Evaluation of a lateral flow assay-based IFN-γ release assay as a point-of-care test for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection.

Introduction: We compared the performance of a fluorescence lateral flow assay (ichroma™ IGRA-TB) with the QuantiFERON-TB Gold PLUS (QFT-PLUS) for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) prior to receiving biologics therapy.

Method: The comparability of the ichroma™ IGRA-TB assay with the QFT-PLUS assay for the diagnosis of LTBI was determined in prospectively enrolled patients with IMID prior to receiving biologics between August 2018 and October 2019. To determine the best cut-off value of the ichroma™ IGRA-TB, an ROC curve analysis was performed.

Comparison of Shear Stress-Induced Thrombotic and Thrombolytic Effects Among 3 Different Antithrombotic Regimens in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Shear stress (SS)-induced platelet activation is suggested as an essential mechanism of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We aimed to compare SS-induced thrombotic and thrombolytic activities among 3 treatment regimens in patients with ACS who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients were nonrandomly enrolled and treated with one of 3 regimens (TICA: ticagrelor 180 mg/d; RIVA: clopidogrel 75 mg/d and rivaroxaban 5 mg/d; CLP: clopidogrel 75 mg/d), administered in addition to aspirin (100 mg/d) for 30 days.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Secreted Protein, ESAT-6, Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced MMP-9 Expression and Inflammation Through NF-κB and MAPK Signaling in RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells.

-20pt?>Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a pathogenic bacterium that causes contagious tuberculosis (TB). Recently, Mtb-secreted proteins have been considered virulence factors and candidates for drugs and vaccines. Among these proteins, 6-kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) is known to be able to induce component of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in epithelial cells, leading to recruitment of macrophages.

Enhancement of the stability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis recombinant antigen expressed in Escherichia coli using cell lysis additives.

Background: Mycobacteria tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, is a slow-growing bacterium. Expression in Escherichia coli is a widely used method for large-scale production of diagnostic antigenic recombinant proteins. Expression of Mtb antigen in E.

Mitogen-Induced Interferon Gamma Production in Human Whole Blood: The Effect of Heat and Cations.

Background: Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are blood tests used to measure the amount of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) released by T lymphocytes after stimulation by antigens specific for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection. A mitogen serves as a positive control to assess the immune function in IGRAs.

Methods: This in vitro study was conducted to evaluate IFN-γ production by human whole blood stimulated with heat-treated and/or cation-supplemented phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM), using QuantiFERON-TB Gold Kit ELISA tests.

Malaria and Japan's colonial frontier: Manchuria, 1900s-1940s.

This article examines the malaria problem among Chinese migrant laborers in Manchuria, particularly laborers on the South Manchuria Railway's mining sites, the Fushun Mines, during the first half of the twentieth century. Almost all of the malaria cases in Manchuria were caused by the parasite , which rarely causes death but leads to debilitation and makes sufferers susceptible to other illnesses. Malaria epidemics in Manchuria during this period were the result of Japan's economic and military exploitation.

Malaria and Colonialism in Korea, 1876-1945.

This article considers the problem of malaria in the Korean peninsula from 1876 to 1945, focusing particularly on the impact of Japanese colonial rule. One aspect which receives special attention is malaria in urban contexts. The relationship between malaria and urbanisation is shown to be extremely complex, fluctuating regardless of specific interventions against the disease.

The borderline of 'empire': Japanese maritime quarantine in Busan c.1876-1910.

This paper seeks to balance the regional and thematic focus of cholera historiography by examining maritime quarantine in Busan, as it was devised and implemented by Japanese officials and doctors during the pre-colonial period. It also places the relationship between Korea and Japan in the context of relations with China, Russia and Britain. This paper shows that quarantine measures in Busan and other Korean ports reflected the rise of Japanese imperial power and the increasing desire on the part of the Japanese to establish an effective borderline for their regional empire.

Ethylacetate fraction from Korean seaside starfish, Asterias amurensis, has an inhibitory effect on MMP-9 activity and expression and on migration behavior of TNF-α induced human aortic smooth muscle cells.

Atherosclerosis is accompanied by the proliferation of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC) and their movement into the intima. Many reports have indicated the involvement of gelatinases (MMP-9 and MMP-2) in this pathogenesis. The ethylacetate fraction from starfish, Asterias amurensis (EFA), harvested from the Korean seaside has an inhibitory effect on MMP-9 and MMP-2 activities, as well as on the expression of MMP-9 in TNF-α induced HASMC in a dose-dependent manner.

Deoxypodophyllotoxin, flavolignan, from Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm. inhibits migration and MMP-9 via MAPK pathways in TNF-alpha-induced HASMC.

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-9 and MMP-2) in aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) play key roles in the pathogenesis atherosclerosis. The SMC migration into the vascular wall via the bloodstream is directly linked with MMP-9 expression. Deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT), a naturally occurring flavolignan with anti-inflammatory activity, was isolated from Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm.

Regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression between gingival fibroblast cells from old and young rats.

Gingival fibroblast cells (rGF) from aged rats have an age-related decline in proliferative capacity compared with young rats. We investigated G1 phase cell cycle regulation and MMP-9 expression in both young and aged rGF. G1 cell cycle protein levels and activity were significantly reduced in response to interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) stimulation with increasing in vitro age.

Regulation of type II collagen expression by cyclin-dependent kinase 6, cyclin D1, and p21 in articular chondrocytes.

This study examined whether cell cycle regulatory proteins, such as cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), cyclins, and CDK inhibitors, regulate type II collagen expression and mediate interlukin-1 (IL-1beta)-induced suppression of type II collagen expression in articular chondrocytes. IL-1beta inhibited type II collagen expression, but activated CDK6. Ectopic expression of CDK2 did not alter type II collagen expression.

Protein kinase D2 contributes to either IL-2 promoter regulation or induction of cell death upon TCR stimulation depending on its activity in Jurkat cells.

Members of protein kinase D (PKD) family serine/threonine kinases (PKD1, PKD2 and PKD3) are expressed in wide range of cells and regulate various cellular responses including immune responses. We have previously shown that PKD is involved in the signaling pathways of a human CD4(+) T cell clone stimulated with its cognate antigen. Contrary to foregoing publications, PKD1 mRNA was not detected in human T cells, Jurkat cells and mouse thymocytes and splenocytes.

TCR ligand avidity determines the mode of B-Raf/Raf-1/ERK activation leading to the activation of human CD4+ T cell clone.

The interactions between peptide/MHC complexes and their cognate TCR are essential for various T cell responses. However, the relationship between the avidity of TCR ligand and the subsequent intracellular signaling through the TCR is still unclear. To investigate the effects of TCR ligand avidity on TCR-mediated signaling, we established L cells expressing HLA-DR4 molecules covalently linked with agonistic peptide (high-affinity ligand) or altered peptide ligand (APL; low-affinity ligand) at various densities as APC for a cognate human CD4(+) T cell clone.

A role of kinase inactive ZAP-70 in altered peptide ligand stimulated T cell activation.

T cell activation signals induced by altered peptide ligands (APLs) are different from those induced by the original agonistic peptide. The characteristics of the former are partial phosphorylation of TCR-zeta and no tyrosine-phosphorylation of zeta-associated protein-70 (ZAP-70). To analyze further those signaling pathways, we introduced a dominant negative (DN) form of ZAP-70 into a human CD4(+) T cell clone in which fully and partially agonistic peptide ligands have been well characterized.

Association of a high activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 to low levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 and -3 in human hepatitis B-viral hepatoma cells.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a major role in the turnover of extracellular matrix (ECM) during cancer invasion and metastasis, and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) control MMPs, thus maintaining a balanced ECM catabolism under physiological conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the behavior of some MMPs (FASEB J., 7, 1993, 1434; Cancer Metastasis Rev.

Structure-related cytotoxicity and anti-hepatofibric effect of asiatic acid derivatives in rat hepatic stellate cell-line, HSC-T6.

The structural relationship of 16 asiatic acid (AA) derivatives, including AA and asiaticoside (AS) to cytotoxicity and anti-hepatofibrotic activity in HSC-T6 cells, were investigated. Cytotoxicities of AA derivatives varied from 5.5 microM to over 2000 microM of IC50 depending on AA functional group modifications.

Correlation between plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 /MMP-2 ratio and alpha-fetoproteins in chronic hepatitis carrying hepatitis B virus.

Background: Matrix metalloproteases (MMP) and alpha-fetoproteins (AFP) are involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced chronic hepatitis. In the present study, we have determined the correlation between the MMP-9/MMP-9 ratio and AFP levels in the serum of patients during chronic viral B hepatitis.

Methods: Twenty-eight healthy individuals (18 men and 10 women) with a mean age of 36.