No abstract available.
Animals ; Capsaicin* ; Colon* ; Cytokines* ; Lung* ; Melanoma, Experimental* ; Mice* ; RNA, Messenger*

It has been known that the interconnection between the gervous, endocrine and immune system are largely mediated through regulatory soluble factors such as neruopeptides, cytokines and hormones. Capsaicin, the pungent principle of hot peppers, is a neurotoxin that affects primary sensory neurons of the C and A-b type and depletes primary sensory neurons (polymodal nociceptors) of neuropeptides like tachykinin. In this study capsaicin was used to explore the possible role of the neruons on the expression of cellular and humoral immune responses and TNF-a prodcution. Mice were pretreated with s.c. injections in the neck region with a single dose of 100 u,g of capsaicin per mouse before immunization. ...continue...
Anaphylaxis* ; Animals ; Capsaicin* ; Carcinogenesis* ; Cytokines ; Immune System ; Immunity, Humoral ; Immunization ; Mice* ; Neck ; Neuropeptides ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Tachykinins

Capsaicin, the pungent principle of hot peppers, is a neurotoxin that depletes unmyelinated primary sensory neurons (polymodal nociceptors) of neuropeptides like tachykinins. However, the role of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerve in the production of cytokines, penicillin V (PEV)-induced active fatal anaphylaxis and other immune responses is not yet fully established. Neonatal mice were pretreated s.c. with a single injection of 10 ug of capsaicin per mouse in volume of 20 ul within 5 days of age. Using 5-8 week old mice pretreated as neonates with capsaicin, the capsaicin- pretreated and vehicle-treated control mice were examined for various parameters of immune responses described above. For the induction of active fatal anaphylaxis with PEV, 8 week old mice pretreated as neonates and age-matched capsaicin- untreated control mice were sensitized i.p. with 500 ug of PEV-ovalbumin conjugate plus 2*10(9) B. pertussis and 1.0 mg alum and challenged i.v. with PEV-bovine serum albumin conjugate 14 days later. It was found that neonatal capsaicin-pretreatment significantly enhanced contact hypersensitivity to TNCB and hemagglutination response to SRBC, but significantly inhibited the proliferation response of rnurine splenocyte to Con A and LPS. Interestingly, neonatal capsaicin pretreatment significantly inhibited the intensity of PEV-induced active fatal anaphylaxis and decreased the mortality due to anaphylactic shock. It also significantly inhibited LPS- induced production of cytokines such as TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12. The capsaicin-pretreatment also resulted in an inhibition of the activation of NF-kB. Taken together, these data showed for the first time that neonatal capsaicin-pretreatment significantly inhibited an antibiotic (PEV)-induced anaphylaxis and production of various cytokines, and suggest that capsaicin-sensitive primary sensory nerve may play an important regulatory role in active fatal anaphylaxis and cytokine production, thus potentially presenting tools for immune intervention. In particular, the data presented also indicated the possibility to selectively down-modulate cytokine production and NF-kB activation may offer a broad application for therapeutic intervention in neuroimmunological diseases and other pathological situations.
Anaphylaxis ; Animals ; Capsaicin* ; Cytokines ; Denervation* ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Hemagglutination ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-6 ; Mice ; Mortality ; Neuropeptides ; NF-kappa B ; Penicillin V ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Serum Albumin ; Tachykinins ; Whooping Cough

No abstract available.
Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Myotonic Dystrophy* ; Pregnancy

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of acute administration of ethanol on production of cytokines such as IL-1j3, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-a, induction of penicillin V-induced active fatal anaphylaxis, and resistence to Salmonel/a typhimurium infection in mice. Ethanol administration into mice was performed by intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml of 20 % ethanol for 3 consecutive days before induction of cytokines with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Con A or Salmone/la injection. Serum levels of cytokines were measured by ELISA. It was found that ethanol administration significantly inhibited both the serum levels of all cytokines examined and the resistance of mice to S. typhimurium. However, ethanol administration failed to prevent penicillin-induced fatal anaphylaxis. Taken together, the present results may need new insights in the diagnosis and treatment of various immunologically-mediated diseases.
Anaphylaxis* ; Animals ; Cytokines* ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Ethanol ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Mice* ; Penicillin V* ; Penicillins* ; Salmonella Infections* ; Salmonella*

"Capsaicin, the pungent principle of hot peppers, is a neurotoxin that depletes primary sensory neurons of neuropeptides like tachykinin. The objectives of these experiment was to examine the effects of capsaicin on Salmonel/a typhimurium-induced production of cytokines such as TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12 and on production of nitric oxide in peritoneal macrophages. In addition, the effects of capsaicin on survival rates of S. typhimurium-infected mice and on nuclear transcription factor (NF-kB) activation were also investigated. Mice were pretreated with a single s.c. injection of 100 ug of capsaicin and were infected i.v. with S. typhimurium (5xO5/mouse) in 0.2 ml volume after capsaicin pretreatment. The serum cytokine levels were measured 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after Salmonella infection, using ELISA kits. The activation of NF-B was also examined by gel shift assay in spleens, thymuses and brains of mice that had been pretreated with a single s.c. injection of 100 ug of capsaicin. It was found that Sa/mone/la infection induced the production of TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12, but capsaicin pretreatment inhibited the production of TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-10 and IL-12, but enhanced IL-6 production 120 min after Salmonella infection. Interestingly, the capsaicin pretreatment inhibited the activation of NF-kB in spleens and thymuses. There were no differences in the numbers of bacteria in livers, brains, spleens, kidneys and lungs between capsaicin- pretreated mice and the control animals in applied experimental conditions. Suprisingly, however, capsaicin pretreatment increased both the survival rates of Sa/mone//a-infected mice and production of nitric oxide by peritoneal macrophages compared with capsaicin-untreated control mice. Taken together, these results indicate that the capsaicin-sensitive primary sensory neurons may play an important modulatory role in the production of cytokine, nitric oxide and NF-B activation and the pathogenesis of salmonellosis."
Animals ; Bacteria ; Brain ; Capsaicin* ; Cytokines* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-6 ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice ; Neuropeptides ; NF-kappa B* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Salmonella Infections* ; Salmonella typhimurium ; Salmonella* ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Spleen ; Survival Rate ; Tachykinins ; Thymus Gland ; Transcription Factors

Trichilemmal horn(trichilemmal keratosis) is a rare keratinizing tumor that resembles a cutaneous horn. Histologically, it is characterized by an abrupt maturation of keratinocytes into lamellar keratin without the formation of a granular layer. We describe a case of a trichilemmal horn on the right cheek of a 78-year-old woman.
Aged ; Animals ; Cheek ; Female ; Horns* ; Humans ; Keratinocytes

No abstract available.
Hand Strength*

Thrombomodulin (TM) is thrombin receptor present on the luminal surface of endothelial cells. Because the thrombin-TM complex acts as an anticoagulant, the functional variants or deficiency of TM may lead to increment of thrombotic tendency. In this study, we screened the genetic variants of the TM gene in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and analyzed the genotype to elucidate the effects of genetic variations of TM gene on the development of the MI. We screened a promoter region and coding sequence of the TM gene using single strand conformation polymorphism-heteroduplex analysis and identified three common genetic variants: those were TM G-33A, TM Ala455Val, and TM C1922T. The genotype frequencies were investigated in the patients with MI (n=234) and control subjects (n=291) by the method of allele-specific oligomer hybridization. The frequencies of mutant genotypes (TM -33A, TM 455Val, and TM 1922T) were higher in patient group compared to the control subjects in males while there were no significant differences in females. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, TM 455Val and TM 1922T alleles were independent risk factors for MI (OR[95% CI: 1.799[1.125-2.878] p=0.014 and 5.624[1.019-31.025], p=0.048, respectively) in males. However, the genetic variations were not independent risk factors for MI in females. There were significant linkage disequilibriums among three genetic variants. These linkage disequilibriums explain the similar effects of three genetic variants on the development of MI. To investigate the effect of the TM G-33A mutation on TM promoter activity, the two TM promoter constructs (pTM-355 and pTM-125, bearing TM -33G or TM -33A) containing of firefly luciferase gene were transfected into HepG2, BAE, and CHO cells. The promoter activities were higher in the promoter constructs with TM -33G compared to the constructs with TM -33A in pTM-355. These results suggest the possibility of the positive predisposing effect of TM -33A allele on MI in males. The functional study for TM Ala455Val and TM C1922T should be followed to elucidate the genotype effects of these mutations on the development of MI. In this study, we identified three genetic variants of TM gene and showed the significant associations between genetic variants and MI in males. These results proposed that TM gene is an attractive candidate for genetic risk factor for MI in Koreans.
Alleles ; Animals ; CHO Cells ; Clinical Coding ; Cricetinae ; Endothelial Cells ; Female ; Fireflies ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Logistic Models ; Luciferases ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Phenobarbital ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Receptors, Thrombin ; Risk Factors* ; Thrombomodulin

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to analyze the association between the severity of sleep apnea, sleep and mood related scales, and activity during sleep in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients. METHODS: One hundred seventy six drug-free male patients confirmed as OSAS (average age=43+/-11 years) were selected through nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG). OSAS was diagnosed with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) >5, mean AHI was 39.6+/-26.0. Sleep related scales were Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Morningness-Eveningness Scale (MES). Mood related scales were Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) I, II and Profile of Mood States (POMS). NPSG was performed overnight with both wrist actigraphy (WATG). Parameters produced from WATG were total activity score, mean activity score and fragmentation index. We analyzed the correlation between each scale, AHI scored from NPSG and activity score analyzed from WATG. RESULTS: ESS showed significant positive correlation with PSQI, BDI, BAI and STAI I, II, respectively (p<0.01). SSS showed significant positive correlation with PSQI and BAI (p<0.05, p<0.01). BAI showed significant positive correlation with total activity score, mean activity score and fragmentation index (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.05). Total activity score showed significant positive correlation with ESS and BAI, respectively (p<0.05). Fragmentation index showed significant positive correlation with ESS, PSQI and BAI (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.05). AHI, indicator of sleep apnea is showed no significant correlation with each sleep and mood related scale. CONCLUSION: The degree of daytime sleepiness tends to be associated with night sleep satisfaction, depression and anxiety, and the activity during sleep rather than the severity of sleep apnea.
Actigraphy ; Anxiety ; Depression ; Humans ; Male ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Weights and Measures ; Wrist