Oral mucositis can result in significant dysphagia, and is the most common dose-limiting acute toxicity in head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiotherapy. There is a critical need to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie radiotherapy-associated discomfort in patients with mucositis. The objective was to induce oral mucositis in mice, using a clinical linear accelerator, and to quantify resultant discomfort, and characterize peripheral sensitization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD) are clinically characterized by erythematous and pruritic skin lesions, immunologically mediated by an inflammatory infiltrate consisting of T-cells, antigen presenting cells (APC) and eosinophilic granulocytes. Histamine levels are increased in lesions of inflammatory skin diseases. It is likely that histamine also plays a pathogenetic role since various relevant cell types such as T-cells and APC express functional histamine receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant expression systems offer a valuable alternative to traditional systems for the production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals. A highly efficient polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-mediated transient expression system for secreted recombinant proteins in plants has been developed. The human vascular endothelial growth factor 121 (rhVEGF) has been successfully expressed and efficiently secreted into the culture medium by transiently transformed moss protoplasts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpert Rev Clin Immunol
May 2005
Cilomilast is a highly selective, orally active phosphodiesterase (PDE)4 inhibitor currently under evaluation for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PDE4 is the predominant cyclic AMP-degrading enzyme in various inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages, T-cells and monocytes. As a second-generation PDE4 inhibitor, cilomilast demonstrates a markedly improved side-effect profile over the prototype rolipram.
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