Eugenol attenuates pulmonary damage induced by diesel exhaust particles.

Environmentally relevant doses of inhaled diesel particles elicit pulmonary inflammation and impair lung mechanics. Eugenol, a methoxyphenol component of clove oil, presents in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Our aim was to examine a possible protective role of eugenol against lung injuries induced by diesel particles.

Interleukin-4 as a neuromodulatory cytokine: roles and signaling in the nervous system.

Although interleukin (IL)-4 is described as a prototypical anti-inflammatory cytokine, in recent years its role as a neuromodulatory cytokine has been extensively discussed. This review highlights the pivotal contributions of IL-4 during the development and normal physiology of neural cells as well as IL-4 connections with the pathophysiology of degenerative or inflammatory processes observed in the central and peripheral nervous system.

Interleukin-4 blocks thapsigargin-induced cell death in rat rod photoreceptors: involvement of cAMP/PKA pathway.

Although the photoreceptors cell death is the main cause of some retinopathies diseases, the mechanisms involved in this process are poorly understood. The neuroprotective effects of interleukin-4 (IL-4) have been shown in several tissues, including retina. We demonstrate that treatment of rat retinal explants with IL-4 completely inhibited the thapsigargin-induced rod photoreceptor cell death after 24 hr in culture.

Interleukin-4 blocks proliferation of retinal progenitor cells and increases rod photoreceptor differentiation through distinct signaling pathways.

Interleukin-4 (IL-4), an anti-inflammatory cytokine, has been related to the differentiation of the rodent retina in vitro, but constitutive presence of either IL-4 or of IL-4 receptor in the retina has not been reported. In this work we examined the expression of IL-4 and its specific receptor alpha subunit (IL-4Ralpha). IL-4Ralpha is expressed both in neural retina and non-neural ocular tissue, while IL-4 was found mainly in non-neural tissue.