BACKGROUND Th-2 cytokine milieu including interleukin 4 (IL-4) was detected in fibrotic lung diseases. Chronic extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) may be also accompanied by marked fibrogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine if IL-4 and its receptor (IL-4R-alpha) play any role in the clinical presentation and pathogenesis of chronic EAA. METHODS Twenty patients originally investigate...

The potencies of kainate, glutamate and diastereomers of 4-methylglutamate were determined for activation and steady-state desensitization of GluR6 and dorsal root ganglion-type kainate receptors using whole-cell voltage clamp. In HEK293 cells expressing GluR6, all four diastereomers induced desensitizing inward currents at relatively high concentrations (> 50 microM), however, the 2S,4R diaste...

Although Syk has been reported to be associated with IL-2R beta [corrected] and IL-15R alpha in some hematopoietic cells, its association has never been investigated in the IL-4/IL-4R system. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that Syk is constitutively associated with IL-4R(alpha)in human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and that IL-4 stimulation increases the amount of Syk a...

Argyrophilic grain disease (AGD) was first reported as an adult-onset dementia, but recent studies have emphasized personality change, emotional imbalance, and memory problems as clinical features of AGD. AGD is characterized by spindle- or comma-shaped argyrophilic grains in the neuropil of entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies specific t...

BACKGROUND We have previously identified an inverse relationship between cerebral serotonin 4 receptor (5-HT 4R) binding and nonaffective episodic memory in healthy individuals. Here, we investigate in a novel sample if the association is related to affective components of memory, by examining the association between cerebral 5-HT 4R binding and affective verbal memory recall. METHODS Twenty-...

There have been proposals that the tachykinin receptor classification should be extended to include a novel receptor, the "neurokinin-4" receptor (NK-4R), which has a close homology with the human NK-3 receptor (hNK-3R). We compared the pharmacological and molecular biological characteristics of the hNK-3R and NK-4R. Binding experiments, with (125)I-[MePhe(7)]-NKB binding to HEK 293 cell membra...

Although the receptor for interleukin-4 (IL-4R) is highly expressed on solid human cancer cells, its significance and internalization function is still unclear. To address these issues, we reconstituted Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO-K1) cells with various components of the IL-4R by transient transfection and performed internalization assays using radiolabeled IL-4. Radiolabeled IL-4 internalized...

Featured Article: Pesce MA, Strande CS. A new micromethod for determination of protein in cerebrospinal fluid and urine. Clin Chem 1973;11:1265–7. This paper described a dye-binding micromethod for measuring protein concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid and urine. The method involved coprecipitation of the proteins with a Ponceau S dye trichloroacetic acid solution, dissolving the protein preci...

hi. Abolins, Michigan State University B. A. Bamett, John Hopkinr University D. M. Binnie, Imperial College F. Buios, SLAC J. Carr, Luwrence Berkeley Laboratory T. Ferbel, University of Rochester M. J. Glaubman, Northeactem University L. Holloway, University of Illinois J. Huston, University oj Rochester A. S. Kanofsky, Lehigh University H. J. Lubatti, University of Washington J. Marriner, Ferm...

Several commonly occurring polymorphisms in the IL-4R(alpha) have been associated with atopy in humans; the Q576R and the S503P polymorphisms reside in the cytoplasmic domain, whereas the I50 to V50 polymorphism resides in the extracellular domain of the IL-4R(alpha). The effects of these polymorphisms on signaling remain controversial. To determine the effect of the polymorphisms on IL-4 signa...