Symptom clusters in palliative-stage cancer correlate with proinflammatory cytokine cluster.

Background: Patients with palliative-stage cancer often suffer from a variety of debilitating symptoms which have been shown to appear in clusters. It is suggested that cytokines cause many such symptoms, and elevated cytokine production has been shown to correlate with symptoms. However, symptom clusters have not been thoroughly analyzed in relation to cytokine clusters.

Anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophage media reduce transmission of oligomeric amyloid beta in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells.

Neuroinflammation plays an influential role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), although the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain largely unknown. Microglia are thought to be responsible for the majority of these effects and can be characterized into resting (M0), proinflammatory (M1), or anti-inflammatory (M2) functional phenotypes. We investigated the effects of conditioned macrophage media, as an analogue to microglia, on the transfer of oligomeric amyloid beta (oAβ) between differentiated SH-SY5Y cells.

Host knockout of E-prostanoid 2 receptors reduces tumor growth and causes major alterations of gene expression in prostaglandin E-producing tumors.

Prostaglandin E (PGE) is elevated in a variety of malignant tumors and has been shown to affect several hallmarks of cancer. Accordingly, the PGE receptor, E-prostanoid 2 (EP2), has been reported to be associated with patient survival and reduced tumor growth in EP2-knockout mice. Thus, the aim of the present study was to screen for major gene expression alterations in tumor tissue growing in EP2-knockout mice.

Beneficial effects of increased lysozyme levels in Alzheimer's disease modelled in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic polymorphisms of immune genes that associate with higher risk to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) have led to an increased research interest on the involvement of the immune system in AD pathogenesis. A link between amyloid pathology and immune gene expression was suggested in a genome-wide gene expression study of transgenic amyloid mouse models. In this study, the gene expression of lysozyme, a major player in the innate immune system, was found to be increased in a comparable pattern as the amyloid pathology developed in transgenic mouse models of AD.

Food intake, tumor growth, and weight loss in EP2 receptor subtype knockout mice bearing PGE2-producing tumors.

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that prostaglandin (PG) E2 is involved in anorexia/cachexia development in MCG 101 tumor-bearing mice. In the present study, we investigate the role of PGE receptor subtype EP2 in the development of anorexia after MCG 101 implantation in wild-type (EP2 (+/+)) or EP2-receptor knockout (EP2(-/-)) mice. Our results showed that host absence of EP2 receptors attenuated tumor growth and development of anorexia in tumor-bearing EP2 knockout mice compared to tumor-bearing wild-type animals.

Interleukin-6 primarily produced by non-hematopoietic cells mediates the lipopolysaccharide-induced febrile response.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is critical for the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced febrile response. However, the exact source(s) of IL-6 involved in regulating the LPS-elicited fever is still to be identified. One known source of IL-6 is hematopoietic cells, such as monocytes.

Cancer-induced anorexia in tumor-bearing mice is dependent on cyclooxygenase-1.

It is well-established that prostaglandins (PGs) affect tumorigenesis, and evidence indicates that PGs also are important for the reduced food intake and body weight loss, the anorexia-cachexia syndrome, in malignant cancer. However, the identity of the PGs and the PG producing cyclooxygenase (COX) species responsible for cancer anorexia-cachexia is unknown. Here, we addressed this issue by transplanting mice with a tumor that elicits anorexia.

Inducible prostaglandin E2 synthesis interacts in a temporally supplementary sequence with constitutive prostaglandin-synthesizing enzymes in creating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to immune challenge.

Inflammation-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been suggested to depend on prostaglandins, but the prostaglandin species and the prostaglandin-synthesizing enzymes that are responsible have not been fully identified. Here, we examined HPA axis activation in mice after genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of prostaglandin E(2)-synthesizing enzymes, including cyclooxygenase-1 (Cox-1), Cox-2, and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1). After immune challenge by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide, the rapid stress hormone responses were intact after Cox-2 inhibition and unaffected by mPGES-1 deletion, whereas unselective Cox inhibition blunted these responses, implying the involvement of Cox-1.

The role of interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide-induced fever by mechanisms independent of prostaglandin E2.

Fever has been shown to be elicited by prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) binding to its receptors on thermoregulatory neurons in the anterior hypothalamus. The signals that trigger PGE(2) production are thought to include proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6. However, although the presence of IL-6 is critical for fever, IL-6 by itself is not or only weakly pyrogenic.

Expression of PGE2 EP3 receptor subtypes in the mouse preoptic region.

Inflammatory-induced fever is dependent on prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) binding to its EP(3) receptor in the thermoregulatory region of the hypothalamus, but it is not known which EP(3) receptor isoform(s) that is/are involved. We identified the EP(3) receptor expression in the mouse preoptic region by in situ hybridization and isolated the corresponding area by laser capture microdissection. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of microdissected tissue revealed a predominant expression of the EP(3alpha) isoform, but there was also considerable expression of EP(3gamma), corresponding to approximately 15% of total EP(3) receptor expression, whereas EP(3beta) was sparsely expressed.

Nicastrin, presenilin, APH-1, and PEN-2 form active gamma-secretase complexes in mitochondria.

Mitochondria are central in the regulation of cell death. Apart from providing the cell with ATP, mitochondria also harbor several death factors that are released upon apoptotic stimuli. Alterations in mitochondrial functions, increased oxidative stress, and neurons dying by apoptosis have been detected in Alzheimer's disease patients.

Changes in APP, PS1 and other factors related to Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology after trimethyltin-induced brain lesion in the rat.

Trimethyltin (TMT) chloride induces limbic system neurodegeneration, resulting in behavioral alterations including cognitive deficits. Different factors related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) were studied after TMT lesion in Sprague-Dawley rats. The expression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) containing 695 amino acids (APP695), APP containing the Kuniz protease inhibitor domain (APP- KPI), presenilin 1 (PS1), c- fos and IL- 1Beta was investigated at different timepoints after a single TMT injection (7 mg/kg i.

The Arctic mutation interferes with processing of the amyloid precursor protein.

The Arctic amyloid precursor protein (APP) Alzheimer mutation, is located inside the beta-amyloid (Abeta) domain. Here, hybrid APP mutants containing both the Swedish and the Arctic APP mutations were investigated. ELISA measurements of cell media showed decreased levels of both Abeta40 and Abeta42.

Plasma levels of Abeta42 and Abeta40 in Alzheimer patients during treatment with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor tacrine.

Deregulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing with increased production of amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) is considered to be a key pathogenic event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been suggested that stimulation of the muscarinic M(1) receptor subtype affects APP processing and leads to a change in Abeta concentration. To test the hypothesis that treatment with a cholinesterase inhibitor could change the levels of Abeta in plasma, we measured Abeta42 and Abeta40 plasma levels in AD subjects before tacrine treatment and at weeks 2 and 6 of treatment.

The Arctic Alzheimer mutation enhances sensitivity to toxic stress in human neuroblastoma cells.

The E693G (Arctic) mutation of the amyloid precursor protein was recently found to lead to early-onset Alzheimer's disease in a Swedish family. In the present study, we report that the Arctic mutation decreases cell viability in human neuroblastoma cells. The cell viability, as measured by the MTT assay and propidium iodide staining, was further compromised following exposure to calcium ionophore A23187, microtubule-binding colchicine or oxidative stress inducer hydrogen peroxide.