Making anti-cytokine therapy more selective: Studies in mice.

Cytokines are involved in a wide range of functions shaping the normal immune response, yet inflammatory changes in the immune system due to dysregulated cytokine signaling may lead to the induction of autoimmunity. Cytokine inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of many autoimmune diseases in recent years. Systemic cytokine ablation, however, is often associated with the development of adverse side effects and some patients simply do not respond to therapy.

Mathematical model of mitochondrial ionic homeostasis: three modes of Ca2+ transport.

Mitochondria play an important role in regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis in a cell. Here we present a mathematical model of mitochondrial ion transport and use this model to analyse different modes of Ca2+ uptake by mitochondria. The model includes transport of H+, Ca2+, K+, inorganic phosphate and oxidative substrates across the inner mitochondrial membrane harboring permeability transition pore (PTP).

A mathematical model for the spatio-temporal dynamics of intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. II. Results.

This paper continues our study (see Part I) where we modeled the spatio-temporal dynamics of the intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. Here, we analyzed this model and showed that it describes the threshold behavior of coagulation. When activation is subthreshold (which produces not more than 0.

A mathematical model for the spatio-temporal dynamics of intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. I. The model description.

We developed and analyzed the mathematical model of the intrinsic pathway based on the current biochemical data on the kinetics of blood coagulation individual stages. The model includes eight differential equations describing the spatio-temporal dynamics of activation of factors XI, IX, X, II, I, VIII, V, and protein C. The assembly of tenase and prothrombinase complexes is considered as a function of calcium concentration.

Calcium threshold in human plasma clotting kinetics.

In vitro clotting kinetics of citrate human blood plasma under its titration with calcium ions are studied. Contact activation (Factor XIa + plasma kallikrein) is shown to be independent of calcium while non-linear growth of thrombin concentration is demonstrated at calcium concentrations higher than 0.25 mM under conditions of contact activation caused by quartz walls of the measuring cell.