Malignant ascites manifests as an end-stage event during the progression of a number of cancers and lacks a generally accepted standard therapy. Interferon-β (IFN-β) has been used to treat several cancer indications; however, little is known about the efficacy of IFN-β on malignant ascites. In the present study, we report on the development of a novel, engineered form of human and murine IFN-β,...

The expression of interferon (IFN) β is highly induced in immune and nonimmune cells in response to virus infection. This upregulation is mediated at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Whereas the signaling pathways triggered by innate virus receptors leading to transcription factor activation have been extensively studied, the mechanisms by which IFN-β mRNA stability is postt...

Infection of the endothelial cell lining of blood vessels with Rickettsia conorii, the causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, results in endothelial activation. We investigated the effects of R. conorii infection on the status of the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription protein (STAT) signaling pathway in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs), the...

The importance of type I IFNs in the host response to viral infection is well established; however, their role in bacterial infection is not fully understood. Several bacteria (both Gram-positive and -negative) have been shown to induce IFN-β production in myeloid cells, but this IFN-β is not always beneficial to the host. We examined whether Staphylococcus aureus induces IFN-β from myeloid pha...

BACKGROUND Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) is a putative RNA helicase involved in immune reactions against RNA viruses and various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of RIG-I in glomerular diseases. METHODS We treated human mesangial cells in culture with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly IC), which is an authentic dou...

OBJECTIVE Malignant gliomas are the most common primary tumors of the central nervous system and the prognosis of patients with gliomas is poor. The combination of interferon-bata (IFN-β) and temozolomide (TMZ) has shown significant additive antitumor effects in human glioma xenograft models. Considering that the poor survival of patients with human malignant gliomas relates partly to the inabi...

Interferon-beta (IFN-β) treatment may not be effective in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Whether the poor response to IFN-β is related to long spinal cord lesions (LSCL) or the NMO disease entity itself is unclear. We evaluated the spinal cord involvement of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and NMO, as well as the response after receiving IFN-β. Forty-nine MS and 21 NMO patients treated with ...

Abstract Liver disease has become a major comorbidity health concern in people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). To investigate the immune mechanism of liver development ART-treated HIV-infected individuals, we developed humanized mice, NRG mice reconstituted progenitor cells from human fetal livers, infection and ART. Animals w/o were treated TRUVADA (Emtricitabi...

Objective: To investigate the effect of interferon β (IFN-β) on the cytoskeleton, cellular elasticity and the expressions of cytoskeleton and cellular elasticity associated protein in cultured astrocytes. Methods: The astrocytes were treated with IFN-β (102 and 103 U/mL) for 24, 48 and 72 h. The shape and elasticity of astrocytes were observed by atomic force microscope. The ultrastructural of ...