Publications by authors named "Dietrich Simon"
Prion-induced chronic neurodegeneration has a substantial inflammatory component, and the activation of glia cells may play an important role in disease development and progression. However, the functional contribution of cytokines to the development of the gliosis in vivo was never systematically studied. We report here that the expression of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-1beta-converting enzyme, and IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1RI) is up-regulated in a murine scrapie model.
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- Researchers found cDNAs for prion protein homologues called 'similar to PrPs' (stPrPs) in Atlantic salmon and Japanese pufferfish, showing notable similarities to tetrapod prion proteins.
- The fish stPrPs not only share significant sequence homologies with tetrapod PrPs but also possess key structural features, and two of these stPrPs are highly expressed in brain tissue.
- The study suggests that the PrP gene duplication responsible for the doppel protein likely occurred after the divergence of tetrapods, indicating that fish might not have the same susceptibility to prion infections as tetrapods.
Severe sepsis is accompanied by a profound depression of myocardial contractility. Leukocyte adhesion with subsequent local excess nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species production play major roles for this deleterious effect. We hypothesized that 3-deazaadenosine (c3Ado), an adenosine analogue with anti-inflammatory properties, prevents endotoxin-induced myocardial dysfunction.
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