Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one of the most frequent chronic inflammatory rheumatic disorders, is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies and joint infiltration by activated immune cells, leading to cartilage and bone destruction. IgA occurs predominantly as monomers (mIgA) in plasma and regulates many cell responses through interaction with the Fcα receptor type I (FcαRI). FcαRI targeting by anti-FcαRI Fab inhibits activating receptors by inducing an inhibitory immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAMi) configuration through SH2 domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) recruitment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolecular and genetic investigations in endometrial carcinogenesis may have prognostic and therapeutic implications. We studied the expression of EGFR, c-Met, PTEN and the mTOR signalling pathway (phospho-AKT/phospho-mTOR/phospho-RPS6) in 69 consecutive tumours and 16 tissue microarrays. We also analysed PIK3CA, K-Ras mutations and microsatellite instability (MSI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: In obesity, while hyperleptinemia highly correlates with excess fat mass, the status of gastric leptin remains unknown. Here, we investigated the expression of leptin in stomach biopsies of obese humans and analyzed the temporal changes of gastric leptin expression in response to diet-induced obesity and its impact on 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)-producing cells.
Methods: Enterochromaffin (EC) cells and expression of leptin, PAX4 (critical factor for EC specification), tryptophane hydroxylase-1 (TPH1, the peripheral rate-limiting enzyme for 5HT) and 5HT were examined by immunofluorescence, quantitative real-time PCR, radioimmunoassay, respectively, in stomach and duodenum biopsies from 19 obese and 14 normo-weighed individuals, and in mucosa scrapings from C57Bl6/J diet-induced obese mice, leptin-deficient ob/ob mice and intestine-specific leptin receptor isoform B-deficient mice.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression and the prognostic value of chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), its cognate ligand the CXCL12, and markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the mobile tongue.
Patients And Methods: Patients with primary SCC of the mobile tongue who underwent surgery in our center were screened retrospectively. Patients without prior treatment, who had pre-surgery TNM staging and available tumor samples, were eligible.