Increased IL-12 and decreased IL-33 serum levels are associated with increased Th1 and suppressed Th2 cytokine profile in patients with diabetic nephropathy (CURES-134).

The role played by recently discovered novel cytokine IL-33 in controlling T-helper (Th)1 and Th2 cytokines under conditions of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is less well studied. In the present study, we estimated the levels of IL-33 along with both Th1 and Th2 cytokines in the serum of normal glucose tolerant (NGT), diabetic subjects with (DN) or without nephropathy (DM) and correlated it with the clinical risk factors of diabetes and nephropathy. 222 study subjects were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES): 61 NGT, 79 DM and 82 DN. IL-33 level was estimated by ELISA while other Th1 (IL-12, IFN-gamma and IL-2) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13) cytokines were measured using a Bio-plex bead assay. DM subjects showed a mixed Th1-Th2 profile (increased IFN-g, IL-12, IL-4 and IL-13 and decreased IL-33) while DN subjects showed enhanced Th1 profile (increased IFN-g, IL-2 and IL-12) with suppression of Th2 cytokine (decreased IL-33 and IL-13). The IL-33 levels showed a serial decline with increasing severity of insulin resistance and microalbuminuria. DN was associated with enhanced Th1 response and suppression of Th2 responses which might be due to inreased levels of IL-12 and decreased levels of IL-33 cytokines respectively

Replication–transcription conflicts in bacteria

DNA replication and transcription use the same template and occur concurrently in bacteria. The lack of temporal and spatial separation of these two processes leads to their conflict, and failure to deal with this conflict can result in genome alterations and reduced fitness. In recent years major advances have been made in understanding how cells avoid conflicts between replication and transcription and how such conflicts are resolved when they do occur. In this Review, we summarize these findings, which shed light on the significance of the problem and on how bacterial cells deal with unwanted encounters between the replication and transcription machineries.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant GM084003)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant GM41934)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (postdoctoral fellowship GM093408)University of Washington. Department of MicrobiologyCancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (Training Program grant RP101499

American College of Cardiology; American Heart Association Task Force; European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines. ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Develop Guidelines for Management of Patients With Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death).

The purpose this document is to update and combine the previously published recommendations into one source approved by the major cardiology organizations in the United States and Europe. We have consciously attempted to create a streamlined document, not a textbook, that would be useful specifically to locate recommendations on the evaluation and treatment of patients who have or may be at risk for ventricular arrhythmias. Thus, sections on epidemiology, mechanisms and substrates, and clinical presentations are brief, because there are no recommendations for those sections. For the other sections, the wording has been kept to a minimum, and clinical presentations have been confined to those aspects relevant to forming recommendations