Increased Serum Levels of Activated Caspases in Murine and Human Biliary Atresia.

In biliary atresia (BA), apoptosis is part of the pathomechanism, which results in progressive liver fibrosis. There is increasing evidence suggesting that apoptotic liver injury can be non-invasively detected by measuring the caspase activity in the serum. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether serological detection of caspase activation mirrors apoptotic liver injury in the infective murine BA-model and represents a suitable biomarker for BA in humans.

The effect of hydroxychloroquine on platelet activation in model experiments.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an antimalarial agent with pleiotropic effects and now represents a cornerstone in the management of patients with autoimmune conditions. While clinical series suggest anti-thrombotic properties, the way in which HCQ exerts this effect remains to be fully explained. Following a 24-h incubation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human umbilical arterial endothelial cells (HUAEC) with HCQ (concentration 500, 1000 and 2000 ng/ml), these cells were then stimulated for an hour with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and were subsequently incubated in direct contact with thrombin-activated platelets.

Excitation of Whispering Gallery Magnons in a Magnetic Vortex.

We present the generation of whispering gallery magnons with unprecedented high wave vectors via nonlinear 3-magnon scattering in a μm-sized magnetic Ni_{81}Fe_{19} disc which is in the vortex state. These modes exhibit a strong localization at the perimeter of the disc and practically zero amplitude in an extended area around the vortex core. They originate from the splitting of the fundamental radial magnon modes, which can be resonantly excited in a vortex texture by an out-of-plane microwave field.

Ingested partial denture mimicking perforated diverticular disease.

Denture ingestion is a rare clinical entity among foreign body ingestions. The caveat is that there is often no recollection of the event and that dentures are radiolucent and as such hard to identify on conventional imaging. To date not all dentures contain radiopaque marker.

γδ T cells protect against LPS-induced lung injury.

γδ T lymphocytes are a unique T cell population with important anti-inflammatory capabilities. Their role in acute lung injury, however, is poorly understood but may provide significant insight into lung-protective mechanisms occurring after injury. In a murine model of lung injury, wild-type C57BL/6 and TCRδ(-/-) mice were exposed to Escherichia coli LPS, followed by analysis of γδ T cell and macrophage subsets.

Identification of multiple public TCR repertoires in chronic beryllium disease.

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a granulomatous lung disease characterized by the accumulation of beryllium (Be)-specific CD4(+) T cells in bronchoalveolar lavage. These expanded CD4(+) T cells are composed of oligoclonal T cell subsets, suggesting their recruitment to the lung in response to conventional Ag. In the current study, we noted that all bronchoalveolar lavage-derived T cell lines from HLA-DP2-expressing CBD patients contained an expansion of Be-responsive Vβ5.

γδ T cells protect against lung fibrosis via IL-22.

Inflammation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF) leads to irreversible loss of lung function and is a predictor of mortality in numerous lung diseases. Why some subjects with lung inflammation but not others develop PF is unclear. In a mouse model of hypersensitivity pneumonitis that progresses to lung fibrosis upon repeated exposure to the ubiquitous microorganism Bacillus subtilis, γδ T cells expand in the lung and inhibit collagen deposition.

IL-17A-expressing T cells are essential for bacterial clearance in a murine model of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an inflammatory lung disease characterized by a diffuse mononuclear cell infiltrate in the lung that can progress to pulmonary fibrosis with chronic exposure to an inhaled Ag. We previously reported that C57BL/6 mice repeatedly exposed to the ubiquitous microorganism Bacillus subtilis develop mononuclear infiltrates in the lung that contain Vgamma6/Vdelta1(+) gammadelta T cells. In the absence of this T cell subset, mice treated with B.

Carbon dioxide, hypoxia and low pH lead to overexpression of c-myc and HMGB-1 oncogenes in neuroblastoma cells.

Purpose: It has been reported that CO (2) gas, used to establish a pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopy, affects the behavior of tumor cells. The proto-oncogenes C-MYC and HMGB-1 mediate aggressive behavior of neuroblastomas. We studied whether exposure to CO (2), hypoxia or acidosis affects the expression of C-MYC and HMGB-1 in neuroblastoma cells.

Th17-polarized immune response in a murine model of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and lung fibrosis.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an environmental lung disease characterized by a diffuse mononuclear cell infiltrate in the lung that can progress to pulmonary fibrosis with chronic exposure to an inhaled Ag. Using a well-established murine model of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, we repeatedly exposed C57BL/6 mice to Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula to investigate whether T cells are required for lung fibrosis. In the absence of alphabeta T cells, TCRbeta(-/-) mice exposed to S.

Cholangiocytes as immune modulators in rotavirus-induced murine biliary atresia.

Background/aims: Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive disease characterized by bile duct inflammation and fibrosis. The aetiology is unknown and may be due to a virus-induced, autoimmune-mediated injury of cholangiocytes. Cholangiocytes are not only targets of injury but may also modulate hepatic inflammation.

Functional Mx protein does not prevent experimental biliary atresia in Balb/c mice.

Biliary atresia (BA) is a rare cholestatic disease, which manifests itself in the form of inflammation of the liver and bile ducts in newborns, with an unknown etiology and a poor outcome. Mx proteins, which are mediators of innate, antiviral resistance induced by type I interferon, were recently detected in the livers of children with BA. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether the expression of Mx protein could affect the course of experimental BA in mice.