Immunoglobulin A (IgA) vasculitis is the most common leukocytoclastic small-vessel vasculitis in children and mainly involves the small vessels in the skin, joints, digestive tract, and kidneys. Its pathogenesis is still unclear. Currently, it is believed that environmental factors can cause autoimmune dysfunction and lead to the deposition of IgA-containing immune complexes on the wall of arterioles on the basis of genetic factors. This article reviews the research advances in the role of immune factors in the pathogenesis of IgA vasculitis.
Autoantibodies ; analysis ; Complement System Proteins ; physiology ; Cytokines ; physiology ; Glycosylation ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; analysis ; Immunoglobulin E ; metabolism ; Vasculitis ; etiology ; immunology

Asthma is a chronic disease of airway inflammation due to excessive T helper cell type 2 (Th2) response. Present treatment based on inhalation of synthetic glucocorticoids can only control Th2-driven chronic eosinophilic inflammation, but cannot change the immune tolerance of the body to external allergens. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the main negative regulatory cells of the immune response. Tregs play a great role in regulating allergic, autoimmune, graft-versus-host responses, and other immune responses. In this review, we will discuss the classification and biological characteristics, the established immunomodulatory mechanisms, and the characteristics of induced differentiation of Tregs. We will also discuss the progress of Tregs in the field of asthma. We believe that further studies on the regulatory mechanisms of Tregs will provide better treatments and control strategies for asthma.
Antigens, CD/analysis* ; Apyrase/analysis* ; Asthma/immunology* ; Cell Differentiation ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Transfusion ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology*

High concentrations of oxygen, indispensable for the treatment of severe hypoxemia from neonatal as well as adult respiratory distress syndrome, increase the risk of oxygen toxicity. Biochemical mechanisms are lipid peroxidation, protein sulfhydryl oxidation, enzyme inactivation, and DNA damage. Recent reports suggest that cytokines might be involved in free radical injury as well as in adaptive response to hyperoxic injury. However, actual signal transduction pathways involving cytokines have not yet been clarified. In this study we exposed cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to either ambient air or 100% oxygen, and compared for the rate of DNA synthesis ([3H]thymidine uptake) at different time points up to 72 h. After exposing the cells to each treatment condition, we extracted RNA, constructed complementary DNA using reverse transcriptase, amplified the specific DNA segments of cytokines by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and used the PCR products for gel electrophoresis to examine the bands which signified mRNA levels of corresponding cytokines. There was a significant decrease in the rate of DNA synthesis as early as 24 h. The mRNA expression of IL-1 beta and TNFa seemed less influenced by hyperoxia, while IL-8 and TGF beta showed marked increase in mRNA levels at 6 h of 100% oxygen exposure.
Cells, Cultured ; Cytokines/genetics* ; DNA/biosynthesis ; Endothelium, Vascular/metabolism* ; Human ; Hyperoxia/metabolism* ; RNA, Messenger/analysis* ; Umbilical Veins

BACKGROUNDBioactive proteins, such as cytokines and chemokines, have not been systematically evaluated in healthy and preeclamptic pregnancies. We aimed to investigate the difference of these proteins between healthy and preeclamptic pregnancies in order to help clarify their potential roles in the pathogenesis of hypertension and proteinuria in preeclampsia.

METHODSSamples of amniotic fluid and maternal/umbilical cord blood were collected from normal pregnancies and women with preeclampsia for examination of bioactive proteins. Fifty-three pregnant women were enrolled in this study. Of them, 30 pregnant women were recruited as healthy controls, and 23 pregnant women were diagnosed with preeclampsia. An antibody array was used to screen for higher levels of cytokines and related proteins in amniotic fluid than in the blood samples, and these proteins were then selected for quantification by immunoassay.

RESULTSInterleukin-1 receptor 4, hepatocyte growth factor, and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor were significantly elevated in the blood of preeclampsia patients. In particular, interleukin-1 receptor 4 was 8-fold higher in preeclampsia patients than in the healthy pregnancies. Moreover, in cord blood samples hepatocyte growth factor and interleukin-8 were significantly higher in preeclampsia patients.

CONCLUSIONSBecause of the biologic activities, Interleukin-1 receptor 4, hepatocyte growth factor, urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and interleukin-8 in maternal and/or cord blood could play a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and proteinuria in preeclampsia.

Adult ; Amniotic Fluid ; metabolism ; Chemokines ; analysis ; physiology ; Cytokines ; analysis ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; etiology ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; blood ; Pre-Eclampsia ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Proteinuria ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of modified culture method used to cytogenetic analysis and the clinically significance of chromosomal abnormalities to multiple myeloma (MM).

METHODSMononuclear cells were isolated from bone marrow aspirate of 20 MM patients; and then cultured for 3 days without any cytokines, and 6 days in the presence of IL-6 (10 ng/mL) and GM-CSF (30 ng/mL) before RHG banding analysis; the remained part of aspirates were treated directly. Eight cases of iron deficiency anemia were taken as control.

RESULTSThe experiment was failure in 2 cases because of blood clot, and another 2 cases could be analyzed only by direct method due to inadequate cells. The karyotype abnormalities were found from 4 cases of 16 available patients. Of them, three cases had complex karyotypes. The abnormalities were detected after 6 days culture with addition of cytokines. No abnormalities were detected from those groups of directly analysis and 3 day culture. Meantime, the clinical data showed that the patients with cytogenetic abnormalities were in stage III, and had a high percentage of MM cells (25%-56%) in their bone marrow, and also poor responses to prior chemotherapy. No cytogenetic abnormalities were found from control individuals in all groups.

CONCLUSIONExtended culture in the presence of cytokines could improve the efficiency of cytogenetic analysis to MM. Complex karyotype was common cytogenetic abnormalities in MM patients with poor response to chemotherapy.

Aged ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Karyotyping ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; genetics ; pathology

AIMTo investigate if interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are able to stimulate the level of lipid peroxidation of sperm membranes, either alone or in the presence of leukocytes.

METHODSSemen samples from normozoospermic donors were prepared by density gradient. The sperms were exposed to the indicated cytokines, at physiological and infection-inflammation concentrations, in the absence or presence of leukocytes. Lipid peroxidation of the sperm membranes was determined by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxialkenals (HAE) formation.

RESULTSTNF-alpha, IL-8 and IFN-gamma increased the level of sperm membrane lipid peroxidation when tested at physiological concentrations. At infection-inflammation concentrations, only IL-8 was able to produce a higher effect. When assayed in the presence of leucocytes, IL-8 and TNF-alpha showed a higher effect at infection-inflammation concentrations than at physiological concentrations. Finally, IL-8 showed a higher effect in the presence of leukocytes than in their absence at both physiological and infection-inflammation concentrations. TNF-alpha also showed a higher effect when assayed in the presence of leukocytes than in their absence, but only at infection-inflammation concentrations. There was no effect of IL-6 or IL-10 in any of the tested conditions.

CONCLUSIONSeveral pro-inflammatory cytokines at physiological concentrations increase the level of lipid peroxidation of sperm membranes, which could be important for the sperm fecundation process. However, infection-inflammation concentrations of some cytokines, such as IL-8 and TNF-alpha, either alone or in the presence of leukocytes, could drive the lipid peroxidation of the spermatozoa plasma membrane to levels that can affect the sperm fertility capacity.

Cytokines ; analysis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; physiopathology ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Interleukins ; metabolism ; Leukocyte Count ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Male ; Reference Values ; Spermatozoa ; physiology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the change of Th immunological gene in renal transplant recipients after the treatment of cyclosporine (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506).

METHODSThe peripheral blood lymphacytes just before and 24 hours after CsA and FK506 treatment were isolated. The total RNA of them were reverse-transcripted and examined by real-time quantity PCR array. The results were analyzed by bioinformatic methods.

RESULTSThe TLR4, CEBPB, IL4R, IL1R1,IL18R1,and IL1R2 genes were remarkably upregulated, whereas IL-2, CCL5, CD27, CCR5, CCR4, CD4, RPL13A, TGFB3, CD86, CCR3, STAT1, NFATC2IP, IL23A, IL15, IRF4, and TFCP2 were downregulated 24 hours after CsA treatment. The IL18, IL7, PTPRC, TNFSF4, SPP1, GFI1, TLR4, IL13RA1, TNF, INHBA, LAG3, IL13, IL1R1, SOCS5, IL10, YY1, TBX21, FASLG, IL18R1, and IL1R2 genes were remarkably upregulated, whereas IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6,CCR5, CD4, CD27, CD40LG, IL15, CCR3, CD86, CCR4, and IRF4 were obviously downregulated 24 hours after FK506 treatment.

CONCLUSIONCsA and FK506 exert their therapeutic effectiveness by regulating the expressions of a series of target genes.

Cyclosporine ; pharmacology ; Cytokines ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Kidney ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Kidney Transplantation ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Tacrolimus ; pharmacology

Acute pancreatitis has a variable etiology and natural history, and some patients have severe complications with a significant risk of death. The prediction of severe disease should be achieved by careful ongoing clinical assessment coupled with the use of a multiple factor scoring system and imaging studies. Over the past 30 years several scoring systems have been developed to predict the severity of acute pancreatitis. However, there are no complete scoring index with high sensitivity and specificity till now. The interest in new biological markers and predictive models for identifying severe acute pancreatitis testifies to the continued clinical importance of early severity prediction. Among them, IL-6, IL-10, procalcitonin, and trypsinogen activation peptide are most likely to be used in clinical practice as predictors of severity. Even if contrast-enhanced CT has been considered the gold standard for diagnosing pancreatic necrosis, early scanning for the prediction of severity is limited because the full extent of pancreatic necrosis may not develop within the first 48 hour of presentation.
APACHE ; Age Factors ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis ; Creatine/analysis ; Cytokines/metabolism ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing/*diagnosis ; Prognosis ; *Severity of Illness Index ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

UNLABELLEDIn this study, the roles of hematopoietic inhibitors elaborated by bone marrow endothelial cells in the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors were investigated. Murine bone marrow endothelial cell conditioned medium (BMEC-CM) was collected and the components with > 10 kD and < 10 kD were obtained by centrifugal ultrafiltration. The effect of BMEC-CM and its components on proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors was evaluated by CFU-GM and HPP-CFC assay and antibody neutralization test. The expression of the inhibitors in BMEC and BMEC-CM was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, and change of proliferation and differentiation-related genes during expansion of hematopoietic progenitors was examined by membrane hybridization technique.

THE RESULTS(1) When BME C-CM and its components directly were added to CFU-GM and HPP-CFC culture system, BMEC-CM had no effect on colony formation, > 10 kD component enhanced and < 10 kD component inhibited the formation of CFU-GM and HPP-CFC. (2) When BMEC-C M and its components were added to liquid culture system of marrow cells, after 24 hours incubation, CFU-GM decreased and HPP-CFC increased significantly in B MEC-CM group, CFU-GM increased and HPP-CFC had no significant change in > 10 kD component group; and both CFU-GM and HPP-CFC reduced in < 10 kD group. (3) MIP-2, MIP-1 alpha, MSP, TGF-beta, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and T beta 4 were expressed in murine marrow endothelial cells, and MIP-2, MIP-1 alpha, MSP, TGF-beta, TNF-alpha and T beta 4 were existed in BMEC-CM. (4) Antibody neutralization test results demonstrated that TGF-beta, MSP, MIP-1 alpha, IFN-gamma and T beta 4 existed in BMEC-CM had significant suppressive effects on CFU-GM and HPP-CFC. (5) T beta 4 combined with 5 hematopoietic cytokines (SCF, IL-3, IL-6, GM-CSF and EPO) added to CD34(+) cells expansion culture system, HPP-CFC significantly increased compared with 5 cytokines group. T beta 4 could downregulated the expression of proliferation and differentiation-related genes and signal transduction-related genes. It is concluded that BM EC-CM promotes the proliferation of early hematopoietic progenitor cells, and this effect is related with the inhibitors existed in BMEC-CM and it could be executed via influencing cell proliferation and differentiation-related genes and signal-related genes.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; metabolism ; Cell Division ; drug effects ; Cytokines ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Endothelium ; cytology ; metabolism ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; drug effects ; physiology ; Mice ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Thymosin ; pharmacology

Various cytokines and chemokines play a role in carcinogenesis. However, no study has previously been undertaken to investigate comprehensively the expressions of cytokines and chemokines in hepatoma cells. In this study, we determined which cytokines and chemokines are expressed in hepatoma cells. Recently, it was reported that the expressions of several chemokines could be increased by Fas stimulus in many normal and cancer cells. Therefore, we also investigated whether chemokines expression is regulated by Fas ligation. To address this issue, we performed RNase protection assays upon 13 cytokines and 8 chemokines genes in 10 human hepatoma cell lines, comprising 8 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatoma cell lines. Transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-beta2) was found to be expressed in 8 HBV-associated hepatoma cell lines, and to be potently expressed in 5 cell lines; however, the mRNA expressions of interleukin-10 (IL-10), IL-12, interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) were not detected in any cell lines examined. Among the chemokines investigated in this study, IL-8 was expressed by 8 HBV- associated hepatoma cell lines, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) by 7 HBV-associated hepatoma cell lines. However, the mRNA expressions of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), MIP-beta, interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), RANTES, lymphotactin and I-309 were either very weak or undetectable. Fas ligation did not increase chemokines expression in hepatoma cells. Conclusively, TGF-beta2, IL-8 and MCP-1 were overexpressed in HBV-associated hepatoma cells, and the expressions of chemokines were not increased by Fas ligation in human hepatoma cells.
Antigens, CD95/physiology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*metabolism ; Chemokines/*genetics ; Cytokines/*genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Human ; Liver Neoplasms/*metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/analysis ; Tumor Cells, Cultured