Regulation by anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, TGFbeta)of interleukin-8 production by LPS- and/ or TNFalpha-activated human polymorphonuclear cells

Predicting Anti-inflammatory Peptides by Ensemble Machine Learning and Deep Learning

Inflammation is a biological response to harmful stimuli, aiding in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. However, excessive or persistent inflammation can precipitate a myriad of pathological conditions. Although current treatments such as NSAIDs, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants are effective, they can have side effects and resistance issues. In this backdrop, anti-inflammatory peptides (AIPs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic approach against inflammation. Leveraging machine learning methods, we have the opportunity to accelerate the discovery and investigation of these AIPs more effectively. In this study, we proposed an advanced framework by ensemble machine learning and deep learning for AIP prediction. Initially, we constructed three individual models with extremely randomized trees (ET), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with attention mechanism and then used stacking architecture to build the final predictor. By utilizing various sequence encodings and combining the strengths of different algorithms, our predictor demonstrated exemplary performance. On our independent test set, our model achieved an accuracy, MCC, and F1-score of 0.757, 0.500, and 0.707, respectively, clearly outperforming other contemporary AIP prediction methods. Additionally, our model offers profound insights into the feature interpretation of AIPs, establishing a valuable knowledge foundation for the design and development of future anti-inflammatory strategies.

Secretomes of M1 and M2 macrophages decrease the release of neutrophil extracellular traps

The release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) can be either beneficial or detrimental for the host, thus it is necessary to maintain a balance between formation and clearance of NETs. Multiple physiological factors eliciting NET release have been identified, yet the studies on natural signals limiting NET formation have been scarce. Accordingly, our aim was to analyze whether cytokines or immune cells can inhibit NET formation. To that end, human granulocytes were incubated with interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor beta-2 or adenosine and then stimulated to release NETs. Additionally, neutrophils were cultured in the presence of natural killer (NK) cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory macrophages (M1 or M2 macrophages), or in the presence of NK/Tregs/M1 macrophages or M2 macrophages-conditioned medium and subsequently stimulated to release NETs. Our studies showed that secretome of M1 and M2 macrophages, but not of NK cells and Tregs, diminishes NET formation. Co-culture experiments did not reveal any effect of immune cells on NET release. No effect of cytokines or adenosine on NET release was found. This study highlights the importance of paracrine signaling at the site of infection and is the first to show that macrophage secretome can regulate NET formation.

Prediction of anti-inflammatory peptides by a sequence-based stacking ensemble model named AIPStack

Accurate and efficient identification of anti-inflammatory peptides (AIPs) is crucial for the treatment of inflammation. Here, we proposed a two-layer stacking ensemble model, AIPStack, to effectively predict AIPs. At first, we constructed a new dataset for model building and validation. Then, peptide sequences were represented by hybrid features, which were fused by two amino acid composition descriptors. Next, the stacking ensemble model was constructed by random forest and extremely randomized tree as the base-classifiers and logistic regression as the meta-classifier to receive the outputs from the base-classifiers. AIPStack achieved an AUC of 0.819, accuracy of 0.755, and MCC of 0.510 on the independent set 3, which were higher than other AIP predictors. Furthermore, the essential sequence features were highlighted by the Shapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method. It is anticipated that AIPStack could be used for AIP prediction in a high-throughput manner and facilitate the hypothesis-driven experimental design.

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AIPStack model was developed for the prediction of anti-inflammatory peptides

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The hybrid features were used to describe the peptide sequences

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The proposed model AIPStack outperformed existing ones

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SHAP was used to highlight the essential features required for AIP prediction

IL-37 expression reduces acute and chronic neuroinflammation and rescues cognitive impairment in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model

The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-37 (IL-37) belongs to the IL-1 family but is not expressed in mice. We used a human IL-37 (hIL-37tg) expressing mouse, which has been subjected to various models of local and systemic inflammation as well as immunological challenges. Previous studies reveal an immunomodulatory role of IL-37, which can be characterized as an important suppressor of innate immunity. Here, we examined the functions of IL-37 in the central nervous system and explored the effects of IL-37 on neuronal architecture and function, microglial phenotype, cytokine production and behavior after inflammatory challenge by intraperitoneal LPS-injection. In wild-type mice, decreased spine density, activated microglial phenotype and impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) were observed after LPS injection, whereas hIL-37tg mice showed no impairment. In addition, we crossed the hIL-37tg mouse with an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease (APP/PS1) to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of IL-37 under chronic neuroinflammatory conditions. Our results show that expression of IL-37 is able to limit inflammation in the brain after acute inflammatory events and prevent loss of cognitive abilities in a mouse model of AD.

Contrasting effects of sleep fragmentation and angiotensin-II treatment upon pro-inflammatory responses of mice

Disordered sleep promotes inflammation in brain and peripheral tissues, but the mechanisms that regulate these responses are poorly understood. One hypothesis is that activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) from sleep loss elevates blood pressure to promote vascular sheer stress leading to inflammation. As catecholamines produced from SNS activation can directly regulate inflammation, we pharmacologically altered blood pressure using an alternative approach-manipulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Male C57BL6/J mice were treated with angiotensin or captopril to elevate and reduce blood pressure, respectively and then exposed to 24-h of sleep fragmentation (SF) or allowed to sleep (control). Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine gene expression and as endothelial adhesion gene expression as well as serum glucocorticoids (corticosterone) were measured. RAS manipulation elevated cytokines and endothelial adhesion expression in heart and aorta while SF increased cytokine expression in peripheral tissues, but not brain. However, there were interactive effects of angiotensin-II and SF upon cytokine gene expression in hippocampus and hypothalamus, but not prefrontal cortex. SF, but not RAS manipulation, elevated serum corticosterone concentration. These findings highlight the contrasting effects of RAS manipulation and SF, implying that inflammation from SF is acting on different pathways that are largely independent of RAS manipulation.

Prophylactic Effect of Lactobacillus fermentum TKSN02 on Gastric Injury Induced by Hydrochloric Acid/Ethanol in Mice Through Its Antioxidant Capacity

In this article, the preventive and protective effect of a new Lactobacillus fermentum, (Lactobacillus fermentum TKSN02: LF-N2), which was isolated and identified from Xinjiang naturally fermented yogurt, on hydrochloric acid (HCl)/ethanol induced gastric injury in mice was studied. A total of 40 mice were divided into the following five groups: normal, model, LF-N2, LB (Lactobacillus bulgaricus), and Ranitidine groups. Except for the normal and model groups, mice in the other groups were treated with LF-N2, LB (Lactobacillus bulgaricus), and Ranitidine separately, and the injury of the gastric tissue was observed by taking photos and pathological sections. The levels of oxidation indicators, gastrointestinal hormone and the inflammatory cytokines in serum and gastric tissue in each group were measured. Further more, the gene expression levels of oxidative stress and inflammation related genes in the colon tissue were determined by the Real-Time PCR method. Pathological observation confirmed that LF-N2 could inhibit the gastric injury caused by HCl/ethanol. Observation of the appearance of the gastric indicated that LF-N2 could effectively reduce the area of gastric injury. Biochemical results showed that the serum gastrin (GAS) and gastric motilin (MTL) levels in the LF-N2 group were significantly lower and the serum somatostatin (SS) level was higher than in the model group and there was no significant difference between all treatment groups. The activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were increased while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was decreased in LF-N2 treatment group mice, which suggested that LF-N2 has a good antioxidant effect. Further RT-PCR experiments also showed that LF-N2 could promote the related mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes (Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, and CAT) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, and IL-10), while it inhibited the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) and apoptosis factor (Caspase-3). As observed, LF-N2 exerted a good preventive effect on HCl/ethanol induced gastric injury in mice, and the effect was close to that of LB, which indicated that LF-N2 has potential use as a probiotic due to its gastric injury treatment effects.

Circadian Rhythms in Bacterial Sepsis Pathology: What We Know and What We Should Know

Sepsis is a syndrome caused by a deregulated host response to infection, representing the primary cause of death from infection. In animal models, the mortality rate is strongly dependent on the time of sepsis induction, suggesting a main role of the circadian system. In patients undergoing sepsis, deregulated circadian rhythms have also been reported. Here we review data related to the timing of sepsis induction to further understand the different outcomes observed both in patients and in animal models. The magnitude of immune activation as well as the hypothermic response correlated with the time of the worst prognosis. The different outcomes seem to be dependent on the expression of the clock gene Bmal1 in the liver and in myeloid immune cells. The understanding of the role of the circadian system in sepsis pathology could be an important tool to improve patient therapies.

AIEpred: An Ensemble Predictive Model of Classifier Chain to Identify Anti-Inflammatory Peptides

Anti-inflammatory peptides (AIEs) have recently emerged as promising therapeutic agent for treatment of various inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, detecting the correlation between amino acid sequence and its anti-inflammatory property is of great importance for the discovery of new AIEs. To address this issue, we propose a novel prediction tool for accurate identification of peptides as anti-inflammatory epitopes or non anti-inflammatory epitopes. Most of all, we encode the original peptide sequence for better mining and exploring the information and patterns, based on the three feature representations as amino acid contact, position specific scoring matrix, physicochemical property. At the same time, we exploit several feature extraction models and utilize one feature selection model, in order to construct many base classifiers from various feature representations. More specifically, we develop an effective classification model, with which we can extract and learn a set of informative features from the ensemble classifier chain model with different group of base classifiers. Furthermore, in order to test the predictive power of our model, we conduct the comparative experiments on the leave-one-out cross-validation and the independent test. It shows that our novel predictor performs great accurate for identification of AIEs as well as existing outstanding prediction tools. Source codes are available at https://github.com/guofei-tju/Ensemble-classifier-chain-model.

Alpha- and beta- adrenergic receptors regulate inflammatory responses to acute and chronic sleep fragmentation in mice

Sleep is a recuperative process, and its dysregulation has cognitive, metabolic, and immunological effects that are largely deleterious to human health. Epidemiological and empirical studies have suggested that sleep fragmentation (SF) as result of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other sleep abnormalities leads to pronounced inflammatory responses, which are influenced by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to SNS regulation of SF-induced inflammation are not fully understood. To assess the effects of the SNS upon inflammatory responses to SF, C57BL/6j female mice were placed in automated SF chambers with horizontally moving bars across the bottom of each cage at specified intervals to disrupt sleep. Mice were first subjected to either control (no bar movement), acute sleep fragmentation (ASF), or chronic sleep fragmentation (CSF) on a 12:12-h light/dark schedule. ASF involved a bar sweep every 120 s for 24 h, whereas CSF involved a bar sweep every 120 s for 12 h (during 12 L; resting period) over a period of 4 weeks. After exposure to these conditions, mice received an intraperitoneal injection of either phentolamine (5 mg/kg BW; an α-adrenergic receptor blocker), propranolol (5 mg/kg BW; a β-adrenergic receptor blocker), or vehicle (saline). Serum corticosterone concentration, brain and peripheral cytokine (IL1β, TNFα, and TGFβ) mRNA expression, and body mass were assessed. ASF and CSF significantly elevated serum corticosterone concentrations as well as cytokine mRNA expression levels compared with controls, and mice subjected to CSF had decreased body mass relative to controls. Mice subjected to CSF and treated with phentolamine or propranolol had a greater propensity for a decrease in cytokine gene expression compared with ASF, but effects were tissue-specific. Taken together, these results suggest that both α- and β-adrenergic receptors contribute to the SNS mediation of inflammatory responses, and adrenergic antagonists may effectively mitigate tissue-specific SF-mediated inflammation.

Investigation of Active Anti-Inflammatory Constituents of Essential Oil from Pinus koraiensis (Sieb. et Zucc.) Wood in LPS-Stimulated RBL-2H3 Cells

In a previous study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory activity of the essential oil extracted from Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis, Sieb. et Zucc.) wood. This study aims to investigate the active anti-inflammatory constituents of P. koraiensis oil. The essential oil was extracted from P. koraiensis wood by hydrodistillation and was divided into six fractions (A-F) through fractional distillation. Then, the anti-inflammatory activities of the fractions (A-F) were determined. Fractions A and F markedly downregulated the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as the secretion of β-hexosaminidase in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. The main constituents of the active anti-inflammatory A and F fractions were (+)-α-pinene, (-)-β-pinene, (+)-α-terpineol, 3-carene, (+)-limonene, and longifolene. These six single compounds decreased the expression of inflammatory-related genes (i.e., IL-4 and IL-13) as well as the secretion of β-hexosaminidase in LPS-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. (+)-α-Pinene, (-)-β-pinene, (+)-α-terpineol, and longifolene exhibited the strongest effects; these effects were comparable to those of the positive control (i.e., dexamethasone). The findings indicate that the interactions between these components exhibit potential for the management and/or treatment of inflammatory conditions as well as base structures for the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs.

Oxidative stress-mediated induction of pulmonary oncogenes, inflammatory, and apoptotic markers following time-course exposure to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether in rats

Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) has been used in many products usually handled by humans including inks, paints, polishes, brake fluids and so on. This present study therefore, investigated its effect on lung, in a time-course study in male Wistar rats. Animals were orally administered 50 mg/kg body weight of EGME for a period of 7, 14, and 21 days. Following 7 days of oral exposure to EGME, activities of GPx and SOD were significantly increased, as well as levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, p53, caspase-3, TNF-α and, IL-6, while NO level and GST activity were significantly reduced compared with control. At the end of 14 days exposure, GSH level was significantly decreased, while levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, p53, caspase-3, TNF-α, IL-6, NO and the activities of SOD and GPx were significantly elevated with respect to control. After 21 days of EGME administration, levels of Bcl-2, IL-10, GSH and NO as well as GST activity were significantly decreased, while levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, p53, Bax, caspase-3, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, as well as GPx, CAT, and SOD activities were significantly elevated compared with control. Lung histopathology revealed chronic disseminated alveolar inflammation, bronchiolitis, severe alveolar and bronchi hyperplasia, severe disseminated inflammation, thrombosis, and thickened vessels as a result of EGME exposures. Exposures to EGME could trigger lung damage via the disorganization of the antioxidant system, eliciting the up-regulation of inflammatory, apoptotic, and oncogenic markers in rats.

A primer on cytokines

Cytokines are pleiotropic polypeptides that control the development of and responses mediated by immune cells. Cytokine classification predominantly relies on [1] the target receptor(s), [2] the primary structural features of the extracellular domains of their receptors, and [3] their receptor composition. Functionally, cytokines are either pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors, developmental and would healing maintaining immune homeostasis. When the balance in C can form complex networks amongst themselves that may affect the homeostasis and diseases. Cytokines can affect resistance and susceptibility for many diseases and their availability in the host cytokine production and interaction is disturbed, immunopathogenesis sets in. Therefore, cytokine-targeting bispecific, and chimeric antibodies form a significant mode of immnuo-therapeutics Although the field has grown deep and wide, many areas of cytokine biology remain unknown. Here, we have reviewed these cytokines along with the organization, signaling, and functions through respective cytokine-receptor-families. Being part of the special issue on the Role of Cytokines in Leishmaniasis, this review is intended to be used as an organized primer on cytokines and not a resource for detailed discussion- for which a two-volume Handbook of cytokines is available- on each of the cytokines. Priming the readers on cytokines, we next brief the role of cytokines in Leishmaniasis. In the brief, we do not provide an account of each of the involved cytokines known to date, instead, we offer a temporal relationship between the cytokines and the progress of the infection towards the alternate outcomes- healing or non-healing- of the infection.

Molecules and Prostaglandins Related to Embryo Tolerance

It is generally understood that the entry of semen into the female reproductive tract provokes molecular and cellular changes facilitating conception and pregnancy. We show a broader picture of the participation of prostaglandins in the fertilization, implantation and maintenance of the embryo. A large number of cells and molecules are related to signaling networks, which regulate tolerance to implantation and maintenance of the embryo and fetus. In this work, many of those cells and molecules are analyzed. We focus on platelets, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and group 2 innate lymphoid cells involved in embryo tolerance in order to have a wider view of how prostaglandins participate. The combination of platelets and neutrophil extracellular traps (Nets), uterine innate lymphoid cells (uILC), Treg cells, NK cells, and sex hormones have an important function in immunological tolerance. In both animals and humans, the functions of these cells can be regulated by prostaglandins and soluble factors in seminal plasma to achieve an immunological balance, which maintains fetal-maternal tolerance. Prostaglandins, such as PGI2 and PGE2, play an important role in the suppression of the previously mentioned cells. PGI2 inhibits platelet aggregation, in addition to IL-5 and IL-13 expression in ILC2, and PGE2 inhibits some neutrophil functions, such as chemotaxis and migration processes, leukotriene B4 (LTB4) biosynthesis, ROS production, and the formation of extracellular traps, which could help prevent trophoblast injury and fetal loss. The implications are related to fertility in female when seminal fluid is deposited in the vagina or uterus.

Cytokine Analysis: A Fresh Perspective

It is recognized that a balance of different cytokines (synergistic versus antagonistic cytokines) determines the outcome in regulation of different actions such as inflammation, polarization, and secretion of macrophages, induction and secretion of T helper cells, and angiogenesis. It is also known that cytokine secretion is highly variable between individuals. These facts red flag the practice of only comparing absolute values of 1 or 2 cytokines in various studies. It is recognized that ratios of opposing functions yield better quantification of the equilibrium than just observing single values. It is the purpose of this article to (1) emphasize the need to measure a combination of cytokines selected in a manner so that ratios of these may be derived to yield more information about the homeostasis in body and (2) to offer a list of synergistic and antagonistic cytokines from which future investigators may select for more meaningful results.

Zingerone attenuates vancomycin-induced hepatotoxicity in rats through regulation of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis

AIM

Vancomycin (VCM) is a glycopeptide antibiotic widely used to treat serious infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and has been associated with some severe side effects such as hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanism of VCM-induced hepatotoxicity is not yet fully understood. Therefore, the current study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of zingerone (Zin) against VCM-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

VCM was intraperitoneally administered at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) for 7 days alone and in combination with the orally administered Zin (25 and 50 mg/kg b.w).

KEY FINDINGS

Zin treatment significantly improved VCM-induced hepatic lipid peroxidation, glutathione depletion, reduced antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) activities and liver function markers (aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase). Histopathological integrity and immunohistochemical expression of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in the VCM-induced liver tissue were ameliorated after Zin administration. In addition, Zin reversed the changes in levels and/or activities of inflammatory and apoptotic parameters such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), p53, cysteine aspartate specific protease-3 (caspase-3), cysteine aspartate specific protease-8 (caspase-8), cytochrome c, Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) in the VCM-induced hepatotoxicity.

SIGNIFICANCE

Collectively, these results reveal probable ameliorative role of Zin against VCM-induced hepatotoxicity.

Methyl cellosolve-induced renal oxidative stress and time-dependent up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptotic, and oncogenic markers in rats

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MC significantly increased and decrease the kidney levels of MDA and NO respectively after 14 and 21 days.

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MC administration resulted in the disorganization of the renal redox system.

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MC significantly increased the kidney levels of TNF-α and IL-6 after 7, 14 and 21 days, and IL-1β after 14 and 21 days.

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MC significantly increased kidney p53, Bax, and caspase-3 after 14 and 21 days, and decreased Bcl-2 after 14 and 21 days.

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MC significantly increased the kidney levels of c-Myc and K-Ras after 7, 14 and 21 days.

Methyl cellosolve (MC) is used in production of textile, paints, stains, inks, surface coatings, and anti-icing additive in hydraulic fluids and jet fuel. Consequently, the present study investigated its effect on renal cells, in a time-course study in male Wistar rats. Animals were orally administered 50 mg/kg body weight of MC for a period of 7, 14, and 21 days. Following 7 days of administration of MC, there was a significant increase in the levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, TNF-α, IL-6 and NO, while GSH level and SOD activity were significantly reduced compared with control. At the end of 14 days exposure, RKW, GSH, NO, and Bcl-2 levels were significantly decreased, while levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, p53, Bax, caspase-3, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, MDA and GPx activity were significantly increased compared with control. After 21 days of MC administration, RKW, GSH, NO, IL-10 and Bcl-2 levels were significantly decreased, while levels of K-Ras, c-Myc, p53, Bax, caspase-3, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, MDA and GST activity were significantly increased compared with control. Exposures to MC in any way should be strictly avoided as it could trigger renal damage through the disorganization of the antioxidant system, up-regulation of inflammatory, apoptotic, and oncogenic markers in rats.

Use of a biopolymer delivery system to investigate the influence of interleukin-4 on recruitment of neutrophils in equids

OBJECTIVE

To use a biopolymer delivery system to investigate the ability of interleukin (IL)-4 to recruit neutrophils into subcutaneous tissues of equids.

ANIMALS

16 horses and 2 ponies.

PROCEDURES

Animals were assigned to 3 experiments (6/experiment). Effects of recombinant equine (Req) IL-4 (100, 250, or 500 ng/site) versus a positive control (ReqIL-8; 100 ng, 250 ng, or 1 μg/site) and a negative control (Dulbecco PBSS or culture medium) on neutrophil chemotaxis were assessed after SC injection into the neck with an injectable biopolymer used as the vehicle. Tissue samples including the biopolymer plug were collected by biopsy at various time points from 3 hours to 7 days after injection. Neutrophil infiltration was evaluated by histologic scoring (experiments 1, 2, and 3) or flow cytometry (experiment 3).

RESULTS

Histologic neutrophil infiltration scores did not differ significantly among treatments at most evaluated time points. On flow cytometric analysis, log-transformed neutrophil counts in biopsy specimens were significantly greater for the ReqIL-8 treatment (1 μg/site) than the negative control treatment at 3 but not 6 hours after injection; results did not differ between ReqIL-4 and control treatments at either time point. Negative control treatments induced an inflammatory response in most equids in all experiments.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Flow cytometry was a more reliable method to estimate neutrophil migration than histologic score analysis. The ReqIL-4 treatment did not induce a detectable neutrophil response, compared with the negative control treatment in this study. Evidence of inflammation in negative control samples suggested the biopolymer is not a suitable vehicle for use in equids.

Evaluation of T cell cytokines and their role in recurrent miscarriage

Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is defined as two or more consecutive pregnancy losses that affect approximately 5% of conceived women worldwide. RM is a multi-factorial reproductive problem and has been associated with parental chromosomal abnormalities, embryonic chromosomal rearrangements, uterine anomalies, autoimmune disorders, endocrine dysfunction, thrombophilia, life style factors, and maternal infections. However, the exact cause is still undecided in remaining 50% of cases. Immunological rejection of the embryo due to exacerbated maternal immune reaction against paternal embryonic antigens has been set forth as one of the significant reason for RM. The accurate means that shield the embryo during normal pregnancy from the attack of maternal immune network and dismissal are inadequately implicit. However, it is suggested that the genetically irreconcilable embryo escapes maternal immune rejection due to communication among many vital cytokines exuded at maternal-embryonic interface both by maternal and embryonic cells. Previous investigations suggested the Th1/Th2 dominance in altered immunity of RM patients, according to which the allogenic embryo flees maternal T cell reaction by inclining the Th0 differentiation toward Th2 pathway resulting into diminished pro-inflammatory Th1 immunity. However, recently pro-inflammatory Th17 cells and immunoregulatory Treg cells have been discovered as essential immune players in RM besides Th1/Th2 components. Cytokines are believed to develop a complicated regulatory network so as to establish a state of homeostasis between the semi-allogenic embryo and the maternal immune system. However, an adverse imbalance among cytokines at maternal-embryonic interface perhaps due to their gene polymorphisms may render immunoregulatory means not enough to re-establish homeostasis and thus may collapse pregnancy.

The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Angiogenin in an Endotoxin Induced Uveitis in Rats

Angiogenin (ANG) is involved in the innate immune system and inflammatory disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of ANG in an endotoxin induced uveitis (EIU) rat model and the pathways involved. EIU rats were treated with balanced salt solution (BSS), a non-functional mutant ANG (mANG), or wild-type ANG (ANG). The integrity of the blood-aqueous barrier was evaluated by the infiltrating cell and protein concentrations in aqueous humor. Histopathology, Western blot, and real-time qRT-PCR of aqueous humor and ocular tissue were performed to analyze inflammatory cytokines and transcription factors. EIU treated with ANG had decreased inflammatory cells and protein concentrations in the anterior chamber. Compared to BSS and mANG, ANG treatment showed reduced expression of IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, and Myd88, while the expression of IL-4 and IL-10 was increased. Western blot of ANG treatment showed decreased expression of IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), IL-1β, TNF-α, and phosphorylated NF-κB and increased expression of IL-10. In conclusion, ANG seems to reduce effectively immune mediated inflammation in the EIU rat model by reducing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, while increasing the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines through pathways related to NF-κB. Therefore, ANG shows potential for effectively suppressing immune-inflammatory responses in vivo.

PreAIP: Computational Prediction of Anti-inflammatory Peptides by Integrating Multiple Complementary Features

Numerous inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders by therapeutic peptides have received substantial consideration; however, the exploration of anti-inflammatory peptides via biological experiments is often a time-consuming and expensive task. The development of novel in silico predictors is desired to classify potential anti-inflammatory peptides prior to in vitro investigation. Herein, an accurate predictor, called PreAIP (Predictor of Anti-Inflammatory Peptides) was developed by integrating multiple complementary features. We systematically investigated different types of features including primary sequence, evolutionary and structural information through a random forest classifier. The final PreAIP model achieved an AUC value of 0.833 in the training dataset via 10-fold cross-validation test, which was better than that of existing models. Moreover, we assessed the performance of the PreAIP with an AUC value of 0.840 on a test dataset to demonstrate that the proposed method outperformed the two existing methods. These results indicated that the PreAIP is an accurate predictor for identifying AIPs and contributes to the development of AIPs therapeutics and biomedical research. The curated datasets and the PreAIP are freely available at http://kurata14.bio.kyutech.ac.jp/PreAIP/.

Recent advances in biosensors for diagnosis and detection of sepsis: A comprehensive review

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality among critically ill patients globally. According to WHO report 2018, it is estimated to affect beyond 30 million people worldwide every year. It causes loss of human lives, which arise from infection and inflammation and long term stay in intensive care unit (ICU) in hospitals. Despite the availability of satisfactory prognostic markers contributing to the diagnosis of sepsis, millions of people die even after admission to the hospitals. Correct and early diagnosis of sepsis leads to rapid administration of appropriate antibiotics can thus potentially avert the attainment to critical stages of sepsis, thereby saving human lives. Conventional diagnostic practices are costly, time consuming and they lack adequate sensitivity and selectivity, provoking an urgent need for developing alternate sepsis diagnosis systems. Nevertheless, biosensors have the much-treasured scope for reasonable sepsis diagnosis. Advancement in nano-biotechnology has provided new paradigm for biosensor platforms with upgraded features. Here, we provide an overview of the recent advances in biosensors with a brief introduction to sepsis, followed by the conventional methods of diagnosis and bio-sensing. To conclude, a proactive role and an outlook on technologically advanced biosensor platforms are discoursed with possible biomedical applications.

Cytokine secretion responsiveness of lymphomonocytes following cortisol cell exposure: Sex differences

The stress hormone cortisol has been recognized as a coordinator of immune response. However, its different ability to modulate the release of inflammatory mediators in males and females has not been clarified yet. Indeed, the dissection of cortisol specific actions may be difficult due to the complex hormonal and physio-pathological individual status. Herein, the release of inflammatory mediators following increasing cortisol concentrations was investigated in an in vitro model of primary human male and female lymphomonocytes. The use of a defined cellular model to assess sex differences in inflammatory cytokine secretion could be useful to exclude the effects of divergent and fluctuating sex hormone levels occurring in vivo. Herein, the cells were challenged with cortisol concentrations resembling the plasma levels achieving in physiological and stressful conditions. The production of cytokines and other molecules involved in inflammatory process was determined. In basal conditions, male cells presented higher levels of some pro-inflammatory molecules (NF-kB and IDO-1 mRNAs, IL-6 and kynurenine) than female cells. Following cortisol exposure, the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IL-8, were increased in male cells. Conversely, in female cells IL-6 release was unchanged and IL-8 levels were decreased. Anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10, did not change in male cells and increased in female cells. Interestingly, kynurenine levels were higher in female cells than in male cells following cortisol stimulus. These results highlighted that cortisol differently affects male and female lymphomonocytes, shifting the cytokine release in favour of a pro-inflammatory pattern in male cells and an anti-inflammatory secretion profile in female cells, opening the way to study the influences of other stressful factors involved in the neurohumoral changes occurring in the response to stress conditions.

AIPpred: Sequence-Based Prediction of Anti-inflammatory Peptides Using Random Forest

The use of therapeutic peptides in various inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders has received considerable attention; however, the identification of anti-inflammatory peptides (AIPs) through wet-lab experimentation is expensive and often time consuming. Therefore, the development of novel computational methods is needed to identify potential AIP candidates prior to in vitro experimentation. In this study, we proposed a random forest (RF)-based method for predicting AIPs, called AIPpred (AIP predictor in primary amino acid sequences), which was trained with 354 optimal features. First, we systematically studied the contribution of individual composition [amino acid-, dipeptide composition (DPC), amino acid index, chain-transition-distribution, and physicochemical properties] in AIP prediction. Since the performance of the DPC-based model is significantly better than that of other composition-based models, we applied a feature selection protocol on this model and identified the optimal features. AIPpred achieved an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.801 in a 5-fold cross-validation test, which was ∼2% higher than that of the control RF predictor trained with all DPC composition features, indicating the efficiency of the feature selection protocol. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of AIPpred on an independent dataset, with results showing that our method outperformed an existing method, as well as 3 different machine learning methods developed in this study, with an AUC value of 0.814. These results indicated that AIPpred will be a useful tool for predicting AIPs and might efficiently assist the development of AIP therapeutics and biomedical research. AIPpred is freely accessible at www.thegleelab.org/AIPpred.

Mercury exposure, serum antinuclear antibodies, and serum cytokine levels in the Long Island Study of Seafood Consumption: A cross-sectional study in NY, USA

Mercury (Hg) is a well-known neurotoxin, and has been more recently studied specifically as an immunotoxin. In experimental and a few epidemiologic studies, Hg has been associated with distinct cytokine profiles and antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity, though patterns at lower levels of exposure, typical of seafood consumers with a western diet, are not well characterized. Seafood consumers (n=287) recruited on Long Island, NY completed food frequency and health questionnaires and provided blood for analysis of Hg, poly-unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids), selenium (Se), ANA, and several cytokines (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, IL-17, IFN-γ, and IL-1ra). Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between serum Hg and cytokines and ANA. Adjusted models accounted for gender, age, ethnicity, income, education, smoking, BMI, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, omega-6/omega-3 ratio, and fish intake. Sex-stratified models were also generated with the expectation that immune profiles would differ between women and men. Median blood Hg was 4.58µg/L with 90th %ile =19.8µg/L. Nine individuals displayed ANA positivity at serum titers above 1:80; many of the cytokines were below detection limits, and the ability to detect was used in the logistic regression analyses. In linear and logistic regression analyses, Hg was not significantly associated with any of the seven investigated cytokines or with ANA-positivity. Therefore, Hg was not associated with altered immune profiles in this population of seafood consumers.

Protective effect of Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract on ulcerative colitis in wistar rats via regulation of inflammatory mediators and cytokines

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a lingering type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) which affects the colon mucosa. Ulcerative colitis is majorly associated with oxidative stress and inflammation in colon tissue leading to damage. Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit is rich in antioxidant phytochemicals including Vitamin C. In the current research, we have evaluated the defence mechanism of Averrhoa bilimbi L. on Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Male wistar rats were treated with Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract (50mg/kg/bwt and 100mg/kg/bwt) and a standard drug Sulfasalazine (100mg/kg/bwt) for 6 consecutive days via intra peritoneally. After one day fasting, rats were given single dose of 3% 2ml of acetic acid through anal (intra-anal) region to induce Ulcerative Colitis. The protective and therapeutic effect of fruit extract on UC was assessed by comparing the relevant changes observed in the normal and treated group. In treated group the level of mucosal injury was decreased (ulcer score - 2) when compared to the control group (ulcer score - 9). The abnormal increase observed in the inflammation mediator cytokines in control rats, i.e IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α levels were decreased significantly (**p<0.01) in the Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract treated groups. The increase in weights of the colon tissue and spleen of the control rats were found to be reduced in treated groups. The levels of inflammatory markers iNOS and COX-2 were also decreased in treated group significantly (**p<0.01) when compared with the control. Furthermore, the treatment with Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract has shown a significant antioxidant activity in the UC condition by reducing the levels of NO and enhancing the levels of SOD and GSH in the colon tissue. These results demonstrate the effective anti-ulcerative colitis activity of the Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract in experimental wistar rats.

Cytokines as Biomarkers and Their Respective Clinical Cutoff Levels

Cytokines, including interleukins, interferons, tumor necrosis factors, and chemokines, have a variety of pro- and anti-inflammatory effects in the body through a number of biochemical pathways and interactions. Stimuli, actions, interactions, and downstream effects of cytokines have been investigated in more depth in recent years, and clinical research has also been conducted to implicate cytokines in causal patterns in certain diseases. However, particular cutoffs of cytokines as biomarkers for disease processes have not been well studied, and this warrants future work to potentially improve diagnoses for diseases with inflammatory markers. A limited number of studies in this area are reviewed, considering diseases correlated with abnormal cytokine profiles, as well as specific cutoffs at which cytokines have been deemed clinically useful for diagnosing those diseases through Receiver Operator Characteristics modeling. In light of studies such as those discussed in this review, cytokine testing has the potential to support diagnosis due to its lack of invasiveness and low cost, compared to other common types of testing for infections and inflammatory diseases.

Prediction of anti-inflammatory proteins/peptides: an insilico approach

Background

The current therapy for inflammatory and autoimmune disorders involves the use of nonspecific anti-inflammatory drugs and other immunosuppressant, which are often accompanied with potential side effects. As an alternative therapy, anti-inflammatory peptides are recently being exploited as anti-inflammatory agents for treatment of various inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, understanding the correlation between amino acid sequence and its potential anti-inflammatory property is of great importance for the discovery of novel and efficient anti-inflammatory peptide-based therapeutics.

Methods

In this study, we have developed a prediction tool for the classification of peptides as anti-inflammatory epitopes or non anti-inflammatory epitopes. The training was performed using experimentally validated epitopes obtained from Immune epitope database and analysis resource database. Different sequence-based features and their hybrids with motif information were employed for development of support vector machine-based machine learning models. Similarly, machine learning models were also constructed using random forest.

Results

The composition and terminal residue conservation analysis of peptides revealed the dominance of leucine, serine, tyrosine and arginine residues in anti-inflammatory epitopes as compared to non anti-inflammatory epitopes. Similarly, the anti-inflammatory epitopes specific motifs were found to be rich in hydrophobic and polar residues. The hybrid of tripeptide composition-based support vector machine model and motif yielded the best performance on 10-fold cross validation with an accuracy of 78.1% and MCC of 0.58. The same displayed an accuracy of 72% and MCC of 0.45 on validation dataset, rejecting any possibility of over-fitting. The tripeptide composition-based random forest model displayed an accuracy of 0.8 and MCC of 0.59 on 10-fold cross validation, however, the accuracy (0.68) and MCC (0.31) was lower as compared to support vector machine model on validation dataset. Thus, the support vector machine model is implemented as the default model and an additional option of using the random forest model is provided.

Conclusion

The prediction models along with tools for epitope mapping and similarity search have been provided as a web server which is freely accessible at http://metagenomics.iiserb.ac.in/antiinflam/.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-016-1103-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In vivo inhibition of miR-155 significantly alters post-stroke inflammatory response

Background

MicroRNA miR-155 is implicated in modulation of the inflammatory processes in various pathological conditions. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that in vivo inhibition of miR-155 promotes functional recovery after mouse experimental stroke. In the present study, we explored if this beneficial effect is associated with miR-155 inhibition-induced alterations in post-stroke inflammatory response.

Methods

Intravenous injections of a specific miR-155 inhibitor were initiated at 48 h after mouse distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (dMCAO). Temporal changes in the expression of cytokines and key molecules associated with cytokine signaling were assessed at 7, 14, and 21 days after dMCAO, using mouse cytokine gene and protein arrays and Western blot analyses. Electron and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy techniques were used to evaluate the ultrastructural changes, as well as altered expression of specific phenotypic markers, at different time points after dMCAO.

Results

In the inhibitor-injected mice (inhibitor group), there was a significant decrease in CCL12 and CXCL3 cytokine expression at 7 days and significantly increased levels of major cytokines IL-10, IL-4, IL-6, MIP-1α, IL-5, and IL-17 at 14 days after dMCAO. These temporal changes correlated with altered expression of miR-155 target proteins SOCS-1, SHIP-1, and C/EBP-β and phosphorylation levels of cytokine signaling regulator STAT-3. Electron microscopy showed decreased number of phagocytically active peri-vascular microglia/macrophages in the inhibitor samples. Immunofluorescence and Western blot of these samples demonstrated that expression of leukocyte/ macrophage marker CD45 and phagocytosis marker CD68 was reduced at 7 days, and in contrast, significantly increased at 14 days after dMCAO, as compared to controls.

Conclusions

Based on our findings, we propose that in vivo miR-155 inhibition following mouse stroke significantly alters the time course of the expression of major cytokines and inflammation-associated molecules, which could influence inflammation process and tissue repair after experimental cerebral ischemia.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-016-0753-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicines against Ischemic Injury in In Vivo Models of Cerebral Ischemia

Inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of acute ischemic stroke. In the ischemic cascade, resident microglia are rapidly activated in the brain parenchyma and subsequently trigger inflammatory mediator release, which facilitates leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in inflammation. Activated leukocytes invade the endothelial cell junctions and destroy the blood-brain barrier integrity, leading to brain edema. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) stimulation in microglia/macrophages through the activation of intercellular signaling pathways secretes various proinflammatory cytokines and enzymes and then aggravates cerebral ischemic injury. The secreted cytokines activate the proinflammatory transcription factors, which subsequently regulate cytokine expression, leading to the amplification of the inflammatory response and exacerbation of the secondary brain injury. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), including TCM-derived active compounds, Chinese herbs, and TCM formulations, exert neuroprotective effects against inflammatory responses by downregulating the following: ischemia-induced microglial activation, microglia/macrophage-mediated cytokine production, proinflammatory enzyme production, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, matrix metalloproteinases, TLR expression, and deleterious transcription factor activation. TCMs also aid in upregulating anti-inflammatory cytokine expression and neuroprotective transcription factor activation in the ischemic lesion in the inflammatory cascade during the acute phase of cerebral ischemia. Thus, TCMs exert potent anti-inflammatory properties in ischemic stroke and warrant further investigation.

Inflammatory effects induced by selected limonene oxidation products: 4-OPA, IPOH, 4-AMCH in human bronchial (16HBE14o-) and alveolar (A549) epithelial cell lines

Limonene, a monoterpene abundantly present in most of the consumer products (due to its pleasant citrus smell), easily undergoes ozonolysis leading to several limonene oxidation products (LOPs) such as 4-acetyl-1-methylcyclohexene (4-AMCH), 4-oxopentanal (4-OPA) and 3-isopropenyl-6-oxoheptanal (IPOH). Toxicological studies have indicated that human exposure to limonene and ozone can cause adverse airway effects. However, little attention has been paid to the potential health impact of specific LOPs, in particular of IPOH, 4-OPA and 4-AMCH. This study evaluates the cytotoxic effects of the selected LOPs on human bronchial epithelial (16HBE14o-) and alveolar epithelial (A549) cell lines by generating concentration-response curves using the neutral red uptake assay and analyzing the inflammatory response with a series of cytokines/chemokines. The cellular viability was mostly reduced by 4-OPA [IC₅₀=1.6mM (A549) and 1.45mM (16HBE14o-)] when compared to IPOH [IC₅₀=3.5mM (A549) and 3.4mM (16HBE14o-)] and 4-AMCH [IC₅₀ could not be calculated]. As a result from the inflammatory response, IPOH [50μM] induced an increase of both IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in A549 (1.5-fold change) and in 16HBE14o- (2.8- and 7-fold change respectively). 4-OPA [50μM] treatment of A549 increased IL-6 (1.4-times) and IL-8 (1.3-times) levels, while in 16HBE14o- had an opposite effect. A549 treated with 4-AMCH [50μM] elevate both IL-6 and IL-8 levels by 1.2-times, while in 16HBE14o- had an opposite effect. Based on our results, lung cellular injury characterized by inflammatory cytokine release was observed for both cell lines treated with the selected chemicals at concentrations that did not affect their cellular viability.

The reproductive cycle is a pathogenic determinant during gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease in mice

Women with asymptomatic Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection are at risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) if the bacteria ascend from the endocervix into the uterus and oviducts. Factors that affect disease severity, ranging from mild discomfort to severe inflammation, pain, and infertility, remain elusive. Herein we perform direct transcervical inoculation of N. gonorrhoeae into the uterus of mice to establish an infection that leads to PID. Profoundly different disease outcomes were apparent at different stages of the reproductive cycle. Mice that were infected during the diestrus stage of the reproductive cycle displayed extensive gonococcal penetration into the submucosa, severe inflammation, and clinical signs reflecting discomfort. Meanwhile, infection during the intervening estrus stage showed only modest effects. Furthermore, a gonococcal-specific humoral response was only elicited following the penetrative upper genital tract (UGT) infection during diestrus but not estrus. Strikingly, the potential for antibodies to contribute to protection during re-infection also depends upon the reproductive stage, as antigonococcal antibodies within the genital tract were markedly higher when mice were in diestrus. Combined, this work establishes a robust new model reflecting gonococcal PID in humans and reveals how the reproductive cycle determines the pathogenic outcome of gonococcal infections of the UGT.

Angiogenin ameliorates corneal opacity and neovascularization via regulating immune response in corneal fibroblasts

Background

Angiogenin (ANG), a component of tears, is involved in the innate immune system and is related with inflammatory disease. We investigated whether ANG has an immune modulatory function in human corneal fibroblasts (HCFs).

Methods

HCFs were cultured from excised corneal tissues. The gene or protein expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1beta (β), IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, complements, toll-like receptor (TLR)4, myeloid differentiation primary response gene (MYD)88, TANK-binding kinase (TBK)1, IkappaB kinase-epsilon (IKK-ε) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) were analyzed with or without ANG treatment in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)- or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory HCFs by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. Inflammatory cytokine profiles with or without ANG were evaluated through immunodot blot analysis in inflammatory HCFs. Corneal neovascularization and opacity in a rat model of corneal alkali burn were evaluated after application of ANG eye drops.

Results

ANG decreased the mRNA levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α receptor (TNFR)1, 2, TLR4, MYD88, and complement components except for C1r and C1s and elevated the mRNA expression of IL-4 and IL-10. Increased signal intensity of IL-6, IL-8 and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 and MCP-2 induced by TNF-α or LPS was weakened by ANG treatment. ANG reduced the protein levels of IKK-ε by either TNF-α and LPS, and decreased TBK1 production induced by TNF-α, but not induced by LPS. The expression of NF-κB in the nuclei was decreased after ANG treatment. ANG application lowered corneal neovascularization and opacity in rats compared to controls.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that ANG reduces the inflammatory response induced by TNF-α or LPS in HCFs through common suppression of IKK-ε-mediated activation of NF-κB. This may support the targeting of immune-mediated corneal inflammation by using ANG.

Towards an in vitro model mimicking the foreign body response: tailoring the surface properties of biomaterials to modulate extracellular matrix

Despite various studies to minimize host reaction following a biomaterial implantation, an appealing strategy in regenerative medicine is to actively use such an immune response to trigger and control tissue regeneration. We have developed an in vitro model to modulate the host response by tuning biomaterials' surface properties through surface modifications techniques as a new strategy for tissue regeneration applications. Results showed tunable surface topography, roughness, wettability, and chemistry by varying treatment type and exposure, allowing for the first time to correlate the effect of these surface properties on cell attachment, morphology, strength and proliferation, as well as proinflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6) and antiflammatory cytokines (TGF-β1, IL-10) secreted in medium, and protein expression of collagen and elastin. Surface microstructuring, derived from chloroform partial etching, increased surface roughness and oxygen content. This resulted in enhanced cell adhesion, strength and proliferation as well as a balance of soluble factors for optimum collagen and elastin synthesis for tissue regeneration. By linking surface parameters to cell activity, we could determine the fate of the regenerated tissue to create successful soft tissue-engineered replacement.

Angiogenin reduces immune inflammation via inhibition of TANK-binding kinase 1 expression in human corneal fibroblast cells

Angiogenin (ANG) is reportedly multifunctional, with roles in angiogenesis and autoimmune diseases. This protein is involved in the innate immune system and has been implicated in several inflammatory diseases. Although ANG may be involved in the anti-inflammatory response, there is no evidence that it has direct anti-inflammatory effects. In this study we sought to determine whether ANG has an anti-inflammatory effect in human corneal fibroblasts (HCFs) exposed to media containing tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). We found that ANG reduced the mRNA expression of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), -6, -8 and TNF-α receptors (TNFR) 1 and 2. In contrast, ANG increased the mRNA expression of IL-4 and -10. Protein levels of TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) were reduced by ANG in HCFs treated with TNF-α. Moreover, ANG diminished the expression of IL-6 and -8 and monocyte chemotactic protein- (MCP-) 1. The protein expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was downregulated by ANG treatment. These findings suggest that ANG suppressed the TNF-α-induced inflammatory response in HCFs through inhibition of TBK1-mediated NF-κB nuclear translocation. These novel results are likely to play a significant role in the selection of immune-mediated inflammatory therapeutic targets and may shed light on the pathogenesis of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Roles of PPARγ/NF-κB signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Background

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most prevalent pregnancy specific liver disease. However, the pathogenesis and etiology of ICP is poorly understood.

Aim

To assess the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ (PPARγ) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in placenta and HTR-8/SVneo cell, and evaluate the serum levels of cytokines, bile acids, hepatic function and lipids in control and ICP patients and the fetal outcome, in order to explore the role of PPARγ/NF-κB signaling pathway in the possible mechanism of ICP.

Methods

Clinical data of the pregnant women were collected and serum levels of cytokines, bile acids, hepatic function and lipids were measured. Expressions of PPARγ and NF-κB in placenta and HTR-8/SVneo cell were determined. The new-born information was collected to demonstrate the relationship between PPARγ/NF-κB signaling pathway and ICP.

Results

The serum levels of bile acids, hepatic function, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α in ICP group were significantly increased (P<0.01), and serum level of IL-4 was significantly decreased (P<0.01). PPARγ and NF-κB staining were found in the membrane and cytoplasm of placental trophoblast cell. The expression of PPARγ and NF-κB were significantly higher in ICP group and taurocholate acid (TCA) treated HTR-8/SVneo cell (P<0.01). The new-born information in severe ICP group were significantly different as compared to that in control group (P<0.05), and part of information in mild ICP group were also difference to that in control group (P<0.05).

Conclusions

The higher expressions of PPARγ and NF-κB in ICP placenta and TCA treated HTR-8/SVneo cell, together with the abnormal serum levels of cytokines, might induced by the imbalance of inflammatory and immune reaction, and then disturb placental bile acid and serum lipids transportation, finally result in fatal cholestasis which probably be one of the mechanism of ICP.

Cytokines in bipolar disorder vs. healthy control subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Bipolar disorder may be associated with peripheral immune system dysfunction; however, results in individual studies are conflicting. Our aim was to systematically review evidence of peripheral cytokine alterations in bipolar disorder integrating findings from various affective states.

METHODS

We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing peripheral cytokine concentrations in patients with bipolar disorder with healthy control subjects. Results were reported according to the PRISMA statement.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies with a total of 761 bipolar disorder patients and 919 healthy controls were included. Overall, concentrations of soluble Interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (sIL-2R), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (sTNFR1) (p < 0.001 each), sIL-6R (p = 0.01) and IL-4 (p = 0.04) were significantly higher in bipolar patients compared with healthy controls. There were no significant differences between bipolar disorder patients and healthy control subjects for IL-1, IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-1β, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and sTNFR2.

CONCLUSIONS

Employing a global approach, incorporating evidence across affective states, this meta-analysis found some support for peripheral inflammatory alterations in bipolar disorder. Results were limited by heterogeneity between studies, insufficient standardization and lacking control for confounders in individual studies. Further research exploring the role of the peripheral inflammatory system in relation to neuroinflammation is warranted.

On the computational modeling of the innate immune system

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the mathematical and computational modeling of the human immune system (HIS). Computational models of HIS dynamics may contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between complex phenomena and immune response; in addition, computational models will support the development of new drugs and therapies for different diseases. However, modeling the HIS is an extremely difficult task that demands a huge amount of work to be performed by multidisciplinary teams. In this study, our objective is to model the spatio-temporal dynamics of representative cells and molecules of the HIS during an immune response after the injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into a section of tissue. LPS constitutes the cellular wall of Gram-negative bacteria, and it is a highly immunogenic molecule, which means that it has a remarkable capacity to elicit strong immune responses. We present a descriptive, mechanistic and deterministic model that is based on partial differential equations (PDE). Therefore, this model enables the understanding of how the different complex phenomena interact with structures and elements during an immune response. In addition, the model's parameters reflect physiological features of the system, which makes the model appropriate for general use.

The Th1:th2 dichotomy of pregnancy and preterm labour

Pregnancy is a unique immunological state in which a balance of immune tolerance and suppression is needed to protect the fetus without compromising the mother. It has long been established that a bias from the T helper 1 cytokine profile towards the T helper 2 profile contributes towards successful pregnancy maintenance. The majority of publications that report on aberrant Th1:Th2 balance focus on early pregnancy loss and preeclampsia. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased awareness of the role of infection and inflammation in preterm labour, and the search for new biomarkers to predict preterm labour continues. In this paper, we explore the evidence for an aberrant Th1:Th2 profile associated with preterm labour. We also consider the potential for its use in screening women at high risk of preterm labour and for prophylactic therapeutic measures for the prevention of preterm labour and associated neonatal adverse outcomes.

In vivo administration of ligands for chicken toll-like receptors 4 and 21 induces the expression of immune system genes in the spleen

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a group of conserved proteins that play an important role in pathogen recognition in addition to the initiation and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. To date, several TLRs have been identified in chickens, each recognizing different ligands. TLR stimulation in chickens has been shown to play a role in host-responses to pathogens. However, the mechanisms through which TLRs modulate the chicken immune system have not been well examined. The present study was conducted to characterize the kinetics of responses to TLR4 and TLR21 stimulation in chickens following intramuscular injections of their corresponding ligands, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), respectively. To this end, relative expression of cytokine genes in the spleen was determined at 2, 6, 12 and 24 h after injection of TLR ligands. The results indicated that LPS strongly induced the up-regulation of some immune system genes early on in the response to treatment, including interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-1β. Furthermore, treatment with CpG ODN promoted the up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-II, IFN-γ and IL-10. The response to CpG ODN appeared to be somewhat delayed compared to the response to LPS. Moreover, we found a significant increase in IFN-α gene expression in response to LPS but not CpG ODNs. Future studies may be aimed to further characterize the molecular mechanisms of TLR activation in chickens or to exploit TLR agonists as vaccine adjuvants.

IL-4 activates equine neutrophils and induces a mixed inflammatory cytokine expression profile with enhanced neutrophil chemotactic mediator release ex vivo

Neutrophils are potent contributors to the lung pathophysiological changes occurring in allergic airway inflammation, which typically involve T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine overexpression. We have previously reported that equine pulmonary endothelial cells are activated by the Th2 cytokine IL-4 and express chemotactic factors for neutrophils after stimulation. We have further explored the possible mechanisms linking Th2-driven inflammation and neutrophilia by studying the effects of recombinant equine IL-4, a prototypical Th2 cytokine, on peripheral blood neutrophils (PBN) isolated from normal animals and from horses with asthmatic airway inflammation (equine heaves). We found that IL-4 induced morphological changes in PBN, dose- and time-dependent expression of IL-8 mRNA, as well as the release of chemotactic factors for neutrophils in culture supernatants. Also, IL-4 induced a mixed inflammatory response in PBN from control and asthmatic-animals with increased expression of proinflammatory IL-8 and TNF-α but a marked inhibition of IL-1β. IL-4 type I receptor (IL-4Rα) and CD23 (FcεRII) expression were also upregulated by IL-4. Importantly, disease as well as chronic antigenic exposure modified gene expression by PBN. Finally, we found that activation of equine neutrophils with IL-4 involved STAT6 phosphorylation and p38 MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K); the pharmacological inhibitors, SB-203580 and LY-294002, respectively, significantly reversed IL-4-induced gene modulation in PBN. Overall, results from this study add to the link between Th2-driven inflammation and neutrophilia in the equine model and further extend the characterization of IL-4 effects on neutrophils.

An adequately robust early TNF-alpha response is a hallmark of survival following trauma/hemorrhage

Background

Trauma/hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) results in cytokine-mediated acute inflammation that is generally considered detrimental.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Paradoxically, plasma levels of the early inflammatory cytokine TNF-α (but not IL-6, IL-10, or NO₂^-/NO₃^-) were significantly elevated within 6 h post-admission in 19 human trauma survivors vs. 4 non-survivors. Moreover, plasma TNF-α was inversely correlated with Marshall Score, an index of organ dysfunction, both in the 23 patients taken together and in the survivor cohort. Accordingly, we hypothesized that if an early, robust pro-inflammatory response were to be a marker of an appropriate response to injury, then individuals exhibiting such a response would be predisposed to survive. We tested this hypothesis in swine subjected to various experimental paradigms of T/HS. Twenty-three anesthetized pigs were subjected to T/HS (12 HS-only and 11 HS + Thoracotomy; mean arterial pressure of 30 mmHg for 45–90 min) along with surgery-only controls. Plasma obtained at pre-surgery, baseline post-surgery, beginning of HS, and every 15 min thereafter until 75 min (in the HS only group) or 90 min (in the HS + Thoracotomy group) was assayed for TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and NO₂^-/NO₃^-. Mean post-surgery±HS TNF-α levels were significantly higher in the survivors vs. non-survivors, while non-survivors exhibited no measurable change in TNF-α levels over the same interval.

Conclusions/Significance

Contrary to the current dogma, survival in the setting of severe, acute T/HS appears to be associated with an immediate increase in serum TNF-α. It is currently unclear if this response was the cause of this protection, a marker of survival, or both. This abstract won a Young Investigator Travel Award at the SHOCK 2008 meeting in Cologne, Germany.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibits IL-8 production in human monocytes

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a neuropeptide present in the lymphoid microenvironment, acts as a potent anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits the function of activated macrophages. VIP was shown to inhibit IL-6, TNFalpha, IL-12, chemokine, and nitric oxide production in endotoxin-activated macrophages. The present study reports the effect of VIP on IL-8 production by stimulated human monocytes. VIP inhibits IL-8 production in a dose- and time-dependent manner at the mRNA level. The specific VPAC1 receptor mediates the inhibitory effect of VIP. Two transduction pathways appear to be involved, a major cAMP-independent pathway and a secondary cAMP-dependent pathway. Of obvious physiological significance is the fact that VIP, presumably through the inhibition of IL-8 production, dramatically reduces the monocyte-induced neutrophil chemotaxis, an important event in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. These findings support the proposed role of VIP as a key endogenous anti-inflammatory agent and describe a novel mechanism, i.e., the inhibition of the production of monocyte-derived IL-8.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist production during infectious and noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the levels of circulating and cell-associated forms of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and the spontaneous and the lipopolysaccharide- or streptococcus-induced ex vivo production of IL-1ra by isolated neutrophils.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING

A collaborative study between an intensive care unit and a research laboratory.

PATIENTS

Septic patients (those with infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome [SIRS]) and patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (noninfectious SIRS).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Both noninfectious and infectious SIRS patients had enhanced levels of plasma IL-1ra. In septic patients, the increased level of IL-1ra associated with circulating leukocytes reflected the higher number of circulating neutrophils, because these cells, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cells, contained similar levels of cell-associated forms of IL-1ra than those found at homeostasis in healthy controls. The analysis of the in vitro production of IL-1ra by neutrophils showed a decreased capacity of these cells to release the secreted form of IL-1ra on activation in all patients when compared with that capacity in healthy controls. In contrast, the production of the intracellular forms of IL-1ra was not altered in septic patients, but it was diminished in post-cardiopulmonary bypass patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The capacity of releasing IL-1ra by activated neutrophils from infectious or noninfectious SIRS patients was diminished. In contrast, the accumulation of intracellular IL-1ra in septic patients was not modified when compared with that in healthy controls. These ex vivo data illustrate that a different gene regulation of the secreted and intracellular forms of IL-1 ra occurs during a pathologic situation like sepsis.

Interleukin 8 production in whole blood assays: Is interleukin 10 responsible for the downregulation observed in sepsis?

Reduced cytokine production in ex vivo cultures has been regularly reported in patients suffering from sepsis syndrome. Using whole blood assays, we have now demonstrated that in sepsis patients, normal production of IL-8 was achieved with the higher concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 microg/ml) and with heat-killed streptococci, whereas the IL-8 production induced by lower LPS concentration (0.1 microg/ml) was significantly reduced as compared to healthy controls. In contrast, in patients undergoing cardiac surgery associated with cardio-pulmonary bypass, a group of patients with inflammation in the absence of infectious insult, none of the studied IL-8 productions were affected. Among the various anti-inflammatory cytokines known to regulate IL-8 production which we tested (i.e. IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, TGF-beta), IL-10 was the most active inhibitory cytokine in whole blood assays performed with blood samples from healthy subjects. However, its activity was not influenced by the amounts of LPS used. In addition, IL-10 also inhibited the heat-killed streptococci-induced IL-8 production and was the only cytokine to inhibit the release of IL-8 when TNF was added to LPS. It is worth noting that IL-13 which also inhibited the heat-killed streptococci-induced IL-8 production, failed to do so when the TNF production was analysed. Together, these data suggest that while circulating IL-10 in septic patients may be responsible for the hyporeactivity of circulating leukocytes, its presence is not sufficient to explain the observed dysregulation which occurs in septic patients.