AIM: To compare the anti-inflammatory properties of butyrate with two other SCFAs, namely acetate and propionate, which have less well-documented effects on inflammation. METHODS: The effect of SCFAs on cytokine rel...AIM: To compare the anti-inflammatory properties of butyrate with two other SCFAs, namely acetate and propionate, which have less well-documented effects on inflammation. METHODS: The effect of SCFAs on cytokine release from human neutrophils was studied with EHSA. SCFA- dependent modulation of NF-κB reporter activity was assessed in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, Colo320DM. Finally, the effect of SCFAs on gene expression and cytokine release, measured with RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively, was studied in mouse colon organ cultures established from colitic mice. RESULTS: Acetate, propionate and butyrate at 30 mmol/L decreased LPS-stimulated TNFα release from neutrophils, without affecting IL-8 protein release. All SCFAs dose dependently inhibited NF-κB reporter activity in Colo320DM cells. Propionate dose-dependently suppressed IL-6 mRNA and protein release from colon organ cultures and comparative studies revealed that propionate and butyrate at 30 mmol/L caused a strong inhibition of immune-related gene expression, whereas acetate was less effective. A similar inhibition was achieved with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132, but not the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. All SCFAs decreased IL-6 protein release from organ cultures. CONCLUSION: In the present study propionate and butyrate were equipotent, whereas acetate was less effective, at suppressing NF-κB reporter activity, immune-related gene expression and cytokine release in vitro. Our findings suggest that propionate and acetate, in addition to butyrate, could be useful in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, including IBD.展开更多
In this study a carrier-free dry powder inhalation(DPI)containing L-arginine(ARG)was developed.As such,it is proposed that ARG could be used for adjunctive treatment of cystic fibrosis and/or tuberculosis.Various proc...In this study a carrier-free dry powder inhalation(DPI)containing L-arginine(ARG)was developed.As such,it is proposed that ARG could be used for adjunctive treatment of cystic fibrosis and/or tuberculosis.Various processing methods were used to manufacture highdose formulation batches consisting various amounts of ARG and excipients.The formulations were evaluated using several analytical methods to assess suitability for further investigation.Several batches had enhanced in vitro aerolization properties.Significant future challenges include the highly hygroscopic nature of unformulated ARG powder and identifying the scale of dose of ARG required to achieve the response in lungs.展开更多
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor substrate 2a (FRS2α) is the main mediator of signaling in the FGF pathway. Recent studies have shown that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylates serine an...Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor substrate 2a (FRS2α) is the main mediator of signaling in the FGF pathway. Recent studies have shown that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylates serine and threonine residues in FRS2, negatively affecting FGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation (PY) of FRS2. Several kinds of stimuli can induce serine/threonine phosphorylation (PS/T) of FRS2, indicating that FRS2 may be useful for studying crosstalk between growth factor signaling pathways. Here, we report that FGF-induced PY of FRS2 can be attenuated by EGF co-stimulation in PC12cells; this inhibitory effect could be completely reversed by U0126, an inhibitor of MEK. We further identified the ERK1/2-binding motif in FRS2 and generated FRS2-3KL, a mutant lacking MAPK binding and PT upon FGF and/or EGF stimulation. Unlike wild-type (WT) FRS2, FGF-induced PY of FRS2-3KL could not be inhibited by EGF co-stimulation, and FRS2-3KL-expressing PC12 cells exhibited more differentiating potential than FRS2-WT-expressing cells in response to FGF treatment. These results suggest that PS/T of FRS2 mediated by the FRS2-MAPK negative regulatory loop may function as a molecular switch integrating negative regulatory signals from other pathways into FGFR-generated signal transduction.展开更多
Literature searches on the Web result in great volumes of query results. A model is presented here to refine the search process using user interests. User interests are analyzed to calculate semantic similarity among ...Literature searches on the Web result in great volumes of query results. A model is presented here to refine the search process using user interests. User interests are analyzed to calculate semantic similarity among the interest terms to refine the query. Traditional general purpose similarity measures may not always fit a domain specific context. This paper presents a similarity method for medical literature searches based on the biomedical literature knowledge source "MEDLINE", the normalized MEDLINE distance, to more reasonably reflect the relevance between medical terms. This measure gives more accurate user interest descriptions through calculating the similarities of user interest terms to rerank the interest term list. The accurate user interest descriptions can be used for query refinement in keyword searches to give more personalized results for the user. This measure also improves the search results for personalization through controlling the return number of results on each topic of interest.展开更多
文摘AIM: To compare the anti-inflammatory properties of butyrate with two other SCFAs, namely acetate and propionate, which have less well-documented effects on inflammation. METHODS: The effect of SCFAs on cytokine release from human neutrophils was studied with EHSA. SCFA- dependent modulation of NF-κB reporter activity was assessed in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, Colo320DM. Finally, the effect of SCFAs on gene expression and cytokine release, measured with RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively, was studied in mouse colon organ cultures established from colitic mice. RESULTS: Acetate, propionate and butyrate at 30 mmol/L decreased LPS-stimulated TNFα release from neutrophils, without affecting IL-8 protein release. All SCFAs dose dependently inhibited NF-κB reporter activity in Colo320DM cells. Propionate dose-dependently suppressed IL-6 mRNA and protein release from colon organ cultures and comparative studies revealed that propionate and butyrate at 30 mmol/L caused a strong inhibition of immune-related gene expression, whereas acetate was less effective. A similar inhibition was achieved with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132, but not the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. All SCFAs decreased IL-6 protein release from organ cultures. CONCLUSION: In the present study propionate and butyrate were equipotent, whereas acetate was less effective, at suppressing NF-κB reporter activity, immune-related gene expression and cytokine release in vitro. Our findings suggest that propionate and acetate, in addition to butyrate, could be useful in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, including IBD.
基金The Finnish Cultural Foundation and The Emil Aaltonen Foundation for the financial support.
文摘In this study a carrier-free dry powder inhalation(DPI)containing L-arginine(ARG)was developed.As such,it is proposed that ARG could be used for adjunctive treatment of cystic fibrosis and/or tuberculosis.Various processing methods were used to manufacture highdose formulation batches consisting various amounts of ARG and excipients.The formulations were evaluated using several analytical methods to assess suitability for further investigation.Several batches had enhanced in vitro aerolization properties.Significant future challenges include the highly hygroscopic nature of unformulated ARG powder and identifying the scale of dose of ARG required to achieve the response in lungs.
文摘Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor substrate 2a (FRS2α) is the main mediator of signaling in the FGF pathway. Recent studies have shown that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylates serine and threonine residues in FRS2, negatively affecting FGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation (PY) of FRS2. Several kinds of stimuli can induce serine/threonine phosphorylation (PS/T) of FRS2, indicating that FRS2 may be useful for studying crosstalk between growth factor signaling pathways. Here, we report that FGF-induced PY of FRS2 can be attenuated by EGF co-stimulation in PC12cells; this inhibitory effect could be completely reversed by U0126, an inhibitor of MEK. We further identified the ERK1/2-binding motif in FRS2 and generated FRS2-3KL, a mutant lacking MAPK binding and PT upon FGF and/or EGF stimulation. Unlike wild-type (WT) FRS2, FGF-induced PY of FRS2-3KL could not be inhibited by EGF co-stimulation, and FRS2-3KL-expressing PC12 cells exhibited more differentiating potential than FRS2-WT-expressing cells in response to FGF treatment. These results suggest that PS/T of FRS2 mediated by the FRS2-MAPK negative regulatory loop may function as a molecular switch integrating negative regulatory signals from other pathways into FGFR-generated signal transduction.
基金Supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme,the Large Knowledge Collider (LarKC) Project (No.FP7-215535)
文摘Literature searches on the Web result in great volumes of query results. A model is presented here to refine the search process using user interests. User interests are analyzed to calculate semantic similarity among the interest terms to refine the query. Traditional general purpose similarity measures may not always fit a domain specific context. This paper presents a similarity method for medical literature searches based on the biomedical literature knowledge source "MEDLINE", the normalized MEDLINE distance, to more reasonably reflect the relevance between medical terms. This measure gives more accurate user interest descriptions through calculating the similarities of user interest terms to rerank the interest term list. The accurate user interest descriptions can be used for query refinement in keyword searches to give more personalized results for the user. This measure also improves the search results for personalization through controlling the return number of results on each topic of interest.