BACKGROUND As therapies for systemic cancer improve and patients survive longer, the risk for brain metastases increases. We evaluated whether immune mechanisms are involved in the development of brain metastasis. METHODS We conducted our studies using BALB/c mice bearing syngeneic 4T1 mammary adenocarcinoma cells in the mammary gland. RESULTS The brains of mice bearing 4T1 tumors at day 14...

ownload kground: Human papillomavirus can induce a stepwise progression of precursor lesions to carcinoma. ive and specific molecular markers are needed to identify the cervical lesions (CIN) at risk for this ssion. hTERT activation could be one indicator of a point of no return in malignant progression. thods: The UT-DEC-1 cell line is an in vitro model for the study of human papillomavirus–in...

Background: Monocytes are dominant cells present within the inflamed synovium during osteoarthritis (OA). In mice, two functionally distinct monocyte subsets are described: pro-inflammatory Ly6C and patrolling Ly6C monocytes. Alarmins S100A8/A9 locally released by the synovium during inflammatory OA for prolonged periods may be dominant proteins involved in stimulating recruitment of Ly6C monoc...

BACKGROUND SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) is a high-throughput proteomic approach with potential for identifying novel forms of serum biomarkers of arthritis. METHODS We used SELDI-TOF MS to analyze serum samples from patients with various forms of inflammatory arthritis. Several protein profiles were collected on different Bio-Rad Laboratories ProteinChip arrays (CM10 and IMAC-Cu(2+)) and ...

Ureaplasma parvum, an opportunistic pathogen of the human urogenital tract, has been implicated in contributing to chorioamnionitis, fetal morbidity, and fetal mortality. It has been proposed that the host genetic background is a critical factor in adverse pregnancy outcome as sequela to U. parvum intra-amniotic infection. To test this hypothesis we assessed the impact of intrauterine U. parvum...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying mild and severe pneumonia by use of mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq). MATERIAL AND METHODS RNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of patients with mild pneumonia, severe pneumonia, and healthy controls. Sequencing was performed on the HiSeq4000 platform. After filtering, clean reads were mapped to the human reference genom...

Data from clinical studies, cell culture, and animal models implicate the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/uPA receptor (uPAR)/plasminogen system in the development of atherosclerosis and aneurysms. However, the mechanisms through which uPA/uPAR/plasminogen stimulate these diseases are not yet defined. We used genetically modified, atherosclerosis-prone mice, including mice with macrophage...

BACKGROUND Typhoid fever, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, is a major cause of community-acquired bacteremia and death worldwide. S100A8 (MRP8) and S100A9 (MRP14) form bioactive antimicrobial heterodimers (calprotectin) that can activate Toll-like receptor 4, promoting lethal, endotoxin-induced shock and multi-organ failure. We aimed to characterize the e...

Skin diseases affect 900 million people worldwide. colonization by Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) is a hallmark of Atopic Dermatitis (AD), the most common inflammatory skin disease (ISD). The expression antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as S100A8 (A8), S100A9 (A9) and A8/A9 heterodimer Calprotectin (CP) was reported to be elevated in ISDs, which likely influences growth. In JunBΔep genetic...