METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats (n = 7, body weight = 300 g ± 50 g) were grouped randomly into two groups-control (n = 3) and expanded (n = 4). Anisotropic hydrogel tissue expanders were inserted into the frontal maxillofacial region of the rats in the expanded group. The rats were sacrificed, and skin samples were harvested, fixed in formalin, and embedded in paraffin wax for histological investigation. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to detect histological changes between the two groups and to investigate the inflammatory response in the expanded samples. Three inflammatory markers, namely interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.
RESULT: IL-1-α expression was only observed in the expanded tissue samples compared to the controls. In contrast, there was no significant difference in IL-6, and TNF-α production. Histological analysis showed the absence of inflammatory response in expanded tissues, and a negative non-significant correlation (Spearman's correlation coefficient) between IL-1-α immune-positive cells and the inflammatory cells (r = -0.500). In conclusion, tissues that are expanded and stabilized using an anisotropic self-inflating hydrogel tissue expander might be useful for tissue replacement and engraftment as the expanded tissue does not show any sign of inflammatory responses. Detection of IL-1-α in the expanded tissues warrants further investigation for its involvement without any visible inflammatory response.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine electronic databases and manual search were applied to detect available publications. A meta-analysis using a fixed- or random-effect model was performed to measure standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The National Institute of Health (NIH) tools for observational cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies were used to examine the risk of bias. The protocol was recorded in PROSPERO with CRD42017060230.
RESULTS: A total of 38 articles were found including 19 case-control, 11 cross-sectional and 8 prospective cohort studies. We indicated that Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8) and Th17 cytokine (IL-17) in dengue patients were notably higher than in a healthy control group in acute phase (SMD = 1.59, 95% CI [0.68, 2.51], p = 0.001; SMD = 1.24, 95% CI [0.41, 2.06], p = 0.003; SMD = 1.13, 95% CI [0.61, 1.66], p<0.0001; SMD = 1.74, 95% CI [0.87, 2.61], p<0.0001), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of the significant roles of IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-17 in the pathogenesis of developing a severe reaction in dengue fever. However, to fully determine the association of Th cytokines with dengue, it is necessary to perform further studies to assess kinetic levels during the duration of the illness.
METHODS: Fifty-two patients with colorectal cancer were randomized at four weeks after surgery to receive either a placebo (n = 25) or 30 billion colony-forming unit (CFU) of a mixture of six viable strains including 107 mg of Lactobacillus acidophilus BCMC® 12,130, Lactobacillus lactis BCMC® 12,451, Lactobacillus casei subsp BCMC® 12,313, Bifidobacterium longum BCMC® 02120, Bifidobacterium bifidum BCMC® 02290 and Bifidobacterium infantis BCMC® 02129 (n = 27). Patients were instructed to take the product orally twice daily for six months. Infection status, diarrhea or hospital admission were recorded throughout the study. Blood was taken pre- and post-intervention to measure TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17C and IL-22 using ELISA multiplex kit.
RESULTS: The majority of cases (~ 70%) were in Duke's C colorectal cancer for both groups. No surgical infection occurred and no antibiotics were required. Chemotherapy induced diarrhea was observed in both groups. Significant reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17C and IL-22 were observed in CRC patients who received probiotics as compared to pre-treatment level (P
Objectives: This study examined the plasma concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and anti-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin 10 (IL-10), in short-, and long-term opioid users with noncancer pain.
Materials and Methods: Adult patients with opioid therapy for noncancer pain were recruited from pain clinics at two tertiary hospital settings in Malaysia between February 2016 and March 2017. They were stratified into short- or long-term users based on opioid prescriptions ≥ 90 days per year. A 10mL blood sample was taken for the analysis of plasma concentrations of IL-6 and IL-10 and were quantified using a highly sensitive multiplex assay.
Results: Of 38 patients recruited, 24% (n = 9/38) and 76% (n = 29/38) were respectively short- and long-term opioid users. Short-term use of opioid was associated with higher levels of IL-6 (mean ± SD, 173.9 ± 13.7 pg/mL) and IL-10 (50 ± 5.8 pg/mL), whereas long-term use of opioids was associated with lower levels (no significant difference) of both cytokines IL6 (125 ± 16.1 pg/mL) and IL10 (41.3 ± 6.7 pg/mL). There was strong correlation between IL-6 and IL-10 within the same group (r² = 0.72, P < 0.05) and (r² = 0.76, P < 0.05) for short- and long-term users, respectively.
Conclusion: The duration of opioid use may modulate the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines in which it was higher in short-term use and lower in long-term use, but the effect of pain relief was similar as both cytokines were well correlated.
Results: 11 healthy subjects (LD, n = 5; HD, n = 6; mean age of 55 ± 13 years) were recruited. All subjects tolerated the CLV-100 infusion well with no adverse reaction throughout the study especially in vital parameters and routine blood tests. At 6 months, the HD group had significantly higher levels of anti-inflammatory markers IL1-RA (705 ± 160 vs. 306 ± 36 pg/mL; p = 0.02) and IL-10 (321 ± 27 vs. 251 ± 28 pg/mL; p = 0.02); and lower levels of proinflammatory marker TNF-α (74 ± 23 vs. 115 ± 15 pg/mL; p = 0.04) compared to LD group.
Conclusion: Allogeneic UCMSCs CLV-100 infusion is safe and well-tolerated in low and high doses. Anti-inflammatory effect is observed with a high-dose infusion.
MAIN METHODS: Mice deficient in both dystrophin and ASC (encoded by Pycard [PYD And CARD Domain Containing]) were generated. The impact of ASC deficiency on muscular dystrophy of mdx mice were assessed by measurements of serum cytokines, Western blot, real-time PCR and histopathological staining.
KEY FINDINGS: The pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, KC/GRO and IL-10 were markedly increased in the sera of 8-week-old mdx mice compared to WT. Western blotting showed that P2X7, caspase-1, ASC and IL-18 were upregulated. Disruption of ASC and dystrophin expression in the mdx/ASC-/- mice was verified by Western blot analysis. Histopathological analysis did not find significant alterations in the muscular dystrophy phenotype in mdx/ASC-/- mice as compared to mdx mice.
SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, our results show that disruption of the central adaptor ASC of the inflammasome is insufficient to alleviate muscular dystrophy phenotype in mdx mice.