OBJECTIVE Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is an important contributor to the development of back pain, and a key factor relating pain and degeneration are the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines and IVD motion. There is surprisingly limited understanding of how mechanics and inflammation interact in the IVD. This study investigated interactions between mechanical loading and pro-infla...

Lactobacilli are thought to be beneficial for human health, with lactobacilli-associated infections being confined to immune-compromised individuals. However, Lactobacillus fermentum AGR1487 negatively affects barrier integrity in vitro so we hypothesized that it caused a pro-inflammatory response in the host. We compared germ-free rats inoculated with AGR1487 to those inoculated with another L...

Molecular oxygen is required for the production of nitric oxide (NO), a pro-inflammatory mediator that is associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. To date there has been little consideration of the role of oxygen tension in the regulation of nitric oxide production associated with arthritis. Oxygen tension may be particularly relevant to articular cartilage since it is avascular...

The ectoenzyme CD73 catalyzes the hydrolysis of AMP, and is one of the most important producers of extracellular adenosine. On regulatory T cells, CD73 is necessary for immunosuppressive functions, and on Th17 cells CD73-generated adenosine exerts anti-inflammatory effects. However, the expression and function of CD73 in pro-inflammatory M1 and in immunosuppressive M2 macrophages is largely unk...

Acinetobacter baumannii is increasingly becoming a major nosocomial pathogen. This opportunistic pathogen secretes outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that interact with host cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of A. baumannii OMVs to elicit a pro-inflammatory response in vitro and the immunopathology in response to A. baumannii OMVs in vivo. OMVs derived from A. baumannii AT...

Background: Little information is currently available concerning the relative contribution of cardiac parenchymal and stromal cells in the activation of the pro-inflammatory signal cascade, at the initial stages of diabetes. Similarly, the effects of early resveratrol (RSV) treatment on the negative impact of diabetes on the different myocardial cell compartments remain to be defined. Methods: ...

INTRODUCTION Macrophages are heterogeneous and thus can be correlated with distinct tissue outcomes after injury. Conflicting data have indicated that the M2-related phenotype directly triggers fibrosis. Conversely, we hypothesize here that the inflammatory milieu provided by early infiltration of pro-inflammatory macrophages dictates tissue scarring after injury. METHODS AND RESULTS We first...

Chronic microglial activation endangers neuronal survival through the release of various toxic pro-inflammatory molecules; thus, negative regulators of microglial activation have been identified as potential therapeutic candidates for several neurological diseases. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of an ethanol extract of Cnidium officinale rhizomes (EECO), which has been u...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that inflammation, demyelination, oligodendrocyte loss, gliosis, axonal injury and neurodegeneration are the main histopathological hallmarks of the disease. although ms was classically thought as a demyelinating disease, but axonal injury occurs commonly in acute inflammatory lesions. in ms mi...

objective(s):although recent investigations have shown chronic inflammation and inflammation-associated diseases might be ameliorated by exercise; little is known about the relation between exercise training with anti/pro-inflammatory cytokines. materials and methods: this cross sectional study was conducted to compare interleukin-4 (il-4), il-6, il-10, il-12, il-13, interferon gamma (ifn-γ) le...