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REVIEW

Emma Lefrançais^1,2, Corinne Cayrol^1,2
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 120-127, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0320
Abstract Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is the latest member of the IL-1 family that has become very attractive since the discovery of its major target cells, the innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2), involved in the initiation of the type 2 immune response (secretion of IL-5 and IL-13) during parasitic infection and allergic diseases such as asthma. IL-33 is a chromatin-associated protein as it possesses in its N-terminus, a chromatin-binding domain, and is constitutively expressed in the nuclei of endothelial cells and in epithelial cells of tissues exposed to the environment. It is however, essential for IL-33 to… More >

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REVIEW

Nicolò Costantino Brembilla, Carlo Chizzolini
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 128-139, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2013.0325
Abstract Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by vascular alterations and deregulated fibroblast activation leading to fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. SSc is thought to be an autoimmune disease, owning the presence of auto-antibodies. Genetic studies lend support to the critical role exerted by the immune response in the physiopathology of the disease, since several of the SSc-associated polymorphisms have been found in genes involved in the immune response. Oligoclonal T cells, preferentially producing type 2 cytokines, are present in affected tissues and peripheral blood early in the disease course, and… More >

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REVIEW

Håkon Reikvam, Kimberley Joanne Hatfield, Hanne Fredly, Ina Nepstad, Knut Anders Mosevoll, Øystein Bruserud
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 140-153, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0322
Abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by bone marrow accumulation of immature leukemic blast cells. Conventional AML treatment includes induction chemotherapy to achieve disease control, followed by consolidation therapy with conventional chemotherapy or allogeneic/autologous stem cell transplantation (allo/autoSCT) to eradicate residual disease. Even younger patients receiving the most intensive treatment have a median, long-term, AML-free survival of only 45-50%, highlighting the need for new treatment strategies. The important role of the bone marrow cytokine network during disease development and treatment is suggested by several observations, including: (i) the increased microvascular density (MVD) in leukemic bone… More >

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ARTICLE

Arnon Blum¹, Snait Tamir², David Hazzan³, Oxana Podvitzky¹, Rizak Sirchan¹, Lital Keinan-Boker⁴, Rotem Shelly Ben-Shushan², Nava Blum¹, Laylee Shaich Suliman⁵, Nissim Geron⁶
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 154-157, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0318
Abstract Studies have shown that mortality was reduced by 31.6% in patients that underwent bariatric surgery compared with the non-operative control group. However, in most surgical series the majority of patients were women, and men had higher post-operative mortality rates and a higher postoperative morbidity, regardless of weight. Our primary end point was to study gender effects on vascular inflammation following bariatric surgery for weight loss. Methods. A prospective study evaluated vascular inflammation in obese patients before and three months after bariatric surgery. Markers of vascular inflammation were measured - before surgery and three months afterwards.Results.One… More >

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ARTICLE

Arnon Blum¹, Dorina Socea², Rotem Shelly Ben-Shushan³, Lital Keinan-Boker³, Modi Naftali², Gila Segol², Snait Tamir⁴
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 158-162, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0321
Abstract Diabetic retinopathy is the most severe ocular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is associated with micro-vascular damage. The more advanced stage, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our hypothesis was that inflammatory and angiogenic markers will detect the different stages of type 2 diabetes, and may predict development of micro-vascular damage. Methods. Seventy three type II diabetic patients were randomly assigned to three groups (A - 25 patients {12 males], no diabetic retinopathy; B - 25 patients {19 males], non-proliferative retinopathy; and C - 23 patients… More >

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ARTICLE

Nasrin Behniafard¹, Mohammad Gharagozlou¹, Elham Farhadi^2,3, Mojdeh Khaledi⁴, Soheila Sotoudeh¹, Behzad Darabi¹, Seid Mohammad Fathi¹, Zahra Gholizadeh Moghaddam¹, Mahdi Mahmoudi⁵, Asghar Aghamohammadi^1,6, Ali Akbar Amirzargar², Nima Rezaei^1,2,6
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 163-165, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0323
Abstract Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) could be considered as potential biomarkers in atopic dermatitis (AD), while its level could be influenced by cytokine single gene polymorphisms (SNP). This study was performed in 89 pediatric patients with AD and 137 controls to assess polymorphisms of the TNF-α gene at positions -308 and -238, using the polymerase chain reaction and the sequence-specific primers method. The highest positive allelic association that made the patients susceptible to AD was seen for TNF-α -238/G (p<0.001) and TNF-α -308/G (p = 0.003). The GG genotypes at TNF-α -238 and TNF-α -308, were More >

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ARTICLE

Nicolas Gestermann^1,a, Mikael Koutero^2,a, Rakiba Belkhir^1,a, Jörg Tost^2,3,a, Xavier Mariette^4,a, Corinne Miceli-Richard^4,a
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 166-172, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0316
Abstract The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), in the type I interferon pathway is involved in the genetic susceptibility to various autoimmune diseases. A 5-bp insertion/deletion (CGGGG indel) polymorphism in the promoter region of IRF5 associated with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) could be epigenetically deregulated in this condition. Therefore, we investigated DNA methylation patterns of the promoter region of IRF5 to determine whether its epigenetic deregulation could explain the increased expression of IRF5 mRNA in pSS patients, along with the risk of pSS induced by the genetic polymorphism. DNA extracted from total peripheral blood… More >

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ARTICLE

Seyyed Ali Mard¹, Niloofar Neisi², Marjan Darbor¹, Maryam Hassanpour¹, Manoochehr Makvandi², Ghasem Solgi³
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 173-178, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0317
Abstract Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of β-carotene on gastric mucosal lesions caused by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rat. Forty male rats were randomly divided into sham, control (I/R injury) and three β-carotene-pretreated groups. To induce the I/R lesions, the celiac artery was clamped for 30 min. The clamp was then removed to allow reperfusion for three hours. Pretreated-rats received β-carotene (15, 30 or 60 mg/kg daily, i.p.) or vehicle for five days before the induction of the I/R injury. Samples of gastric mucosa were collected to measure… More >

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Mohammad Taraz¹, Mohammad-Reza Khatami², Afshin Gharekhani¹, Alireza Abdollahi³, Hossein Khalili⁴, Simin Dashti-Khavidaki^4,5
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 179-186, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2013.0326
Abstract Aim: Depression represents the most frequent psychiatric disorder in patients on maintenance haemodialysis (HD), and it might be associated with secretion of inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we explore the possible correlations between depression and pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, as well as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) serum levels.Methods: Eighty three HD patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and ‘elevated symptoms of depression’ were defined as a BDI score of ≥16. Biochemical parameters (serum albumin, haemoglobin, ferritin, etc.) and dialysis dosage… More >

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ARTICLE

İbrahim Etem Pişkin¹, Hande Nur Karavar¹, Mehmet Araslı², Bahri Ermiş³
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 187-190, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2013.0324
Abstract Background: Breast milk contains several immune modulator components. The transfer of numerouscytokines via mother’s milk may add to an active stimulation of the infant’s immune system. There are many factorsin breast milk that could either facilitate or inhibit cytokine activities. Smoking negatively influences the immunesystem and changes the concentrations of important cytokines. Objective: The objective of this study was to assessthe effect of smoking during pregnancy on the cytokines found in colostrum and mature human milk. Methods: Thestudy population included 25 smoker and 27 non-smoker nursing mothers who gave birth to a term healthy infantvia… More >

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ARTICLE

Carlos Zgheib^1,a, Fouad Anthony Zouein^1,a, Mazen Kurdi^1,2, George Warren Booz¹
European Cytokine Network, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 191-197, 2012, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2012.0319
Abstract Recent evidence suggests that the IL-6 family cytokine, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is produced by cardiac cells under stress conditions including myocardial infarction and heart failure. Additionally, short-term delivery of LIF has been shown to have preconditioning effects on the heart and to limit infarct size. However, cell culture studies have suggested that LIF may exert harmful effects on cardiac myocytes, including pathological hypertrophy and contractile dysfunction. Long-term effects of LIF on the heart in vivo have not been reported and were the focus of this study. Adult male mice were injected daily with LIF… More >

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