In the absence of appropriate stimuli, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) undergo programmed cell death (PCD), also termed apoptosis. We show that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), but not the chemotactic factors formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), recombinant human (rh) C5a, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, and interleukin-8 (IL-8), or other cytokines ...

Proinflammatory cytokines mediate the toxic effects of superantigenic staphylococcal exotoxins (SE) and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Triptolide, an oxygenated diterpene derived from a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, Tripterygium wilfordii, inhibited SE-stimulated T-cell proliferation (by 98%) and expression of interleukin 1beta, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor, gamma interferon,...

BACKGROUND Macrophages are highly versatile cells that play an important role in tumour microenvironment. Tumour associated macrophages (TAMs) have been linked to both, good or bad prognosis of several cancer types depending on their number, composition and polarization. Viscum album lipophilic extract (VALE) contains several pentacyclic triterpenes known to modulate the activity of monocytes a...

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. Platelet-endothelium interaction plays an important role in the pathophysiology of atherogenesis. We investigated the role of activated platelets for secretion of interleukin (IL)-1beta, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha and expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 on endothelial cells....

Proinflammatory cytokines mediate the toxic effects of staphylococcal exotoxins (SE). This study compared the potency of two polyphenols, green tea epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and red wine resveratrol (RES), in blocking the pro-inflammatory effects of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) and toxic shock syndrome 1 (TSST-1). Both EGCG and RES dose-dependently inhibited superantigen-stimulated ...

Enolase is a multifunctional enzyme primarily involved in catalyzing the conversion of 2phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate during glycolysis and the reverse reaction during gluconeogenesis[1–4]. Though typically expressed in the cytosol, enolase has been shown to migrate to the cell surface upon inflammatory signal[3]. It then enhances antigen presentation for the invasion of host cells vi...

Chemotactic migration of macrophages is critical for the recruitment of leukocytes to inflamed tissues. Macrophages use a specialized adhesive structure called a podosome to migrate. Podosome formation requires the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP), which is a product of the gene defective in an X-linked inherited immunodeficiency disorder, the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Macrophages from W...

Chemokines are important mediators of leukocyte migration during the inflammatory response. Post-translational modifications affect the biological potency of chemokines. In addition to previously identified NH2-terminally truncated forms, COOH-terminally truncated forms of the CXC chemokine murine granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2) were purified from conditioned medium of stimulated fibr...

INTRODUCTION .................................... 284 Nonspecific Resistance to Infection .......................................... 284 Specific Resistance to Infection .............................................. 285 CELLS INVOLVED IN HUMORAL ANTIBODY PRODUCTION ............. 285 CELLS INVOLVED IN CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY ................. 287 HUMORAL ANTIBODIES IN RESISTANCE TO BACTERIAL INF...