Differential chemokine expression patterns in tonsillar disease.

Expression profiles of CXC- and CC-chemokines in various forms of tonsillar disease were studied to evaluate whether certain chemokines play a predominant role in a specific subset of tonsillar disease. Total RNA was isolated from 89 biopsies (21 hyperplastic palatine tonsils, 25 adenoids, 16 chronic inflammatory palatine tonsils and 27 chronic inflammatory palatine tonsils with histological prove of acute inflammation), reverse transcribed and subjected to PCR amplifying IL-8, Gro-alpha, eotaxin-1, eotaxin-2, MCP-3, MCP-4 and RANTES. 2% agarose gel electrophoresis revealed a predominance of IL-8 in the chronic inflammatory palatine tonsil group compared to tonsillar hyperplasia. Furthermore, eotaxin-2 was strongly overexpressed in adenoid samples compared to chronic inflammatory specimens. Our data suggest that the majority of diseases related to adenoid formation are mediated via an eotaxin-2 expression, whereas chronic inflammatory tonsillitis is associated with IL-8 upregulation. These data imply that adenoids are related to a Th-2, and chronic inflammatory tonsillitis to a Th-1 based immune response.

Histone/protein deacetylase inhibitor therapy for enhancement of Foxp3+ T-regulatory cell function posttransplantation.

T-regulatory (Treg) cells are like other cells present throughout the body in being subject to biochemical modifications in response to extracellular signals. An important component of these responses involves changes in posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of histones and many nonhistone proteins, including phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, ubiquitination/deubiquitination, and acetylation/deacetylation. Foxp3, the key transcription factor of Tregs, is constantly being rapidly turned over, and a number of these PTMs determine its level of expression and activity. Of interest in the transplant setting, modulation of the acetylation or deacetylation of key lysine residues in Foxp3 can promote the stability and function, leading to increased Treg production and increased Treg suppressive activity. This mini-review focuses on recent data concerning the roles that histone/protein deacetylases (HDACs) play in control of Treg function, and how small molecule HDAC inhibitors can be used to promote Treg-dependent allograft survival in experimental models. These data are discussed in the light of increasing interest in the identification and clinical evaluation of isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors, and their potential application as tools to modulate Foxp3+ Treg cell numbers and function in transplant recipients.

Targeting sirtuin-1 alleviates experimental autoimmune colitis by induction of Foxp3+ T-regulatory cells.

Induced Forkhead box P3-positive (Foxp3(+)) T-regulatory cells (iTregs) are essential to gastrointestinal immune homeostasis, and loss of the ability to develop iTregs may lead to autoimmune colitis. We previously showed a role for sirtuin-1 (Sirt1) in control of Treg function and hypothesized that targeting of Sirt1 might enhance iTreg development and thereby represent a potential therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We adoptively transferred CD4(+)CD25(-)Foxp3(-) T effector (TE) cells from wild-type (WT) (C57BL/6) or fl-Sirt1/CD4cre mice into B6/Rag1(-/-) mice and monitored the mice until they lost 10-15% of their weight. Adoptive transfer of TE cells lacking Sirt1 to B6/Rag1(-/-) mice resulted in a 2.8-fold increase in iTreg formation compared with mice receiving WT TE cells and correlated with attenuated colitis and reduced weight loss (1.04±1.4% vs. 13.97±2.2%, respectively, P<0.001). In a second model of IBD, we used pharmacologic Sirt1 targeting of mice receiving multiple cycles of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in their drinking water, alternated with fresh water. Likewise, WT mice receiving cyclic DSS and a Sirt1 inhibitor, EX-527, had reduced weight loss (5.8±5.9% vs. 13.2±6.9%, respectively, P=0.03) and increased iTreg formation compared with controls. Sirt1 appears a promising target for pharmacologic therapy of IBD as a result of promoting iTreg development.

The effect of tezosentan after cold ischemia and renal artery clamping as a model of reperfusion injury in newborn piglets.

BACKGROUND: Cold ischemia and clamping of the renal artery contribute to acute tubular necrosis and renal dysfunction of transplant grafts. The mechanism of ischemic injury is not fully understood, but endothelin (ET)-1 and -2 have been found to participate in reperfusion injury. ET receptor blockade has been shown to have renoprotective effects in both warm and cold reperfusion injury. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the effect of tezosentan, a competitive ET antagonist, on piglet renal function during cold ischemia and renal artery clamping. DESIGN/METHODS: Sixteen piglets (7 to 10 days old) were prepped and assigned to three experimental groups: piglets with kidneys clamped (KCLAMP), with kidneys wrapped in ice (KICE), and piglets treated with tezosentan injected after 45 minutes of clamping and ice (KTEZO). Preexperiment parameters including vital signs, urine volume, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), paraaminohippuric acid clearance (CPAH), fractional excretion of sodium and potassium (FeNa, FeK), and renal blood flow (RBF) were measured at baseline, then at 1- and 2-hour intervals. RESULTS: The decrease in urine volume was comparable in both KCLAMP and KICE groups, but no UV decrease was observed in KTEZO group. RBF and GFR were similar (26% to 52% decrease) in all three groups. FeNa decreased by >50% in KICE, whereas it increased by 60% in KTEZO when compared with baseline. A similar increase in FeK was observed in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cold ischemia and clamping have deleterious effects on RBF, GFR, and FeNa. ET blockade did not have a renoprotective effect except on urine volume when given soon after the injury.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in rye (Secale cereale L.): discovery, frequency, and applications for genome mapping and diversity studies.

To elucidate the potential of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in rye, a set of 48 barley EST (expressed sequence tag) primer pairs was employed to amplify from DNA prepared from five rye inbred lines. A total of 96 SNPs and 26 indels (insertion-deletions) were defined from the sequences of 14 of the resulting amplicons, giving an estimated frequency of 1 SNP per 58 bp and 1 indel per 214 bp in the rye transcriptome. A mean of 3.4 haplotypes per marker with a mean expected heterozygosity of 0.66 were observed. The nucleotide diversity index (pi) was estimated to be in the range 0.0059-0.0530. To improve assay cost-effectiveness, 12 of the 14 SNPs were converted to a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) format. The resulting 12 SNP loci mapped to chromosomes 1R, 3R, 4R, 5R, 6R, and 7R, at locations consistent with their known map positions in barley. SNP genotypic data were compared with genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) and EST-derived SSR genotypic data collected from the same templates. This showed a broad equivalence with respect to genetic diversity between these different data types.

Overexpression of the human myosin-binding protein-C1 mRNA in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: To compare gene expression patterns between laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells and their normal phenotypes to identify genes showing differential expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Messenger RNA was isolated from both kinds of cells, reversely transcribed and subjected to differential display reverse transcription (DDRT)-PCR. Gene fragments showing difference in the expression were recovered, reamplified, cloned and sequenced, enabling homology search. Total RNA was isolated from laryngeal SCC cells and adjacent normal mucosa and subjected to Northern hybridization. RESULTS: A 159 bp gene fragment was detected, revealing 96% homology with the human myosin-binding protein-C1 (MYBPC-1) gene. Compared to the benign phenotypes the expression of MYBPC-1 was particularly increased in SCC cells, confirmed by Northern hybridization. CONCLUSION: The results presented in this work may help to extend the diagnostic panoply available for the evaluation of laryngeal tissue conspicuous for malignancy.