Constitutive nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is known to play an important role in the survival of HuT-78 cells, a cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) cell line. Here, we have demonstrated that pentoxifylline (PTX), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, can trigger a series of events leading to apoptosis in HuT-78 cells without affecting NF-kappaB. ...

Resistance of T cells to activation-induced cell death (AICD) is associated with autoimmunity and lymphoproliferation. We found that apigenin (4',5,7-trihydroxyflavone), a non-mutagenic dietary flavonoid, augmented both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis in recurrently activated, but not in primarily stimulated, human blood CD4+ T cells. Apigenin potentiated AICD by inhibiting ...

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) establish T cell self-tolerance through the expression of autoimmune regulator (Aire) and peripheral tissue-specific self-antigens. However, signals underlying mTEC development remain largely unclear. Here, we demonstrate crucial regulation of mTEC development by receptor activator of NF-kappaB (RANK) and CD40 signals. Whereas only RANK signaling was ...

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: We evaluated the role of the osmolarity in the pro-inflammatory responses of epithelial cells. MATERIAL: Twenty-five female Wistar rats and colorectal (HT-29) and bladder (T24) cell lines were used. TREATMENTS: Rats and cells were exposed for 48 hours to hyperosmotic solutions. METHODS: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) production was measured ...

S100A8 and S100A9 are intracellular calcium-binding proteins produced by myeloid cells that promote neutrophil/monocyte recruitment at inflamed tissues by enhancing attachment to endothelial cells. Although the intracellular functions of these proteins, i.e., myeloid-related proteins (MRP)-8 and MRP-14, are not completely understood, these proteins exhibit prominent extracellular cytokine-like functions and are ...

Mastitis is a prevalent disease in dairy cows. Gram-negative bacteria, which express the pro-inflammatory molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are responsible for the majority of acute clinical cases of mastitis. Previous studies have identified differential susceptibility of human and bovine endothelial cells (EC) to the pro-inflammatory and injury-inducing effects of LPS. The ...

Previously, we and others have demonstrated that wogonin, an active component from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has a neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemic insult. The neuroprotective effect of wogonin may at least in part be due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Microglial cells, well-known residential macrophages in the central ...

Exposure of macrophages to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces release of proinflammatory cytokines that play crucial roles in chronic inflammation. Glucosamine has reported to possess anti-inflammatory properties and currently is the oral supplement of choice for the management of inflammation related complications including osteoarthritis. In this study, quaternized amino glucosamine (QAGlc), ...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a therapeutic target in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease; however, the exact role of TNF signaling in the colon epithelium remains unclear. We demonstrate that TNF activation of TNF receptor (R)1 stimulates both pro- and anti-apoptotic signaling pathways in the colon epithelium; however, TNFR1 ...

BACKGROUND: The transcription factor NF-AT plays a key role in the activation of many early immune response genes and is regulated by subcellular localization. NF-AT translocates from the cytoplasm to the nucleus then returns in response to the intracellular calcium level. METHODS: We have investigated NF-AT nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in real-time ...

Diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer caused by cigarette smoke affect millions of people worldwide. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that influences responses to certain environmental pollutants such as tobacco smoke. However, the physiological function(s) of the AhR is unknown. Herein ...

Citrobacter rodentium, a natural mouse pathogen, belongs to the family of extracellular enteric pathogens that includes enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). C. rodentium shares many virulence factors with EPEC and EHEC and relies on attaching-and-effacing lesion formation for colonization and infection of the gut. In vivo, ...

The activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB is controlled by two main pathways: the classical canonical (RelA/p65-p50)- and the alternative noncanonical (RelB/p52)-NF-kappaB pathways. RelB has been shown to play a protective role in RelA/p65-mediated proinflammatory cytokine release in immune-inflammatory lymphoid cells. Increased infiltration of macrophages and lymphoid cells occurs in lungs ...

Adipose tissue is a highly active endocrine organ, secreting bioactive molecules, adipokines, into the circulation. Obesity results in dysregulated adipokine secretion, contributing to pathophysiologies associated with this disorder, including insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVES: To establish whether resistin, a novel bioactive molecule produced by murine adipose tissue, and implicated ...

Dioscorea batatas Decne (DBD) is used to heal various disorders of the kidney and lungs as an herbal agent in Korea. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the DBD glycoprotein regulates the inflammatory reaction stimulated by phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionophore A23187 (PMACI) in human mast ...

Tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of palm oil has been shown to possess potent antioxidant, anticancer, and cholesterol lowering activities. In this study, our aim was to examine the effects of TRF on LPS-induced inflammatory response through measuring the production of inflammatory mediators, namely nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), inducible nitric ...

PURPOSE: Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], an analog of viral double-stranded RNA, interacts with Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 and thereby elicits immunoinflammatory responses characteristic of viral infection. The effects of poly(I:C) on the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules, as well as the signaling pathways that underlie such effects, were investigated ...

The present study addressed the modulatory role of CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) in Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9-mediated innate immunity and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that CCR4-deficient mice were resistant to both septic peritonitis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and CpG DNA/D-galactosamine-induced shock. In ...

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) belongs to the genus Pestivirus and is the causative agent of classical swine fever, a haemorrhagic disease of pigs. The virus replicates in host cells without activating interferon (IFN) production and has been reported to be an antagonist of double-stranded RNA-induced apoptosis. The N-terminal protease ...

Spontaneous preterm delivery is linked to intrauterine inflammation. Fetal membranes are involved in the inflammatory process as an important source of mediators, and the chorion leave produces high levels of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha when stimulated by LPS. The transcription factor NF-kappaB is the main regulator of this inflammatory process ...

The CD40-CD154 dyad seems to play a prominent role fostering the immune-inflammatory response triggered by endothelial cell (EC)-T-cell communication. To delineate comprehensively the involvement of CD40 (TNFRSF5) in EC activation, we combined RNAi-mediated CD40 knockdown with comparative genome-wide transcriptional profiling of ECs interacting with (CD154+) T cells. We report the ...

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), an anti-inflammatory mediator of mucosal immunity, inhibits human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in cell culture. Epidemiological studies demonstrate that higher concentrations of SLPI in mucosal secretions are associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission. The current studies were designed to ...

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2), an enzyme involved in protein cross-linking and overexpressed in ovarian tumors, has antiapoptotic effects in cancer cells and may play a role in response to chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated the role of TG2 in the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin. By using stable ...

The ability of dendritic cells (DC) to initiate immunity and induce antigen-specific tolerance makes DC ideal targets for pharmacological intervention into immune responses. NF-kappaB factors are a family of transcriptional regulators important for DC development and function. However, the identity of NF-kappaB target genes that are central to DC biology ...

Bacteraemic pneumonia is a common cause of sepsis in critically ill patients today and is characterized by dysregulation of inflammation. The genetic factors predisposing to bacteraemic pneumonia are not yet fully understood. Innate immunity is pivotal for host defence against invading bacteria, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) is central to ...

Lichen species were collected from King George Island (Antarctica) and were screened for their immunomodulatory effect. Among the lichens tested, the methanol extract (CR-ME) of Caloplaca regalis showed the highest nitric oxide (NO) production in murine peritoneal macrophages. Therefore, this study further examined the ability of C. regalis to induce ...

Synthetic inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) antagonists induce degradation of IAP proteins such as cellular IAP1 (cIAP1), activate nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling, and sensitize cells to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). The physiological relevance of these discoveries to cIAP1 function remains undetermined. We show that upon ligand binding, the TNF ...

Although pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) is known to modify the actin cytoskeleton, very little is known about its apoptosis mechanism. In this study, we investigated whether PTX-2 induces apoptotic effects through suppression of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in several leukemia cell types. PTX-2 significantly induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in a dose-dependent ...

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is one of the major water-soluble compounds isolated from Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen in Chinese) that has been reported to be beneficial to treatment of diabetic complications. However, the mechanisms involved in these effects are not discussed in relation to mesangial proliferation via modulation of ...

To study whether the apoptotic effect of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on colon cancer cells could be enhanced by the addition of sulindac, HCT116 cells were treated with As2O3 (1, 5, 10 microM) and sulindac (0.5 mM), either alone or in combination. As2O3 alone slightly inhibited the growth of HCT116 cells, ...

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes various human diseases, including blindness caused by ocular infection and sexually transmitted diseases resulting from urogenital infection. After infecting host cells, Chlamydiae avoid alarming the host's immune system. Among the immune evasion mechanisms, Chlamydiae can inhibit NF-kappaB activation, a crucial ...

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains the fourth most common cause of cancer related death in the United States. Therefore, novel strategies for the prevention and treatment are urgently needed. Numerous dietary and pharmacological agents have been proposed as alternative strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of PC. Isoflavone is a prominent ...

Telithromycin is a ketolide antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties. To investigate the mechanisms of these effects, we examined the in vitro immunomodulatory activity of telithromycin on murine splenocytes and the murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. Spleen cells from BALB/c-untreated mice and RAW 264.7 macrophages were cultured in the presence of ...

Nucleophosmin (NPM) is frequently overexpressed in leukemias and other tumors. NPM has been reported to suppress oncogene-induced senescence and apoptosis and may represent a therapeutic target for cancer. We fused a NPM-derived peptide to the HIV-TAT (TAT-NPMDeltaC) and found that the fusion peptide inhibited proliferation and induced apoptotic death of ...

The control of innate immune responses through activation of the nuclear transcription factor NF-kappaB is essential for the elimination of invading microbial pathogens. We showed that the bacterial N-(3-oxo-dodecanoyl) homoserine lactone (C12) selectively impairs the regulation of NF-kappaB functions in activated mammalian cells. The consequence is specific repression of stimulus-mediated ...

In the urinary tract, the innate immune system detects conserved bacterial components and responds to infection by activating the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB, resulting in cytokine secretion and neutrophil recruitment. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), however, has been shown to evade the host innate immune response by suppressing NF-kappaB activation in ...

The adenovirus E1A oncogene induces innate immune rejection of tumors by sensitizing tumor cells to apoptosis in response to injuries, such as those inflicted by macrophage-produced TNF alpha and NO. E1A sensitizes cells to TNF by repressing its activation of NF-kappaB-dependent, antiapoptotic defenses. This suggested the hypothesis that E1A blockade ...

The epithelium is an active participant in the host response to infection. We hypothesized that epididymal epithelia play a role in the innate immune responses by sensing the presence of pathogens, expressing and secreting inflammatory cytokines that recruit inflammatory cells in response to invading pathogens. Our results indicated that TNF-alpha ...

Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease of load-bearing synovial joints that is currently treated with drugs that exhibit numerous side effects and are only temporarily effective on pain, the main symptom of the disease. Consequently, there is an acute need for novel, safe and more effective chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment ...

Macrophage activation relies on complex intracellular signaling processes that integrate the need for rapid inflammatory responses to pathogens with the need to resolve inflammation without permanent harm to normal tissues. Patterns of aberrant macrophage activation characterize and sustain disorders of chronic inflammation, infection, and cancer. New studies now show a ...

Oxidative stress-stimulated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activation has been associated with rapid transcription of TNF-alpha and induction of apoptosis. This study tested the hypothesis that postconditioning (Postcon) reduces myocardial apoptosis and inhibits translocation of NF-kappa B and release of TNF-alpha secondary to an attenuation of oxidant generation during reperfusion. ...

The mechanism by which the glucocorticoid (GC) dexamethasone induces apoptosis in multiple myeloma (MM) cells is unknown, although previous work suggests that either transactivation through the glucocorticoid response element (GRE), transrepression of NF-kappaB, phosphorylation of RAFTK (Pyk2), or induction of Bim is important. We studied this question by ectopically expressing ...

Microglia are resident immune cells of the CNS. When stimulated by infection, tissue injury, or other signals, microglia assume an activated, "ameboid" morphology and release matrix metalloproteinases, reactive oxygen species, and other proinflammatory factors. This innate immune response augments host defenses, but it can also contribute to neuronal death. Zinc ...

The epidermis is the primary boundary between the body and the environment, and it serves as the first line of defense against microbial pathogens. Production of chemokines and cytokines is an important step in the initiation of innate immune responses to viral infections. Epidermal keratinocytes produce IFN-alpha, -beta and macrophage ...

The nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway plays a central role in inflammation and immunity. In response to proinflammatory cytokines and pathogen-associated molecular patterns, NF-kappaB activation is controlled by IkappaB kinase (IKK)beta. Using Cre/lox-mediated gene targeting of IKKbeta, we have uncovered a tissue-specific role for IKKbeta during infection with group B ...

The goal of this study was to examine the role of E(2) in regulating innate immune protection by human uterine epithelial cells (UECs). Recognizing that UECs produce cytokines and chemokines to recruit and activate immune cells as well as viral and bacterial antimicrobials, we sought to examine the effect of ...

INTRODUCTION: Fish oil-based nutrition is protective in severe critical care conditions. Regulation of the activity of transcription factor NF-kappaB is an important therapeutic effect of the major omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA and DHA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the articles obtained by a Pubmed ...

Morphogenesis of the mammary gland when misregulated can result in tumorigenesis. It involves interactions of multiple cell types in a highly regulated manner with complex signal transduction pathways coordinating the physiological process. Interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells are known to be important. Studies have highlighted the importance of macrophages. ...

AIM: To investigate the effects on human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 and SW1990 cells using a combination of lidamycin (LDM) and gemcitabine. METHODS: A 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to determine the growth inhibition of drugs in PANC-1 and SW1990 cells. The effects on apoptosis were measured by terminal uridine ...

Oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis play a critical role in the onset and progression of cellular damage. It was previously reported that hyaluronan (HA) and chondroitin-4-sulphate (C4S) were able to protect human skin fibroblasts from oxidative stress. This antioxidant activity is due to the chelation of transition metal ions. Nuclear ...