OBJECTIVE Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), one of the most important antiinflammatory cytokines, is crucial for homeostasis of the immune system. However, the role of IL-1Ra in aortic valve stenosis (AS) remains poorly understood [corrected]. METHODS AND RESULTS IL-1Ra-deficient (IL-1Ra(-/-)) mice on the BALB/c background showed increased aortic valve leaflet thickness compared to ...

PURPOSE To evaluate the potential of gene therapy with a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector encoding the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (rAAV-IL-1Ra) in the treatment of experimental uveitis. METHODS The vitreal cavity of New Zealand white rabbits was injected with rAAV-IL-1Ra (4x10(7) infectious units), and the contralateral eye was injected with the same amount of rAAV-LacZ o...

The interleukin (IL)-1 system is a major regulator of local cellular interactions during embryonic implantation. Because IL-1beta and IL receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) are both expressed in human endometrium, we hypothesized that an appropriate ratio of IL-1beta to IL-1ra might favor the process of embryo implantation. Therefore, we investigated IL-1 regulation of the quantitative ratio of IL-1be...

This paper investigates the protective effect of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) released from hyaluronic acid chitosan (HA-CS) microspheres in a controlled manner on IL-1β-induced inflammation and apoptosis in chondrocytes. The IL-1Ra release kinetics was characterized by an initial burst release, which was reduced to a linear release over eight days. Chondrocytes were stimulated wi...

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is an IL-1 family member, which binds to IL-1 receptors but does not induce any intracellular signaling. We addressed whether IL-1Ra has a novel function in regulation of the extracellular matrix or adhesion molecules. Polymerase chain reaction array analysis demonstrated a ~5-fold increase in matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) mRNA expression of IL-...

PURPOSE To analyze the expression and regulation of intracellular and soluble interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) in orbital fibroblasts and to determine whether a disbalance between IL-1 receptor agonist and antagonist may promote IL-1 mediated proinflammatory actions in Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). METHODS Early passages of cultured orbital fibroblasts (OFs) derived from four ...

A complete understanding of the role for endogenously produced interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in the acute phase response to inflammation remains unknown. In the present studies, knockout mice lacking either a functional IL-1 type I receptor (IL-1RI(-/-)), a TNF type I receptor (TNFR-I(-/-)), or both IL-1 type I and TNF type ...

Mast cells produce substances with antiinflammatory properties in addition to their capacity to release proinflammatory mediators. To further probe the antiinflammatory aspect of mast-cell function we investigated the ability of human mast cells (huMCs) to produce interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in response to high-affinity Fc receptor for immunoglobulin E (Fcalpha RI) aggregati...

Background and objectives:  Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder, which reduces the patient quality of life. Despite the recommendation for treating this disorder with a minimum dose of medications, antipsychotic polypharmacy has been used experimentally that cause increasing the drug interactions. Aripiprazole has low risk of metabolic has recommended as a first line a treatment fo...

BACKGROUND Loss of cardiac myocytes due to apoptosis is a relevant feature of ischemic heart disease. It has been described in infarct and peri-infarct regions of the myocardium in coronary syndromes and in ischemia-linked heart remodeling. Previous studies have provided protection against ischemia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 receptor-antagoni...