Background: Dysregulated inflammatory responses and oxidative stress are key pathogenic drivers of chronic inflammatory diseases such as liver cirrhosis (LC). Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential to prevent excessive immune activation and maintain tissue homeostasis. While inflammatory cues are well known to modulate the function and stability of Tregs, the extent to which Tregs are influenced by oxidative stress has not been fully explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcoholic hepatitis (AH) is the dramatic acute presentation of alcoholic liver disease, with a 15% mortality rate within 28 days in severe cases. Research into AH has been hampered by the lack of effective and reproducible murine models that can be operated under different regulatory frameworks internationally. The liquid Lieber-deCarli (LdC) diet has been used as a means of delivery of alcohol but without any additional insult, and is associated with relatively mild liver injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver disease is an escalating global health issue. While liver transplantation is an effective mode of therapy, patient mortality has increased due to the shortage of donor organs. Developing renewable sources of human liver tissue is therefore attractive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are tissue-resident stromal cells capable of modulating immune responses, including leukocyte recruitment by endothelial cells (EC). However, the comparative potency of MSC from different sources in suppressing recruitment, and the necessity for close contact with endothelium remain uncertain, although these factors have implications for use of MSC in therapy. We thus compared the effects of MSC isolated from bone marrow, Wharton's jelly, and trabecular bone on neutrophil recruitment to cytokine-stimulated EC, using co-culture models with different degrees of proximity between MSC and EC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFat-associated lymphoid clusters (FALCs) are a type of lymphoid tissue associated with visceral fat. Here we found that the distribution of FALCs was heterogeneous, with the pericardium containing large numbers of these clusters. FALCs contributed to the retention of B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity through high expression of the chemokine CXCL13, and they supported B cell proliferation and germinal center differentiation during peritoneal immunological challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonocytes/macrophages are key orchestrators of inflammation and are involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory disorders, including atherosclerosis. (n-3) Fatty acids, found in fish oil, have been shown to have protective effects in such disorders. To investigate possible modes of action, we used a monocyte:endothelial cell (EC) coculture model to investigate the pro-inflammatory potential of monocytes.
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