oils are plant secondary metabolites with positive pharmacological properties, e.g. anti-oxidative, antimicrobial or immunomodulative, but they can have toxic and allergic effects as well. The aim of this study was to analyze anti-inflammatory effects of chamomile essential oil dietary administration in carrageenan paw oedema and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis. Mice rece...

Communication between neurons and glia in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and the central nervous system is critical for nociception. Both glial activation and proinflammatory cytokine induction underlie this communication. We investigated whether satellite glial cell (SGC) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) activation in DRG participates in a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced r...

This study was aimed to determine the role and regulation of progranulin (PGRN) in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-, picrylsulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced, bone marrow chimera and CD4+CD45Rb(hi) T cell transfer colitis model were established and analyzed in wild-type and several genetically-modified mice, including PGRN, IL-10 and TNFR2 deficient...

Niacin, as an antidyslipidemic drug, elicits a strong flushing response by release of prostaglandin (PG) D2 However, whether niacin is beneficial for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear. Here, we observed niacin administration-enhanced PGD2 production in colon tissues in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-challenged mice, and protected mice against DSS or 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic a...

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-inhibiting peptide D-JNKI-1, syn. XG-102 was tested for its therapeutic potential in acute inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice. Rectal instillation of the chemical irritant trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) provoked a dramatic acute inflammation in the colon of 7-9 weeks old mice. Coincident subcutaneous application of 100 µg/kg XG-102 significantly red...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin implicated in intestinal pathophysiology, such as impaired barrier function, altered motility and a lowered threshold to noxious stimuli in colitis. We evaluated the cellular source of NGF and determined the effect of inflammation on its expression in TNBS-induced colitis in the rat. Receptors for NGF were studied by immunocytochemistry, showing that ...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a gastrointestinal disorder of unknown etiology or cure. One complication of IBD is an increased risk for development of colon cancer. The aims of this study were to use a previously established rat model of colitis to develop a new model of colitis-associated colon cancer and ascertain the involvement of three cancer-related genes: K-ras, adenomatous polypos...

The influence of fungal colonization on the course of ulcerative colitis (UC) has not been thoroughly studied. We determined the activity of the disease using clinical, endoscopic and histological index (IACH) criteria in UC patients with fungal colonization and the healing process of UC induced by an intrarectal administration of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) in rats infected with Candi...