Synovial cells can form networks connected by gap junctions. The purpose of this study was to obtain evidence for a necessary role of gap junction intercellular communication in protein secretion by synovial cells. We developed a novel assay to measure the enzymatic activity of metalloproteinases (MMPs) produced by synovial cells in response to interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and employed the assa...

An enhanced production of IL-1beta in glia is a typical feature of epileptogenic tissue in experimental models and in human drug-refractory epilepsy. We show here that the selective inhibition of Interleukin Converting Enzyme (ICE), which cleaves the biologically active form of IL-1beta using VX-765, blocks kindling development in rats by preventing IL-1beta increase in forebrain astrocytes, wi...

The effects of anti-inflammatory plant extracts, such as black tea extract (BTE) and resveratrol (RSV) could modulate cell activation leading to atherosclerosis, however there is little comparative information about how different endothelial cell types are affected by these compounds. In order to compare human endothelial cells derived from different origins (umbilical vein or HUVEC, coronary a...

Leptin is known to be an important circulating signal for regulation of food intake and body weight. Recent evidence has suggested that leptin is involved in infection and inflammation. The afferent vagus nerve is known to be an important component for transmitting peripheral immune signals to the brain, such as interleukin (IL)-1beta expression in the brain, anorexia, and fever responses. In t...

We tested the hypothesis that interleukin (IL)-1beta-induced cortisol synthesis stimulates alveolar fluid clearance in preterm fetuses. IL-1beta was administered subcutaneously daily to timed-pregnant guinea pigs for 3 days with and without simultaneous cortisol synthesis inhibition by metyrapone. Fetuses were obtained by abdominal hysterotomy at 61 and 68 days gestation and instilled with isos...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum levels of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) has any possible correlation on inflammatory parameters such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and fibrinogen concentration in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients during attack-free period. MATERIALS AND METHODS The serum levels of IL...

High glucose concentrations have a dual effect on beta-cell turnover, inducing proliferation in the short-term and apoptosis in the long-term. Hyperglycemia leads to beta-cell production of interleuking (IL)-1beta in human pancreatic islets. Fas, a death receptor regulated by IL-1beta, is involved in glucose-induced beta-cell apoptosis. Fas engagement can be switched from death signal to induct...

Interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta)-induced beta cell cytotoxicity has been implicated in the autoimmune cytotoxicity of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. These cytotoxic effects may be mediated by nitric oxide (NO). Since long-chain fatty acids (FFA), like IL-1beta, upregulate inducible nitric oxide synthase and enhance NO generation in islets, it seemed possible that islets might be protected fro...

We recently reported that the activation of H-Ras represents one of the signaling steps underlying the interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-mediated metabolic dysfunction of the islet beta-cell. In the present study, we examined potential contributory roles of membrane-associated, cholesterol-enriched lipid rafts/caveolae and their constituent proteins (e.g., caveolin-1 [Cav-1]) as potential sites for ...

OBJECTIVE Many studies have implicated prenatal infection in the etiology of schizophrenia. Cytokines, a family of soluble polypeptides, are critically important in the immune response to infection and in other inflammatory processes. The goal of this study was to determine whether second-trimester levels of four cytokines-interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6)...