High levels of circulating soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) are frequently found in patients with hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, ischemic stroke, or acute coronary syndromes, predicting an increased rate of atherosclerotic plaque rupture and restenosis after coronary/carotid interventions. Clinical restenosis is characterized in part by exaggerated neointima formation, but the underlying mechanism...

BACKGROUND Though the association between microalbuminuria (MA) and inflammatory markers has been studied, the possible gender differences in these associations have not yet been analyzed. Our study aims to analyze the role of gender in the associations of MA and inflammatory markers. METHODS 1,060 hypertensive patients were assessed for MA (albumin-creatinine ratio), plasma levels of HsCRP (...

Background and objective: Many clinical trials have revealed that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) anti-inflammatory effects through their pleiotropic activities there by decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study intended to evaluate effect rosuvastatin on level inflammatory markers (hsCRP, IL-6, sCD40L, Lp-PLA2, cystatin C) in normotensive hypertensive rats. Methods...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and platelet activation in adults with and without type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 16 nondiabetic adults and 16 subjects with type 1 diabetes during euglycemia (blood glucose 4.5 mmol/l) and hypoglycemia (blood glucose 2.5 mmol/l). Markers of inflammation, t...

It has been shown that thrombopoietin (TPO) amplifies agonist-induced platelet activation. However, the precise mechanism of action of TPO has not yet been fully elucidated. We have previously reported that the adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced phosphorylation of heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) via the p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway correlates with the ADP-induced platelet-d...

Although antithrombin-III (AT-III), an anti-coagulant, has been shown to affect human platelet functions, the direct effect of AT-III on platelets is still unknown. We recently reported that the collagen-induced phosphorylation of the heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) via the p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase is sufficient for granule secretion and the release of soluble CD40 ligand (s...

We previously reported that the collagen-induced phosphorylation of heat shock protein (HSP) 27 via p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase is sufficient to induce the secretion of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AB and the release of soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) from human platelets. It has been shown that Rac, which belongs to the Rho family of small GTPases, is involved in the c...

Purpose High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a nonhistone DNA-binding nuclear protein released from necrotic cells, which is also secreted by activated leukocytes and acts as a primary proinflammatory cytokine. In this study, we compared vitreous HMGB1 levels in ocular sarcoidosis with those in noninflammatory vitreoretinal diseases and evaluated its association with Th cell-related and proinfl...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Radiation treatment (RT) stimulates the release of many immunohumoral factors, complicating the identification of clinically significant cytokine expression patterns. This study used principal component analysis (PCA) to analyze cytokines in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing RT and explore differences in changes after hypofractionated stereotactic body ra...