Nerve growth factor and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Objectives: To investigate whether the pain experienced by patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) may be related to the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), induced by inflammation and tissue injury experienced as a result of chronic inflammation. CPPS is a disease of unknown pathogenesis.

Methods: We measured the levels of NGF and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 and compared these with the levels of IL-8, interferon-gamma, IL-2, and IL-10 in the seminal plasma of 31 patients with CPPS and 14 controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technology.

Interleukin-10 levels in seminal plasma: implications for chronic prostatitis-chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Purpose: Chronic prostatitis-chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a disease of unknown pathogenesis. We investigated whether the chronic inflammation and pain experienced by patients may be caused by an imbalance of proinflammatory versus anti-inflammatory cytokines within the prostate, namely interleukin (IL)-8, interferon-gamma and IL-2 versus IL-10. We measured these inflammatory cytokines in seminal plasma as a reflection of the prostate environment.

Binding and orientation of fibronectin on surfaces with collagen-related peptides. Student Research Award in the Masters Science Degree Candidate category, 27th annual meeting of the Society for Biomaterials, St. Paul, MN, April 24-29, 2001.

Although fibronectin (FN) has been used in a variety of in vitro studies to enhance cell and bacteria adhesion, relatively little is known about the molecular interactions of FN with surfaces, particularly the interactions that can control the binding, conformation, and functionality of FN on these surfaces. Even less is known about approaches needed to control binding, orientation, and functionality of FN bound on surfaces. To begin to fill this gap in our knowledge, we hypothesized that functional FN can be bound and specifically oriented on polystyrene surfaces with FN-specific collagen-related peptides (CRPs).

Fibrin induces IL-8 expression from human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

In recent studies, we have demonstrated that fibrin is present in association with tumor cells in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in vivo. We hypothesized that this fibrin can directly induce the expression of known angiogenic factors from oral tumor cells. Since IL-8 is known to be the major inducer of angiogenesis caused by these cells, we examined the ability of fibrin to stimulate IL-8 expression from OSCC cells in vitro.

Fibrin regulation of interleukin-8 gene expression in human vascular endothelial cells.

Recent studies in our laboratory, as well as others, have suggested that fibrin can regulate cell function in vitro and likely control inflammation in vivo by acting as a potent cell activator. This has led us to hypothesize that during tissue and vascular injury, fibrin can enhance leukocyte recruitment by inducing vascular endothelial cell expression of leukocyte chemotactic factors. To begin to test this hypothesis, we developed an in vitro model of in situ fibrin polymerization on human umbilical vein endothelial cell culture (HUVEC) and determined the ability of fibrin to induce HUVEC expression of the potent leukocyte chemotactic factor interleukin-8 (IL-8).