No abstract available.
Funnel Chest*

Neutrophils are the major antimicrobial cells of the innate immune system, which are recruited rapidly to the sites of infection and provide the primary defense against pathogens. Recent evidence suggests that neutrophils undergo a distinct cell death mechanism called NETosis, which not only contributes to the host defense, but also leads to severe pathological immune responses in cases of dysregulation. Here, we review the general features of NETosis as well as the generation of autoantigens and damage-associated molecular patterns by NETosis in autoimmune diseases. This review discusses the pathogenic role of NETosis in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, where neutrophils may play a key role in the pathogenesis of these diseases, and suggest the possibility of neutrophil extracellular traps as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoantigens ; Autoimmune Diseases* ; Biomarkers ; Cell Death ; Immune System ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Neutrophils

Background: Inter1eukin-6(IL-6) is known to be produced by osteoblastic cells and to have impartant role in regulation of bone remodelling, Most previous studies indicated that IL-6 bas a major role in stimulating osteoclastic resorption by increasing recruitment and proliferation of preosteoclasts. But its autocrine effect on osteoblastic cells has not been well established yet. Therefore, we studied the effects of IL-6 on messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of proteins that are characteristic of osteoblastic cells in human bone marrow stromal (osteoprogenitor) cells (hRMSC). Methods: The expression of mRNAs for alkaline phosphatase, al(1)-collagen, osteopontin and decorin were studied by northern blot analysis after 3 7 days' treatrnent with IL-6 in the concenttation range of 101,000 U/ml. Results: The mRNA levels for any of the osteoblastic proteins studied did not change significantly by IL-6 treatment up to the concentration of 1,000 U/ml. Conclusion: These results suggest that IL-6 does not have a significant role in differentiatian or activities of human bone rnarrow stromal.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Blotting, Northern ; Bone Marrow ; Decorin ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Osteopontin ; RNA, Messenger

BACKGROUND: The surfactant specific proteins, SP-B and SP-C are believed to be important regulators of the surfactant function and homeostasis. Since acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) is usually viewed as the functional and morphological expression of a similar underlying lung injury caused by a variety of insults, and since abnormalities in the surfactant function have been described in ARDS, the authors investigated the different effects of endotoxin and thiourea on the accumulation of mRNA encoding SP-B and SP-C. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were given 5 mg/kg of an intraperitoneal endotoxin from Salmonella enteritidis and 3.5 mg/kg intraperitoneal thiourea and were sacrificed at different time periods. RESULTS: 1. The SP-B mRNA levels 6 and 24 hours after the 5 mg/kg endotoxin treatment was significantly reduced by 26.1% and 50%, respectively(P<0.01, P<0.001). 2. The SP-B mRNA levels 24 hours after the 3.5 mg/kg thiourea treatment was reduced by 9.8% and 12.5%, respectively. 3. The SP-C mRNA levels 6 and 24 hours after the 5 mg/kg endotoxin treatment was significantly reduced by 38.7% and 53.6%, respectively(P<0.01, P<0.001). 4. The SP-C mRNA level 6 hours after the 3.5 mg/kg thiourea treatment was reduced by 22.8%(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the differential regulation of the hydrophobic surfactant proteins in vivo is evident, and suggest that the hydrophobic surfactant proteins might be differentially regulated during lung injury at different time periods without altering the lung wet to dry ratios. The mechanism of these alternations at the different time periods and the different kinds of etiology remain to be determined.
Animals ; Gene Expression* ; Homeostasis ; Lung ; Lung Injury ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; RNA, Messenger ; Salmonella enteritidis ; Thiourea*

No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome* ; Pregnancy* ; Renal Dialysis*

Fisetin, a natural flavonoid found in a variety of vegetables and fruits, has been shown to possess many biological functions. The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of fisetin on vascular smooth muscle contractility and to determine the mechanism involved. Denuded aortic rings from male rats were used and isometric contractions were recorded and combined with molecular experiments. Fisetin significantly relaxed fluoride-, thromboxane A2- or phorbol ester-induced vascular contraction suggesting as a possible anti-hypertensive on the agonist-induced vascular contraction regardless of endothelial nitric oxide synthesis. Furthermore, fisetin significantly inhibited fluoride-induced increases in pMYPT1 levels and phorbol ester-induced increases in pERK1/2 levels suggesting the mechanism involving the inhibition of Rho-kinase activity and the subsequent phosphorylation of MYPT1 and MEK activity and the subsequent phosphorylation of ERK1/2. This study provides evidence regarding the mechanism underlying the relaxation effect of fisetin on agonist-induced vascular contraction regardless of endothelial function.
Animals ; Fluorides ; Fruit ; Humans ; Isometric Contraction ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Nitric Oxide ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Relaxation ; rho-Associated Kinases ; Vegetables

H2-receptor blockers are widely used for therapy of peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. H2-receptor blockers infrequently cause adverse hepatic effects, and when they occur they are usually asymptomatic. There are several previous reports of liver injury related to ranitidine. Until now, only two cases of acute hepatitis associated with the use of famotidine were reported in the world. We report three cases of clinical hepatitis that followed administration of famotidine (2 cases) and ranitidine (1 case). First, a 54-year-old woman received famotidine, 40mg, daily for treatment of erosive gastritis. After 6 weeks of treatment with famotidine, jaundice and itching sense developed. Second, a 45-year-old man was hospitalized for jaundice. He had a long history of duodenal ulcer and had been intermittently treated with famotidine. He had 6 weeks of treatment with famotidine prior to admission. Third, a 19-year-old woman was hospitalized for nausea, vomiting and urticaria. She had a history of acute hepatitis B virus infection and was discharged 4 weeks prior to readmission. She had been received ranitidine, 300 mg, daily for treatment of gastritis. After 17 days of drug ingestion, whenever she had taken her medication, she developed these symptoms of nausea, vomiting and urticaria. Other causes of hepatitis were ruled out and all patients recovered after discontinuation of drug ingestion.
Duodenal Ulcer ; Eating ; Famotidine* ; Female ; Gastritis ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; Peptic Ulcer ; Pruritus ; Ranitidine* ; Urticaria ; Vomiting ; Young Adult

H2-receptor blockers are widely used for therapy of peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. H2-receptor blockers infrequently cause adverse hepatic effects, and when they occur they are usually asymptomatic. There are several previous reports of liver injury related to ranitidine. Until now, only two cases of acute hepatitis associated with the use of famotidine were reported in the world. We report three cases of clinical hepatitis that followed administration of famotidine (2 cases) and ranitidine (1 case). First, a 54-year-old woman received famotidine, 40mg, daily for treatment of erosive gastritis. After 6 weeks of treatment with famotidine, jaundice and itching sense developed. Second, a 45-year-old man was hospitalized for jaundice. He had a long history of duodenal ulcer and had been intermittently treated with famotidine. He had 6 weeks of treatment with famotidine prior to admission. Third, a 19-year-old woman was hospitalized for nausea, vomiting and urticaria. She had a history of acute hepatitis B virus infection and was discharged 4 weeks prior to readmission. She had been received ranitidine, 300 mg, daily for treatment of gastritis. After 17 days of drug ingestion, whenever she had taken her medication, she developed these symptoms of nausea, vomiting and urticaria. Other causes of hepatitis were ruled out and all patients recovered after discontinuation of drug ingestion.
Duodenal Ulcer ; Eating ; Famotidine* ; Female ; Gastritis ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; Peptic Ulcer ; Pruritus ; Ranitidine* ; Urticaria ; Vomiting ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Liver biopsy has been used to evaluate the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases. It is important to assess liver fibrosis when following the course of chronic liver diseases. Histopathological examination of percutaneous biopsy specimens is invasive and is also of questionable value because of the heterogenous distribution of pathological changes in the liver. Therefore, non-nvasive methods to determine the progress of liver fibrosis are needed. Serum hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen are known to be related to hepatic fibrosis. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen measurement as a differential point in patients with chronic liver diseases and early cirrhosis. METHODS: This study included 109 patients with chronic liver diseases caused by various etiologies. Liver biopsy and histopathological classification were done in all patients. Serum hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen were measured by one-tep sandwich binding protein assay and one-tep sandwich enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: The concentrations of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen in the early cirrhosis group (208.5+/-186.4 ng/mL, 242.1+/-162.8 ng/mL) were significantly higher (p<0.01) than those in the normal and fatty liver group (26.3+/-21.7 ng/mL, 79.2+/-28.8 ng/mL), mild chronic hepatitis group (22.8+/-15.4 ng/mL, 125.5+/-79.7 ng/mL), moderate to severe hepatitis group (66.3+/-60.5 ng/mL, 148.5+/-78.7 ng/mL). At the cutoff value of 100 ng/mL for hyaluronic acid and 200 ng/mL for type IV collagen, the sensitivities were 66.7% and 55.6%, and specifities were 82.9% and 89%, and diagnostic efficiencies were 78.9% and 80.7% respectively for discriminating patients with cirrhosis (4 points) from the mild to severe fibrosis (0~3 points). CONCLUSIONS: The serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen may be sensitive markers of fibrotic process in chronic liver diseases and useful biochemical markers in differentiation of the patients with early cirrhosis from those with chronic liver diseases.
Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Carrier Proteins ; Classification ; Collagen Type IV* ; Fatty Liver ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Diseases ; Liver*

PURPOSE: We performed this study to evaluate the alterations in renal function for patients with ileal conduit and ileal orthotopic neobladder MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1999 to June 2004, 48 patients who had undergone radical cystectomy with urinary diversion were included in our study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the types of urinary diversion. One group consisted of 29 patients with ileal conduit and the other group consisted of 19 patients with ileal W neobladder. The mean age of the ileal conduit group and the ileal W neobladder group were 65.6+/-9.9 years and 60.8+/-8.3 years, respectively. The preoperative and postoperative blood urea nitrogen/creatinine (BUN/Cr) levels, postoperative complications and postoperative GFR, as measured by (99m)Tc-DTPA scans, were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: For the postoperative complications, stricture at the ureterovesical anastomosis site occurred in 1.7% (1/58 renal units) of the ileal conduit group and in 10.5% (4/38 renal units) of the ileal W neobladder group. Acute pyelonephritis occurred in 5.2% (3/58 renal units) of the ileal conduit group and in 5.3% (2/38 renal units) of the ileal W neobladder group. The pre- and postoperative serum BUN/Cr levels were 20.8/1.3 and 24.8/1.6, respectively, in the ileal conduit group, and 17.2/1.1 and 18.8/1.2, respectively, in the ileal W neobladder group. There were no statistical significant differences between the pre- and postoperative changes of the serum BUN/Cr levels for both groups. The GFR, as measured by (99m)Tc-DTPA scans, were 77.6 and 78.7ml/ min/1.73m2 in the ileal conduit group and the ileal W neobladder group, respectively. There were no statistical significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in renal function between the ileal conduit and ileal W neobladder.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Cystectomy ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; Pyelonephritis ; Urea ; Urinary Diversion*