The interleukin-23 (IL-23) pathway plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple chronic inflammatory disorders, however, inter-individual variability in IL-23-induced signal transduction in circulating human lymphocytes has not been well-defined. In this study, we observed marked, reproducible inter-individual differences in IL-23 responsiveness (measured by STAT3 phosphorylation) in p...

Mutations in the IL23R gene are linked to inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility. Experimental models have shown that interleukin-23 (IL-23) orchestrates innate and T cell-dependent colitis; however, the cell populations it acts on to induce intestinal immune pathology are unknown. Here, using Il23r(-/-) T cells, we demonstrated that T cell reactivity to IL-23 was critical for development of...

IL-23 plays an important role in autoimmune tissue inflammation and induces the generation of not fully characterized effector cells that mediate protection against pathogens. In this paper, we established the essential role of IL-23R in the host response against intracellular pathogens. IL-23 was critical for the expansion or maintenance of gammadelta and double negative (DN) alphabeta T cells...

OBJECTIVE IL-23 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine proposed to be central to the development of autoimmune disease. We investigated whether IL-23, together with the downstream mediator IL-17A, was present and functional in RA in humans. METHODS RA synovial cells were cultured in the presence or absence of antibodies directed against IL-23p19 or -23R and -17. IL-23, -12, -17, and their receptors, ...

The remarkable scientific work on fertility preservation that is documented in the early chapters of this volume will inevitably give rise to moral and religious questions about the use of technology to reproduce. In this regard, oncofertility is no different from other forms of assisted reproduction that have led to extensive debate among ethicists and moral theologians. In the case of many fo...

Background. There is a need in primary care for simple asthma outcome measures that are valid in terms of their relationship with lung function and capable of predicting those patients for whom additional management is indicated. Aim. To assess the predictive validity of a revised asthma morbidity index in United Kingdom (UK) general practice. Method. Morbidity index and peak flow rate data wer...

It is an unfortunate fact of academic life that there is a sharp divide between science and philosophy, with scientists often being openly dismissive of philosophy, and philosophers being equally contemptuous of the naiveté of scientists when it comes to the philosophical underpinnings of their own discipline. In this paper I explore the possibility of reducing the distance between the two side...