Journal of Inflammation

BACKGROUND: Interplay between systemic inflammation and programmed cell death contributes to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). cAMP-regulated transcriptional coactivator 1 (CRTC1) has been involved in the normal function of the pulmonary system, but its role in ALI remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: We generated a Crtc1 knockout (KO; Crtc1-/- ) mouse line. Sepsis-induced ALI was established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) for 24 h. The data showed that Ctrc1 KO substantially ameliorated CLP-induced ALI phenotypes, including improved lung structure destruction, reduced pulmonary vascular permeability, diminished levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, compared with the wildtype mice...

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a prevalent respiratory inflammatory disease. Abnormal apoptosis of bronchial epithelial cells is one of the major factors in the progression of asthma. Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors are highly expressed in bronchial epithelial cells, which act as a component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore to regulate its opening and closing and apoptosis of bronchial epithelial cells. We aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which peripheral benzodiazepine receptor and its ligands, agonist 4'-Chlorodiazepam (Ro5-4864) and antagonist 1-(2-chlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-(1-methylpropyl)-3-isoquinolinecarboxamide (PK 11,195), modulate the mitochondrial function and cell apoptosis in the treatment of asthma...

BACKGROUND: Beyond their crucial role in hemostasis, platelets possess the ability to regulate inflammation and combat infections through various mechanisms. Stringent control of macrophage activation is essential during innate immune responses in sepsis. Macrophages are considered crucial phagocytic cells that aid in the elimination of pathogens. Platelet interactions with monocytes-macrophages are known to be significant in the response against bacterial infections, but the primary mediator driving these interactions remains unclear...

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is known to cause lung inflammatory and injurious responses. Smoke exposure is associated with the pathobiology related to lung fibrosis, whereas the mechanism that ETS exposure augments pulmonary fibrogenesis is unclear. We hypothesized that ETS exposure could exacerbate fibrotic responses via collagen dynamic dysregulation and complement activation. C57BL/6J and p16-3MR mice were exposed to ETS followed by bleomycin administration. ETS exposure exacerbated bleomycin-induced collagen and lysyl oxidase overexpression in the fibrotic lesion...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a dysregulated systemic inflammatory response triggered by infection, resulting in organ dysfunction. A major challenge in clinical pediatrics is to identify sepsis early and then quickly intervene to reduce morbidity and mortality. As blood biomarkers hold promise as early sepsis diagnostic tools, we aimed to measure a large number of blood inflammatory biomarkers from pediatric sepsis patients to determine their predictive ability, as well as their correlations with clinical variables and illness severity scores...

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an atypical subset of T lymphocytes, which have a highly conserved semi-constant αβ chain of T-cell receptor (TCR) and recognize microbe-derived vitamin B metabolites via major histocompatibility complex class I related-1 molecule (MR1). MAIT cells get activated mainly through unique TCR-dependent and TCR-independent pathways, and express multiple functional and phenotypic traits, including innate-like functionality, T helper (Th) 1 cell immunity, Th 17 cell immunity, and tissue homing...

BACKGROUND: Lactobacillus casei possesses many kinds of bioactivities, such as anti-inflammation and anti-oxidant, and has been applied to treating multiple inflammatory diseases. However, its role in mastitis prevention has remained ambiguous. METHODS: This study aimed to examine the mechanisms underlying the preventive effects of L. casei 03 against E. coli- mastitis utilizing bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) and a mouse model. RESULTS: In vitro assays revealed pretreatment with L...

Tissue-plasminogen activator (tPA) is a serine protease well known for its fibrinolytic function. Recent studies indicate that tPA could also modulate inflammation via plasmin generation and/or by receptor mediated signalling in vitro. However, the contribution of tPA in inflammatory processes in vivo has not been fully addressed. Therefore, using tPA-deficient mice, we have analysed the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge on the phenotype of myeloid cells including neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) in spleen...

The brain and spinal cord collectively referred to as the Central Nervous System (CNS) are protected by the blood-brain barrier that limits molecular, microbial and immunological trafficking. However, in the last decade, many studies have emphasized the protective role of 'border regions' at the surface of the CNS which are highly immunologically active, in contrast with the CNS parenchyma. In the steady-state, lymphoid and myeloid cells residing in the cranial meninges can affect brain function and behavior...

4R is a tobacco cembranoid that binds to and modulates cholinergic receptors and exhibits neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activity. Given the established function of the cholinergic system in pain and inflammation, we propose that 4R is also analgesic. Here, we tested the hypothesis that systemic 4R treatment decreases pain-related behaviors and peripheral inflammation via modulation of the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) in a mouse model of inflammatory pain. We elicited inflammation by injecting Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) into the hind paw of male and female mice...

BACKGROUND: Mitochondrial diseases (MDs) are genetic disorders characterized by dysfunctions in mitochondria. Clinical data suggest that additional factors, beyond genetics, contribute to the onset and progression of this group of diseases, but these influencing factors remain largely unknown. Mounting evidence indicates that immune dysregulation or distress could play a role. Clinical observations have described the co-incidence of infection and the onset of the disease as well as the worsening of symptoms following infection...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induces a dysfunctional immune response, inflammation, autoantibody production, and coagulopathy, which are symptoms that bear resemblance to those of autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: While there is a single case report suggesting an association between COVID-19 and SSc, the effects of COVID-19 on SSc are not yet fully understood. Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells were transfected with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein gene, in the presence of TGF-β...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Lonicera japonica Thunb (LJT) is a commonly used herbal soup to treat inflammation-related diseases. However, the effect of LJT on ALI is unknown. The present study was aimed at investigating the protective effects of LJT extract (LTE) and its active ingredient luteolin (Lut) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated ALI and investigate its potential mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of LTE and Lut were explored in an ALI mouse model induced by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)...

BACKGROUND: The heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) enzyme pathway is of crucial importance in the removal of toxic blood components and regulation of neuroinflammation following hemorrhagic stroke. Although a circadian pattern dependency in the incidence and severity of hemorrhagic stroke exists, it is unknown whether the activity of the HO-1 system in the context of hemorrhagic injury also exhibits circadian dependency. We hypothesized that the circadian regulation of microglial HO-1 would determine the extent of neuroinflammation and neuronal injury in a murine model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Smoking, alcohol abuse, and hypertension are - among others, potential risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. These risk factors generate oxidative stress and cause oxidative stress-induced DNA damage, resulting in cellular senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The SASP factors in feed-forward response exacerbate inflammation and cause tissue remodeling, resulting in atherosclerotic plaque formation and rupture. RESULTS: Colchicine inhibited ROS generation and mitigated oxidative stress-induced DNA damage...

BACKGROUND: The recent pandemic outbursts, due to SARS-CoV-2, have highlighted once more the central role of the inflammatory process in the propagation of viral infection. The main consequence of COVID-19 is the induction of a diffuse pro-inflammatory state, also defined as a cytokine storm, which affects different organs, but mostly the lungs. We aimed to prove the efficacy of cinnamaldehyde, the active compound of cinnamon, as an anti-inflammatory compound, able to reduce SARS-CoV-2 induced cytokine storm...

Clinical cases and experimental evidence revealed that electronic cigarettes (ECIG) induce serious adverse health effects, but underlying mechanisms remain to be fully uncovered. Based on recent exploratory evidence, investigating the effects of ECIG on macrophages can broadly define potential mechanisms by focusing on the effect of ECIG exposure with or without nicotine. Here we investigated the effect of ECIG-aerosol exposure on macrophages (MQ) phenotype, inflammatory response, and function of macrophages...