Functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury is dependent on the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF: implications for neuropathic pain.

IL-1β and TNF are potential targets in the management of neuropathic pain after injury. However, the importance of the IL-1 and TNF systems for peripheral nerve regeneration and the mechanisms by which these cytokines mediate effects are to be fully elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that mRNA and protein levels of IL-1β and TNF are rapidly upregulated in the injured mouse sciatic nerve.

Development of a novel noncompetitive antagonist of IL-1 receptor.

IL-1 is a major proinflammatory cytokine which interacts with the IL-1 receptor I (IL-1RI) complex, composed of IL-1RI and IL-1R accessory protein subunits. Currently available strategies to counter pathological IL-1 signaling rely on a recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist, which directly competes with IL-1 for its binding site. Presently, there are no small antagonists of the IL-1RI complex.

Clinical outcome of adjuvant treatment of endometrial cancer using aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

Purpose: To assess disease control and acute and chronic toxicity with aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy (AB-IMRT) for postoperative pelvic irradiation of endometrial cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between January and July 2005, after hysterectomy for endometrial cancer, 15 patients received 45 Gy to the pelvis using AB-IMRT. The AB-IMRT plans were generated by an in-house treatment planning system (Ballista).

Postoperative irradiation of gynecologic malignancies: improving treatment delivery using aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate dosimetric and treatment delivery advantages of aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy (AB-IMRT) for the treatment of patients receiving whole pelvic radiotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

Methods And Materials: Nineteen patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy after resection of endometrial cancers were selected. A 45-Gy dose was prescribed to the target volume delineated on a planning CT scan.

A transcriptional role for C/EBP beta in the neuronal response to axonal injury.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for inducing gene expression following neuronal injury are not well understood. Here, we address this issue by focusing upon C/EBPbeta, a transcription factor implicated in cellular injury and regeneration. We show that C/EBPbeta mRNA is expressed in neurons throughout the mature brain and that levels of both C/EBPbeta mRNA and phosphoprotein are increased in facial motor neurons following axonal injury.

Glucocorticoids play a fundamental role in protecting the brain during innate immune response.

The innate immune system plays a crucial role in protecting the host against infectious microorganisms. An inappropriate control of this system may have profound consequences, because of the maintained production of specific proinflammatory molecules. Glucocorticoids are the most efficient endogenous molecules that provide negative feedback on proinflammatory signaling and gene expression.

Endotoxemia prevents the cerebral inflammatory wave induced by intraparenchymal lipopolysaccharide injection: role of glucocorticoids and CD14.

There is a robust and transient innate immune response in the brain during endotoxemia, which is associated with a cascade of NF-kappaB signaling events and transcriptional activation of genes that encode TNF-alpha and the LPS receptor CD14. The present study investigated whether circulating LPS has the ability to modulate the cerebral innate immune response caused by an intrastriatal (IS) injection of the endotoxin. We also tested the possibility that CD14 plays a role in these effects and male rats received an intracerebroventricular injection with an anti-CD14 before the IS LPS administration.