Short-course subcutaneous treatment with birch pollen allergoids greatly improves symptom and medication scores in birch allergy.

Background: Subcutaneous immunotherapy has emerged as an effective option for treating allergic diseases. Here, we assessed the clinical impact of the mannan-conjugated birch pollen polymerized allergoid T502 in birch pollen-induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled phase III trial, 298 birch pollen-allergic adult patients were treated across 28 trial sites in Germany.

Uncoupling sodium channel dimers restores the phenotype of a pain-linked Na 1.7 channel mutation.

Background And Purpose: The voltage-gated sodium channel Na 1.7 is essential for adequate perception of painful stimuli. Mutations in the encoding gene, SCN9A, cause various pain syndromes in humans.

Regulation of Nrf2 and NF-κB during lead toxicity in bovine granulosa cells.

Lead (Pb), one of the pervasive and protracted environmental heavy metals, is believed to affect the female reproductive system in many species. The Nrf2 and NF-κB are the two key transcriptional factors regulating cellular redox status and response against stress and inflammation respectively, showing an interaction between each other. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Pb on bovine granulosa cells (GCs) and its association with the regulation of Nrf2 and NF-κB pathways.

Oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress defense mechanisms of bovine granulosa cells exposed to heat stress.

In most mammalian species including cattle, heat stress has detrimental effects on ovarian function through disturbing estradiol production and viability of granulosa cells. However, effect of heat stress and underlying cellular defense mechanisms of bovine granulosa cells is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of heat stress on granulosa cells function and the associated defense mechanism.

Calpain system and its involvement in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury.

Calpains are ubiquitous non-lysosomal Ca(2+)-dependent cysteine proteases also present in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria. Numerous experimental studies reveal an essential role of the calpain system in myocardial injury during ischemia, reperfusion and postischemic structural remodelling. The increasing Ca(2+)-content and Ca(2+)-overload in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria during ischemia and reperfusion causes an activation of calpains.