Augmented Th17 differentiation in Trim21 deficiency promotes a stable phenotype of atherosclerotic plaques with high collagen content.

Aims: Patients with hyperlipidemia are at risk of atherosclerosis, but not all develop cardiovascular disease, highlighting the importance of other risk factors such as inflammation. Both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system have been suggested in the initiation and propagation of plaque formation. Tri-partite motif (TRIM) 21 is a regulator of tissue inflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and has been implicated in chronic inflammatory disease.

The HLA locus contains novel foetal susceptibility alleles for congenital heart block with significant paternal influence.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to identify foetal susceptibility genes on chromosome six for Ro/SSA autoantibody-mediated congenital heart block.

Subjects And Design: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping of individuals in the Swedish Congenital Heart Block (CHB) study population was performed. Low-resolution HLA-A, -Cw and -DRB1 allele typing was carried out in 86 families comprising 339 individuals (86 Ro/SSA autoantibody-positive mothers, 71 fathers, 87 CHB index cases and 95 unaffected siblings).

The effects of carbon sources and micronutrients in whey and fermented whey on the kinetics of phenanthrene biodegradation in diesel contaminated soil.

This paper demonstrates significant effects on phenanthrene degradation in diesel contaminated soil by the addition of organic amendments such as whey and fermented whey. Both amount of amendment added and mode of administration was shown to be decisive. There was a strong positive effect on the (14)C-mineralization of phenanthrene by multiple (bi-weekly) additions of fermented whey 210 mg dw kg(-1) soil dw (FW multi) and also by single dose addition of 2100 mg dw sweet whey kg(-1) soil dw (SW high).

Protective targeting of high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 in a spontaneous arthritis model.

Objective: High mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB-1) is a DNA binding nuclear protein that can be released from dying cells and activated myeloid cells. Extracellularly, HMGB-1 promotes inflammation. Clinical and experimental studies demonstrate that HMGB-1 is a pathogenic factor in chronic arthritis.

Impaired myofibrillar function in the soleus muscle of mice with collagen-induced arthritis.

Objective: Progressive muscle weakness is a common feature in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, little is known about whether the intrinsic contractile properties of muscle fibers are affected in RA. This study was undertaken to investigate muscle contractility and the myoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+](i)) in the soleus, a major postural muscle, in mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).