Simiao pill, a Chinese herbal formula containing four herbs, has been used in the treatment of gouty arthritis for many years. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of modified Simiao decoction (MSD) on IL-1 β and TNF α secretion in monocytic THP-1 cells with monosodium urate (MSU) crystals-induced inflammation. The MSU crystals-induced inflammation model in THP-1 cells was successfu...

BACKGROUND Lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein (apo) CIII predict coronary heart disease and associate with components of the metabolic syndrome. ApoCIII inhibits lipoprotein catabolism in plasma. However, it is unknown whether apoCIII itself, or in association with VLDL, LDL, or HDL, directly affects atherogenic mechanisms in vascular cells. Thus, we investigated the direct effect of lipopr...

Resting membrane potential (RMP) and whole cell currents were recorded in human THP-1 monocytes adherent to polystyrene, unstimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated HUVECs, immobilized E-selectin, or vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) using the patch-clamp technique. RMP after 5 h on polystyrene was -24.3 ± 1.7 mV ( n = 42) with delayed...

background: macrophage immune responses are affected by the secretory proteins of mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtb). this study aimed to examine the immune responses of macrophages to mtb secretory antigens, namely esat-6, cfp-10, and esat-6/cfp-10. methods: thp-1 cells (a human monocytic cell line) were cultured and differentiated to macrophages by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. the cytotoxic...

Leukocyte adhesion and trafficking at the endothelium requires both cellular adhesion molecules and chemotactic factors. A newly identified CX3C chemokine, fractalkine, expressed on activated endothelial cells, plays an important role in leukocyte adhesion and migration. We examined the functional effects of fractalkine on beta1 and beta2 integrin-mediated adhesion using a macrophage-like cell ...

Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) is an abundant urinary protein of renal origin. We hypothesize that THP can act as an inhibitor of complement since THP binds complement 1q (C1q) of the classical complement pathway, inhibits activation of this pathway, and is important in decreasing renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (a complement-mediated condition). In this study, we began to investigate whether TH...

pathogens infecting mammalian cells have developed various strategies to suppress and evade their hosts’ defensive mechanisms. in this line, the intracellular bacteria that are able to survive and propagate within their host cells must have developed strategies to avert their host’s killing attitude. studying the interface of host-pathogen confrontation can provide valuable information for defi...

The G protein-coupled receptors LGR7 and LGR8 have recently been identified as the primary receptors for the polypeptide hormone relaxin and relaxin-like factors. RT-PCR confirmed the existence of mRNA for both LGR7 and LRG8 in THP-1 cells. Whole cell treatment of THP-1 cells with relaxin produced a biphasic time course in cAMP accumulation, where the first peak appeared as early as 1-2 min wit...