Background and objective Cysteinyl leukotrienes (LTs) contribute to airway inflammation by interacting with type 1 and 2 cysteinyl leukotriene receptors as well as not clearly known type 3 leukotriene receptors. In contrast to LTC4 and LTD4, LTE4 is weak agonist at type 1 and 2 cysteinyl leukotriene receptors. Although LTE4 plays a key role in airway inflammation, our understanding of its poten...

While tuberculosis susceptibility has historically been ascribed to failed inflammation, it is now known that an excess of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), which catalyzes the final step in leukotriene B4 (LTB4) synthesis, produces a hyperinflammatory state and tuberculosis susceptibility. Here we show that the LTB4-inactivating enzyme leukotriene B4 dehydrogenase/prostaglandin reductase 1 (LT...

An amoniumvanadate plus sodium molybdate mixed modifier Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometric method has been developed for determination of traces of lead in drinking water. The concentration of lead in the sample is obtained by direct comparison to linear working graph prepared from aqueous standards in the modifier medium, The results indicate the better performance of the pro...

We propose a pair of population genetic models for a modifier-of-imprinting locus for which different genotypes imprint different proportions of an imprintable target locus in their gametes. The two models examine the situations in which imprinting is advantageous, and we discuss three cases for which the modifier is respectively partially dominant, dominant, or recessive. The models predict th...

BACKGROUND Leukotrienes are a class of biologically active lipids that have potent effects on the heart. To assess their role in coronary artery disease, we compared the contractile responses of leukotriene C4 (LTC4) and leukotriene D4 (LTD4) and their binding activity in both atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic human coronary arteries. We also studied expression of the enzymes that control ...

Leukotriene D4, a constituent of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis, elicits a pressor response followed by hypotensive shock in spontaneously hypertensive rats but not in other rats. Hemodynamic mechanisms underlying this pattern in spontaneously hypertensive rats, pithed and vagotomized to eliminate circulatory reflexes, were studied using radiolabeled microspheres. One minute after leuko...

The relation of brain eicosanoids to progression of cerebral edema was studied in stroke-resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats subjected to incomplete global brain ischemia induced by bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries. Thromboxane B2 and 6-keto prostaglandin F1 alpha levels were significantly elevated 5 minutes after reperfusion but returned to control levels by 30 minutes....

Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the potential of using cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) for chemoprevention, but this has not been investigated in any clinical setting. We therefore investigated the chemopreventive effect of LTRAs in a nationwide population-based study. From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we enrolled adults with...