29 research outputs found
Autophagy-related protein LC3 and Beclin-1 in the first trimester of pregnancy
Autophagy is a degradation process that acts in response to environmental stressors. Recently, autophagy has been detected in normal term,
preeclamptic and intrauterine growth-restricted placentas. The object of this work was to investigate the presence of autophagy in first trimester
voluntary interruption of pregnancy placental villi by the expression of autophagy-related proteins, light chain 3 (LC3), and Beclin-1. In first
trimester placental villi laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) analysis revealed LC3 and Beclin-1 immunoreactivity prevalently located in
villous cytotrophoblasts. Using LSCM, LC3, and Beclin-1 were localized to the cytoplasm of the trophoblast layer in human full-term placentas.
Beclin-1 expression and LC3 activation were confirmed by western blotting. These data emphasize that autophagy activation is different
among cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts depending on the gestational age and thus we speculate that autophagy might play a prosurvival
role throughout human pregnancy
Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases
The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of
aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs)
can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves
excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological
concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can
lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl
radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic
inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the
involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a
large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and
inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation
of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many
similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e.
iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The
studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic
and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and
lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and
longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is
thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As
systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have
multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent
patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of
multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the
decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference
Retrospective study recommends endoscopy when diagnosing lymphocytic colitis or eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder in children with abdominal pain
Ferritin as simple indicator of iron deficiency in aneamic patients with inflammatory bowel diseaase patients.
Effect of infliximab on small bowel stenoses in patients with Crohn's disease
AIM: To assess prospectively small bowel stenoses in Crohn's disease (CD) patients treated with infliximab using Small Intestine Contrast Ultrasonography (SICUS). METHODS: Twenty patients (M 12, age, 42.7 +/- 11.8 years), 15 of whom showed obstructive symptoms indicating the presence of small bowel stenosis, and 5 without stenosis, were treated with infliximab (5 mg/kg at A 0, 2, 6 and 5 mg/kg every 8 A thereafter) for steroid refractoriness, fistulizing disease, or to avoid high-risk surgery. SICUS was performed at the induction phase and at regular time intervals during the follow-up period of 34.7 +/- 16.1 mo (range 7-58). Small bowel stenoses were detected by SICUS, endoscopy and MRI. RESULTS: In no case was progression of stenoses or the appearance of new ones seen. Of the 15 patients with stenosis, 5 stopped treatment after the induction phase (2 for no response, 3 for drug intolerance, one of whom showed complete regression of one stenosis). Among the remaining 10 patients, a complete regression of 8 stenoses (1 stenosis in 5 patients and 3 stenoses in one patient) was observed after 6-22 infliximab infusions. CONCLUSION: In patients with CD treated with infliximab we observed: (a) No progression of small bowel stenosis and no appearance of new ones, (b) Complete regression of 1/22 stenosis after the induction phase and of 8/15 (53.3%) stenosis after 6-22 infusions during maintenance therapy. (c) 2008 WJG. All rights reserved