The ability of vertebrates to detect and avoid damaging extremes of temperature depends on activation of ion channels belonging to the thermo-TRP family. Injury or inflammation causes the release of inflammatory mediators which lower the threshold for detection of painful levels of heat, a process known as heat hyperalgesia. These inflammatory mediators act by at least three distinct intracellu...

BACKGROUND vascular endothelial cell activation and dysfunction are observed in patients with severe heart failure and may contribute to systemic manifestations of this syndrome. It remains unknown whether inflammatory activation of these cells occurs in these patients because of increased circulating proinflammatory mediators. AIM to determine whether the serum from patients with heart failu...

BACKGROUND Macrophage-mediated chronic inflammation is mechanistically linked to insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. Although arginase I is considered antiinflammatory, the role of arginase II (Arg-II) in macrophage function remains elusive. This study characterizes the role of Arg-II in macrophage inflammatory responses and its impact on obesity-linked type II diabetes mellitus and atheros...

Biofilm infections often lead to significant morbidity due to their chronicity and recalcitrance to antibiotics. We have demonstrated that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms can evade macrophage (MΦ) antibacterial effector mechanisms by skewing MΦs toward an alternatively activated M2 phenotype. To overcome this immune evasion, we have used two complementary approaches....

Neuroinflammation has been reported to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Neuroinflammation is generally considered as an outcome of glial activation; however, we recently demonstrated that T helper (Th)17 cells, a subpopulation of proinflammatory CD4+ T cells, are also involved in AD pathogenesis. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, a cytokine that can be expressed in t...

Yogi A, Callera GE, Tostes R, Touyz RM. Bradykinin regulates calpain and proinflammatory signaling through TRPM7sensitive pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 296: R201–R207, 2009. First published September 17, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.90602.2008.—Transient receptor potential melastatin-7 (TRPM7) channels have recently been identified to be regulated...

In response to hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes, many signaling pathways contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications, including diabetic retinopathy (DR). Excessive production of inflammatory mediators plays an important role in this process. Amadori-glycated albumin, one of the major forms of advanced glycated end-products, has been implicated in DR by inducing inflammatory...

Okaya, Tomohisa, and Alex B. Lentsch. Peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptorregulates postischemic liver injury. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 286: G606–G612, 2004. First published November 13, 2003; 10.1152/ajpgi.00191.2003.—Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor(PPAR ) is a transcription factor that in some in vitro systems has been linked with downregulation of proinflammato...

OBJECTIVES Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas characterized by local inflammation. Secretory phospholipases A-II (sPLA2-II) have been implicated in triggering AP, but their exact role to evoke AP is largely unknown. NF-kB activation has previously been shown to induce acute pancreatitis. The aim of this study is to explore that PLA2-II triggers AP by activation o...

Inflammation is a protective response to injury, but it can become chronic, leading to tissue damage and disease. Cigarette smoke causes multiple inflammatory diseases, which account for thousands of deaths and cost billions of dollars annually. Cigarette smoke disrupts the function of immune cells, such as macrophages, by prolonging inflammatory signaling, promoting oxidative stress, and impai...