Interleukin-6 stimulates gene expression of extracellular matrix components in bovine mesangial cells in culture

The effect of interleukin-6 (IL-6) on gene expression of extracellular matrix components in bovine mesangial cells in culture has been investigated. IL-6 (100 U/ml) time dependently increased the steady state expression of mRNAs coding for α1 collagen III and fibronectin, both transcripts being 1.5- and 2.5-fold higher than basal level at 24 and 48 h, respectively. In contrast, IL-6 stimulated laminin mRNA expression only after 48 h incubation (2.5-fold upon basal level). These results suggest that IL-6 could favour glomerular matrix accumulation thus contributing to the development of glomerulosclerosis

Fast, ultra-trace detection of juvenile hormone III from mosquitoes using mass spectrometry

In the present work, a new protocol for fast separation and quantification of JH III from biological samples using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry is described. In particular, the proposed protocol improves existing methodologies by combining a limited number of sample preparation steps with fast LC-MS/MS detection, providing lower limits of detection and demonstrated matrix effect control, together with high inter and intraday reproducibility. A limit of detection of 8 pg/mL (0.32 pg on column) was achieved, representing a 15-fold gain in sensitivity with respect to previous LC-MS based protocols. The performance of the LC-MS/MS protocol is comparable to previously described JH III quantitation protocol based on fluorescence detection, with the added advantage that quantification is independent of the availability of fluorescent tags that are often unavailable or show quite diverse responses on a batch-to-batch basis. Additionally, a detailed description of the JH III fragmentation pathway is provided for the first time, based on isolation of the molecular ion and their intermediate fragments using in-source MS/MS, MS/MSn and FT-ICR MS/MS measurements. The JH III workflow was evaluated as a function of developmental changes, sugar feeding and farnesoic acid stimulation in mosquitoes and can be applied to the detection of other juvenile hormones

A Novel Strategy to Enhance Mesenchymal Stem Cell Migration Capacity and Promote Tissue Repair in an Injury Specific Fashion

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Минералогические и технологические особенности легкоплавкого глинистого сырья Красноярского края

In the last few years, the growing complexity of the electrical power networks, mainly due to the increased use of electronic converters together with the requirements of a higher level of reliability and security, pushed the development of new techniques for the state estimation of the power systems. In this paper, the authors focus their attention on the implementation and experimental validation of a decentralized observer for the state estimation in an electric ship, whose power network is characterized by fast dynamics and by the presence of many electronic devices. The proposed solution implements a decentralized information filter (DIF)

'To school of prevention: the vaccinations', project in the ASL Roma 4

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Mesenchymal stem cell therapy promotes renal repair by limiting glomerular podocyte and progenitor cell dysfunction in adriamycin-induced nephropathy

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Role of enhanced glomerular synthesis of thromboxane A2 in progressive kidney disease

Role of enhanced glomerular synthesis of thromboxane A2 in progressive kidney disease. Normotensive rats of the Milan strain (MNS) spontaneously develop focal glomerulosclerosis. In order to explore the contribution of glomerular thromboxane (TX) A2 synthesis to the development of the disease, we have characterized the time course of renal functional and biochemical changes, and their modification by long-term treatment with a TX-synthase inhibitor. Oral administration (150mg · kg-1 from 1 to 14 months of age) of FCE 22178 suppressed enhanced glomerular TXB2 production at all experimental times (mean inhibition 80%) and proteinuria (varying between 27.1 and 73.0%) while preserving renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate. These effects of TX-synthase inhibition were seen in the absence of any statistically significant changes in systemic blood pressure. Moreover, FCE 22178 had no antihypertensive effects in hypertensive rats of the Milan strain (MHS) nor in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Treatment also prevented the age-related hypoalbuminemia and hyperlipidemia observed in control MNS and significantly (P < 0.01) reduced glomerular histologic damage, as demonstrated by light microscopy studies and measurement of sclerotic area. We conclude that: 1) MNS rats provide an animal model of long-lasting proteinuria characterized by an age-related increase in glomerular TXB2 production paralleled by progressive loss of renal structural integrity and function and by a secondary dyslipidemia; 2) pharmacological inhibition of glomerular TX-synthase attenuates the structural as well as the functional expression of kidney disease, without a primary effect on systemic blood pressure. These data are suggestive of an important modulating role of TXA2 in the progression of MNS renal disease