GSH synthesis occurs via two enzymatic steps catalysed by GCL [glutamate–cysteine ligase, made up of GCLC (GCL catalytic subunit), and GCLM (GCL modifier subunit)] and GSS (GSH synthetase). Co-ordinated up-regulation of GCL and GSS further enhances GSH synthetic capacity. The present study examined whether TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α) influences the expression of rat GSH synthetic enzymes. T...

BACKGROUND Modification of human airway smooth muscle (ASM) function by proinflammatory cytokines has been regarded as a potential mechanism underlying bronchial hyperresponsiveness in asthma. Human ASM cells express intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 in response to cytokines. Synthetic ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ reportedly possess anti-inflammatory and...

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) can induce Bad-mediated apoptosis followed by secondary necrosis in fish cells, but it is not known how these two types of cell death are regulated by IPNV. We found that IPNV infection can regulate Bad/Bid-mediated apoptotic and Rip1/ROS-mediated necrotic death pathways via the up-regulation of TNFα in zebrafish ZF4 cells. Using a DNA microarray and ...

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most frequently used host for commercial production of therapeutic proteins. However, their low protein productivity in culture is the main hurdle to overcome. Mild hypothermia has been established as an effective strategy to enhance protein specific productivity, although the causes of such improvement still remain unclear. The self-regulation of globa...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Wnt10b is a crucial regulator of bone density through its ability to promote osteoblastogenesis. Parathyroid hormone has been shown to regulate Wnt10b expression in CD8+ T cells. However, the relative expression and other source(s) of Wnt10b in the bone marrow immune cells (BMICs) is unknown. Sex hormones and cytokines such as, estrogen and TNFα are critical regulators of bone...

INTRODUCTION The advent of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) drugs has considerably improved medical management in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, although it has been reported to be ineffective in a fraction of them. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that act as fine-tuning regulators of gene expression. Targeting miRNAs by gain or loss of function approaches have br...

The proinflammatory cytokine TNFα fails to provoke cell death in isolated hepatocytes but has been implicated in hepatocyte apoptosis during liver diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Recently, we showed that TNFα is able to sensitize primary murine hepatocytes cultured on collagen to Fas ligand-induced apoptosis and presented a mathematical model of the sensitizing effect. Here, we a...

AIM To determine whether tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) blockers are more effective than methotrexate in inhibiting the progression of radiographic joint damage in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS A cohort analysis of patients followed prospectively in a large PsA clinic was conducted. Patients who received a TNFα blocker were compared to those treated with methotrexate. Pati...

Vascular insulin resistance induced by inflammatory cytokines leads to the initiation and development of vascular diseases. In humans, circulating TNFα levels are increased during aging, suggesting a correlation between vascular insulin resistance and plasma TNFα levels. Currently, the precise molecular mechanisms of vascular insulin resistance mediated by TNFα are not well characterized. We ai...