IL-33 Signaling Inhibition Leads to a Preeclampsia-Like Phenotype in Pregnant Rats.

Problem: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive pregnancy disorder that is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality characterized by maternal vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, chronic immune activation, and excessive inflammation. No cure exists beyond delivery of the fetal-placental unit and the mechanisms driving pathophysiology are not fully understood. However, aberrant immune responses have been extensively characterized in clinical studies and shown to mediate PE pathophysiology in animal studies.

Inhibition of Caspase 1 Reduces Blood Pressure, Cytotoxic NK Cells, and Inflammatory T-Helper 17 Cells in Placental Ischemic Rats.

Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by maternal hypertension, fetal growth restriction (FGR), and increased inflammation and populations of cytotoxic NK cells (cNKs) and inflammatory T-Helper 17 cells (TH17s). Both cytotoxic NK cells and TH17 cells are heavily influenced via IL-1β signaling. Caspase 1 activity leads to the release of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β, which is increased in women with PE.

Absence of Capsule Increases Bacterial Binding, Persistence, and Inflammation in Corneal Infection.

The role of the pneumococcal polysaccharide capsule is largely unclear for keratitis, an ocular inflammatory disease that develops as a result of bacterial infection of the cornea. In this study, capsule-deficient strains were compared to isogenic parent strains in their ability to adhere to human corneal epithelial cells. One isogenic pair was further used in topical ocular infection of mice to assess the contribution of the capsule to keratitis.

Forest fires in the insular Caribbean.

This paper presents a summary of the forest fire reports in the insular Caribbean derived from both management reports and an analysis of publicly available Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrodiometer (MODIS) satellite active fire products from the region. A vast difference between the amount of fires reported by land managers and fire points in the MODIS Fire Information for Resource Management System data can be observed. Future research is recommended to better understand the nature of these differences.