BACKGROUND Inflammation undermines the stability of atherosclerotic plaques, rendering them susceptible to acute rupture, the cataclysmic event that underlies clinical expression of this disease. Myeloperoxidase is a central inflammatory enzyme secreted by activated macrophages and is involved in multiple stages of plaque destabilization and patient outcome. We report here that a unique functio...

The model hydrogen peroxide-myeloperoxidase-chloride system is capable of generating the powerful oxidant hypochlorous acid, which can be quantitated by trapping the generated species with the beta-amino acid, taurine. The resultant stable product, taurine chloramine, can be quantitated by its ability to oxidize the sulfhydryl compound, 5-thio-2-nitro-benzoic acid to the disulfide, 5,5'-dithiob...

Sulfonamides reduced substantially the ability of normal human neutrophils to kill strains of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis, and impaired to a lesser extent their activity against Staphylococcus aureus 502A and Serratia marcescens. Sulfonamides also inhibited (a) iodination of Candida cells by normal neutrophils; (b) candidacidal activity in cell-free systems containing purified human...

objective: the protective effect of silymarin (smn) on mycophenolate mofetil (mmf)–induced duodenal disorders was investigated. materials and methods: forty-two wistar rats were assigned to seven groups including control and test groups. the control animals received saline and the test animals were treated with mmf (30 mg/kg, orally) and saline, mmf and smn (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, orally), mmf ...

In previous studies, we noted that Candida hyphae and pseudohyphae could be damaged and probably killed by neutrophils, primarily by oxygen-dependent nonphagocytic mechanisms. In extending these studies, amount of damage to hyphae again was measured by inhibition of [(14)C]cytosine uptake. Neutrophils from only one of four patients with chronic granulomatous disease damaged hyphae at all, and n...

Inflammation and the Vulnerable Plaque Sudden cardiac death remains the leading cause of mortality in industrialized societies, outpacing all cancer related deaths combined. The majority of sudden cardiac deaths arise from acute myocardial infarction secondary to intracoronary artery thromboses. Remarkably, the culprit lesions involved are typically not flow-limiting stenoses,1,2 but rather inf...

This work was presented in part at the National Meeting of the American Federation for Clinical Research, Atlantic City, N. J., and published in abstract form (1). Received for publication 13 February 1969 antd in revised form 11 April 1969. Although lending support to the suggested bactericidal role of MPO in leukocytes, the data indicate that alternative bactericidal mechanisms, effective in ...

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a leukocyte-derived enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a number of reactive oxidant species. In addition to being an integral component of the innate immune response, evidence has emerged that MPO-derived oxidants contribute to tissue damage during inflammation. MPO-catalyzed reactions have been attributed to potentially proatherogenic biological activities througho...

Myeloperoxidase is a cationic protein present in the azurophilic granules of human neutrophils and constitutes 2% to 5% of neutrophil protein by weight. Despite extensive characterization of the functional importance of myeloperoxidase in the microbicidal activity of neutrophils, there is no consensus regarding the subunit composition of this enzyme or the presence of genetic polymorphism. Usin...