The pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) remains under intense investigation. Increasing evidence suggests a role for mature IL-18 in the induction of proinflammatory cytokines and Th1 polarization in CD lesions. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the IL-18-neutralizing (a and c) and non-neutralizing (b and d) isoforms of IL-18-binding protein (IL-18BP) during active CD. Intestinal endothelial cells and macrophages were the major source of IL-18BP within the submucosa, and this IL-18BP production was also found to be relevant to other types of endothelial cells (HUVEC) and macrophages (peripheral monocytes). IL-18BP messenger transcript and protein were significantly increased in surgically resected specimens from active CD compared with control patients, correlating with an up-regulation of IL-18. Analysis of the expression of the four IL-18BP isoforms as well as being free or bound to IL-18 was reported and revealed that unbound IL-18BP isoforms a and c and inactive isoform d were present in specimens from active CD and control patients while isoform b was not detected. IL-18/IL-18BP complex was also detected. Interestingly, although most was complexed, free mature IL-18 could still be detected in active CD specimens even in the presence of the IL-18BP isoform a/c. These results demonstrate that the appropriate neutralizing isoforms are present in the intestinal tissue of patients with active CD and highlights the complexity of IL-18/IL-18BP biology.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.168.7.3608 | DOI Listing |
Mol Ther
January 2025
Department of Surgery, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States; Department of Surgery, Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States. Electronic address:
Diabetic wounds are complicated by underlying peripheral vasculopathy. Reliance on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy to improve perfusion makes logical sense, yet clinical study outcomes on rescuing diabetic wound vascularization have yielded disappointing results. Our previous work has identified that low endothelial phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) expression hinders the therapeutic effect of VEGF on the diabetic ischemic limb.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Ther
January 2025
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark; Odense, 5230, Denmark. Electronic address:
Neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema are leading causes of vision-loss evoked by retinal neovascularization and vascular leakage. The glycoprotein microfibrillar-associated protein 4 (MFAP4) is an integrin αβ ligand present in the extracellular matrix. Single-cell transcriptomics reveal MFAP4 expression in cell-types in close proximity to vascular endothelial cells including choroidal vascular mural cells and retinal astrocytes and Müller cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Ther
January 2025
Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Electronic address:
Gene therapy with Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors requires knowledge of their tropism within the body. Here we analyze the tropism of ten naturally occurring AAV serotypes (AAV3B, AAV4, AAV5, AAV6, AAV7, AAV8, AAV9, AAVrh8, AAVrh10 and AAVrh74) following systemic delivery into male and female mice. A transgene expressing ZsGreen and Cre recombinase was used to identify transduction in a cell-dependent manner based on fluorescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
The aberrant vascular response associated with tendon injury results in circulating immune cell infiltration and a chronic inflammatory feedback loop leading to poor healing outcomes. Studying this dysregulated tendon repair response in human pathophysiology has been historically challenging due to the reliance on animal models. To address this, our group developed the human tendon-on-a-chip (hToC) to model cellular interactions in the injured tendon microenvironment; however, this model lacked the key element of physiological flow in the vascular compartment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Prev Alzheimers Dis
February 2025
Dementia Research Centre (Singapore), Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine - Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Electronic address:
Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) like hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus are increasingly linked to cognitive decline and dementia, especially in cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are closely associated with cognitive impairment, but the mechanisms behind their development remain unclear. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction may be a key factor, particularly in cSVD.
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