Zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) exert regulatory activities on immune functions, while cadmium (Cd) is an immunotoxic agent. The object of this study was to detect effects of 10-4, 10-5, and 10-6 M Cd sulphate, Zn sulphate, and sodium selenite, and their combinations on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation and IFN-γ and TNF-α production. Only 10-5 M Zn sulphate significantly...

The presence of unique carbohydrate structures in the glycocalyx/mucous layer of the intestine may be involved in a susceptibility to celiac disease (CD) by serving as attachment sites for bacteria. This host-microbiota interaction may influence the development of CD and possibly other diseases with autoimmune components. We examined duodenal biopsies from a total of 30 children, of which 10 ha...

The effect of a metal mixture (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ni) on Cd fractionation in sediment and its accumulation by the freshwater macrophyte Eriocaùlon septangulàre was examined in an in situ experiment in the littoral zone at the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, Canada. Fresh sediment was spiked with Cd alone and together with the metal mixture at three concentration levels. Macrophytes ...

CONTEXT Clinical, endoscopic, radiological and histological parameters of intestinal tuberculosis (IT) and Crohn's disease (CD) are so similar that differentiation between these two diseases, which require different treatment, is difficult. Anti- Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA), which is often present in the sera of patients with CD, may be potentially useful to differentiate CD from I...

Chironomus riparius larvae (3rd-4th instar) were extremely resistant to waterborne Cd with 48h LC50s of 331 mg Cd/L in soft water (10 mg/L Ca CO(3)) and 1106 mg Cd/L in moderately hard (140 mg CaCO(3)/L) water. Unexposed larvae had whole body Ca and Na concentrations of 11.2(0.3) and 84.5(3.0) micromol/g, respectively. The larvae exposed through acute toxicity tests accumulated massive amounts ...

DNA polymorphisms in a region on chromosome 5q33.1 which contains two genes, immunity related GTPase related family, M (IRGM) and zinc finger protein 300 (ZNF300), are associated with Crohn's disease (CD). The deleted allele of a 20 kb copy number variation (CNV) upstream of IRGM was recently shown to be in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the CD-associated single nucleotide polymorphism...

The effects of the different concentrations of Cd on accumulation of four cultivars of maize (Zea mays L.) viz., Nongda No. 108, Liyu No. 6, Shendan No. 10 and Tangkang No. 5, were investigated using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The Cd accumulation in the roots and shoots and the interactions among Mn, Fe and Cu were also analyzed in the present study. The ...

background:   myasthenia  gravis (mg) is an  autoimmune disorder   characterized   by  weakness   and   fatigability  of skeletal muscles. the aim of this study was to determine if pathological characteristics in non-thymomatous patients of mg would correlate with prognosis in a three year follow up. methods:   patients  who  had  had  their  thymectomy   at least  three  years prior to  the  s...

The single and combinational effects of cadmium (Cd) and fluoranthene (FLT) on germination, growth and photosynthesis of soybean seedlings were investigated. Exposure to 5, 10, or 15 mg Cd/L or 1, 5, or 10 mg FLT/L individually or in combination significantly decreased germination vigor (3 days) and final germination rate of soybean seeds, except at 1 and 5 mg FLT/L. The results of two-way ANOV...

Crohn's disease (CD) is a complex disorder resulting from the interaction of intestinal microbiota with the host immune system in genetically susceptible individuals. The largest meta-analysis of genome-wide association to date identified 71 CD-susceptibility loci in individuals of European ancestry. An important epidemiological feature of CD is that it is 2-4 times more prevalent among individ...