Application of modified small bladder patch-to-bladder double-layer sutures to improve renal transplantation in mice.

Background: This study aimed to introduce an improved surgical procedure to reduce the incidence of urinary tract complications after renal transplantation in mice using a modified bladder patch-to-bladder anastomosis technique.

Methods: Renal isotransplantation was performed in 28 male C57BL/6 mice. The urinary tract was reconstructed with a ureteral anastomosis between the donor's small bladder patch and the recipient's bladder.

Platelet aggregation but not activation and degranulation during the acute post-ischemic reperfusion phase in livers with no underlying disease.

Background: Platelets and P-selectin (CD62P) play an unequivocal role in the pathology of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Inhibition or knock-out of P-selectin or immunodepletion of platelets results in amelioration of post-ischemic inflammation, reduced hepatocellular damage, and improved survival. However, P-selectin expression on platelets and endothelial cells, which concurs with platelet activation, has never been clearly demonstrated in I/R-subjected livers.

FRNK negatively regulates IL-4-mediated inflammation.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-related nonkinase (PTK2 isoform 6 in humans, hereafter referred to as FRNK) is a cytoskeletal regulatory protein that has recently been shown to dampen lung fibrosis, yet its role in inflammation is unknown. Here, we show for the first time that expression of FRNK negatively regulates IL-4-mediated inflammation in a human model of eosinophil recruitment. Mechanistically, FRNK blocks eosinophil accumulation, firm adhesion and transmigration by preventing transcription and protein expression of VCAM-1 and CCL26.

An introduction to the wound healing assay using live-cell microscopy.

The wound healing assay is used in a range of disciplines to study the coordinated movement of a cell population. In this technical review, we describe the workflow of the wound healing assay as monitored by optical microscopy. Although the assay is straightforward, a lack of standardization in its application makes it difficult to compare results and reproduce experiments among researchers.

P-selectin-mediated monocyte-cerebral endothelium adhesive interactions link peripheral organ inflammation to sickness behaviors.

Sickness behaviors, such as fatigue, mood alterations, and cognitive dysfunction, which result from changes in central neurotransmission, are prevalent in systemic inflammatory diseases and greatly impact patient quality of life. Although, microglia (resident cerebral immune cells) and cytokines (e.g.

The stringent response is essential for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence in the rat lung agar bead and Drosophila melanogaster feeding models of infection.

The stringent response is a regulatory system that allows bacteria to sense and adapt to nutrient-poor environments. The central mediator of the stringent response is the molecule guanosine 3',5'-bispyrophosphate (ppGpp), which is synthesized by the enzymes RelA and SpoT and which is also degraded by SpoT. Our laboratory previously demonstrated that a relA mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the principal cause of lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, was attenuated in virulence in a Drosophila melanogaster feeding model of infection.