The complex alteration in the network of IL-17-type cytokines in patients with hereditary angioedema.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare autosomic-dominant disorder characterized by a deficiency of C1 esterase inhibitor which causes episodic swellings of subcutaneous tissues, bowel walls and upper airways that are disabling and potentially life-threatening. We evaluated n = 17 patients with confirmed HAE diagnosis during attack and remission state and n = 19 healthy subjects. The samples were tested for a panel of IL (Interleukin)-17-type cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-17, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) subtypes.

Growth factors and IL-17 in hereditary angioedema.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder, due to C1-inhibitor deficiency, which causes episodic swellings of subcutaneous tissues, bowel walls and upper airways which are disabling and potentially life-threatening. We evaluated n = 17 patients with confirmed HAE diagnosis in basal and crisis state and n = 19 healthy subjects. The samples were tested for IL-17, FGFb, G-CSF and GM-CSF, using Bio-plex kit.

A nationwide survey of hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency in Italy.

Introduction: Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE type I) or dysfunction (C1-INH-HAE type II) is a rare disease characterized by recurrent episodes of edema with an estimated frequency of 1:50,000 in the global population without racial or gender differences. In this study we present the results of a nationwide survey of C1-INH-HAE patients referring to 17 Italian centers, the Italian network for C1-INH-HAE, ITACA.

Methods: Italian patients diagnosed with C1-INH-HAE from 1973 to 2013 were included in the study.

Efficacy and safety of recombinant human C1-inhibitor for the treatment of attacks of hereditary angioedema: European open-label extension study.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) owing to C1 inhibitor deficiency is an autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by recurrent, potentially life-threatening, localized attacks of tissue swelling. Current treatment involves the infusion of C1 inhibitor protein (C1-INH) isolated from human plasma.

Objectives: This open-label extension to a European, Israeli and Argentinean randomized study (NCT00262301) aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human C1 inhibitor (rhC1-INH) as a first-line treatment following an HAE attack, together with its effect on subsequent attacks.

Prevalence of antibodies anti-Bartonella henselae in western Sicily: children, blood donors, and cats.

To evaluate seroprevalence of B. henselae infection both in Sicilian children and healthy blood donors. Furthermore, circulation of Bartonella in the natural reservoir was also studied.

New insight into immunity and immunopathology of Rickettsial diseases.

Human rickettsial diseases comprise a variety of clinical entities caused by microorganisms belonging to the genera Rickettsia, Orientia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. These microorganisms are characterized by a strictly intracellular location which has, for long, impaired their detailed study. In this paper, the critical steps taken by these microorganisms to play their pathogenic roles are discussed in detail on the basis of recent advances in our understanding of molecular Rickettsia-host interactions, preferential target cells, virulence mechanisms, three-dimensional structures of bacteria effector proteins, upstream signalling pathways and signal transduction systems, and modulation of gene expression.

Significance of persistence of antibodies against Leishmania infantum in Sicilian patients affected by acute visceral leishmaniasis.

The background of this article is as follows: Few data are available about the persistence of serum-specific IgG antibodies to L. infantum after acute VL. The objective of this article is to evaluate the persistence of antibodies against L.

Icatibant, a new bradykinin-receptor antagonist, in hereditary angioedema.

Background: Hereditary angioedema is characterized by recurrent attacks of angioedema of the skin, larynx, and gastrointestinal tract. Bradykinin is the key mediator of symptoms. Icatibant is a selective bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist.

Impact of heavy polypropylene mesh and composite light polypropylene and polyglactin 910 on the inflammatory response.

The aim of the study was to analyze the acute inflammatory response after implantation of a heavyweight mesh of polypropylene (PP) compared with a composite mesh of light PP and polyglactin 910 (PG) in patients undergoing inguinal hernioplasty. A total of 30 male patients with inguinal hernia were included in the study and divided into 2 groups (PP and PP-PG) according to the mesh used. Changes of leukocytes, cytokines, growth factors, and acute phase proteins were evaluated in the sera.

Nucleated red blood cells and soluble transferrin receptor in thalassemia syndromes: relationship with global and ineffective erythropoiesis.

Background: The technology to recognize nucleated red blood cells (NRBC) automatically has only recently been developed. Modern hematology analyzers allow for rapid and accurate NRBC counts. The goal of our study was to evaluate NRBC counts and the concentrations of serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) in patients affected by different thalassemia syndromes and hereditary spherocytosis.

Relevance of gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-10 gene polymorphisms to susceptibility to Mediterranean spotted fever.

The acute phase of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is characterized by dramatic changes in cytokine production patterns, clearly indicating their role in the immunomodulation of the response against the microorganism, and the differences in cytokine production seem to influence the extent and severity of the disease. In this study, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) -308G/A (rs1800629) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) -1087G/A (rs1800896), -824C/T (rs1800871), and -597C/A (rs1800872) and the gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) T/A SNP at position +874 (rs2430561) were typed in 80 Sicilian patients affected by MSF and in 288 control subjects matched for age, gender, and geographic origin. No significant differences in TNF-alpha -308G/A genotype frequencies were observed.

Immunology of human rickettsial diseases.

Among human rickettsial diseases caused by micro-organisms of the genus Rickettsia (Order Rickettsiales; Family Rickettsiaceae), transmitted to human hosts through arthropod vectors, Mediterranean Spotted Fever, or Boutonneuse Fever, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are considered to be important infectious diseases due to continued prevalence in the developed world, and potentially fatal outcome in severe cases. Proliferation of rickettsiae, at the site of the tick bite, results in focal epidermal and dermal necrosis (tache noire). Rickettsiae then spread via lymphatic vessels to the regional lymph nodes, and, via the bloodstream, to skin, brain, lungs, heart, liver, spleen and kidneys.

B-type natriuretic peptide as a marker of asymptomatic re-stenosis after coronary implantation of a paclitaxel-eluting stent.

Background: The aim of the present study was the detection of asymptomatic coronary re-stenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: We studied 26 subjects who had been recently implanted with a paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent by both a conventional exercise test and the determination of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels.

Results: At control coronary angiography, nine months after initial PCI, six patients had re-stenosis and 20 were re-stenosis free.

Immunopathology of leishmaniasis: an update.

Leishmaniasis represents a severe, increasing, public health problem. The perspective of its control is highly dependent on research progress, on therapeutic manipulations of the immune system, and on vaccine development. There is a correlation between the clinical outcome of Leishmania infection and the cytokine response profile.

Cytokines and growth factors in wound drainage fluid from patients undergoing incisional hernia repair.

Knowing the dynamics of growth factor and cytokine secretion within the site of a surgical operation is important, as they play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of wound healing and are a target for modifying the repair response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production of several cytokines and growth factors in the drainage wound fluid from patients undergoing incisional hernia repair: namely, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-1alpha, IL-1 ra, interferon-gamma, vascular endothelial growth factors and basic fibroblast growth factor. Ten female patients with abdominal midline incisional hernia undergoing surgical repair were included in this study.

Modifications in the production of cytokines and growth factors in drainage fluids following mesh implantation after incisional hernia repair.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the production of some cytokines (interleukins [ILs]-6, -10, -1, and -1ra), vascular endothelial growth factor, and beta-fibroblast growth factor after polypropylene mesh implantation.

Methods: Twenty female patients were divided into 2 groups. In 1 group, hernia repair was performed with conventional sutures (CR), whereas in the other group polypropylene mesh (MR) was used.

Systemic inflammatory response in erderly patients following hernioplastical operation.

The number of old and oldest old patients undergoing surgery of varying severity is increasing. Ageing is a process that changes the performances of most physiological systems and increases susceptibility to diseases and death; accordingly, host responses to surgical stress are altered with ageing and the occurrence of age-related increase in susceptibility to post-operative complications has been claimed. Twenty-four male patients undergoing Lichtenstein (LH) hernioplasty for unilateral inguinal hernia were included in this study and divided in two groups (Young and Old respectively), according to their age.

Role of TLR4 receptor polymorphisms in Boutonneuse fever.

The genetics of the interaction between host and microbes plays an essential role in the survival of the individual and attainment of longevity. The activation of toll-like receptor (TLR)4 plays a key role in natural and clonotypic immune responses. We evaluated whether TLR4 genotype is a component of genetic background protective versus rickettsiosis and whether this background influences longevity.

Production of cytokines at the operation site.

Background And Aim: Cytokines are part of a family of molecules involved in the initiation, control and termination of the events that occurs in wound healing process. Aim of this study was to evaluate the production of some cytokines [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-1alpha, IL-1ra, interferon (IFN)-gamma] in the drainage wound fluid from patients undergoing incisional hernia repair.

Methods: Ten female patients with abdominal midline incisional hernia undergoing to surgical repair were included in this study.

Detection of Leishmania infantum kinetoplast DNA in laryngeal tissue from an immunocompetent patient.

Mucosal leishmaniasis of the upper respiratory tract is usually associated with the visceral form or is found in immunosuppressed individuals. This report presents a case of isolated mucosal leishmaniasis in an immunocompetent patient, whose diagnosis mainly rested on histology and positive polymerase chain reaction result for Leishmania donovani in the laryngeal tissue. A 59-year-old man, who never lived outside Italy, showed a subglottic mucosal polypoid-like lesion.

Serum VEGF and b-FGF profiles after tension-free or conventional hernioplasty.

Background: Angiogenesis is strongly influenced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), whose production is also regulated by interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10. The aim of this study was to evaluate the modifications of serum VEGF, b-FGF, IFN-gamma and IL-10 levels in patients with inguinal hernia undergoing hernioplasty with the Lichtenstein technique (LH) using polypropylene mesh or with Bassini open conventional inguinal hernia repair (BH).

Materials And Methods: Randomly, 16 patients underwent BH, and 16 were treated with the LH technique using polypropylene mesh.

Production of VEGF and b-FGF in drainage fluid from patients undergoing incisional hernia repair.

Wound healing is a complex process involving interaction between different cell types, such as growth factors. Among these, vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factors (b-FGF) are the most important. The aim of this study was to assess the production of VEGF and b-FGF in wound drainage fluid from patients undergoing incisional abdominal hernia repair.

Acute inflammatory response after inguinal and incisional hernia repair with implantation of polypropylene mesh of different size.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the modifications of interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), leukocytes and fibrinogen after implantation of polypropylene mesh.

Methods: Thirty-six patients were included in this study and divided into two groups. To the first group were allocated patients affected by inguinal hernia and undergoing conventional repair (subgroup Ia) or hernioplasty with 40-cm(2) polypropylene mesh (subgroup Ib).