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The chronic active inflammation caused by Helicobacter pylori is dominated by neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells. Several interleukins are involved in the inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of astaxanthin on gastric inflammation in patients with functional dyspepsia. Forty-four consecutive patients were included, and biopsies were examined

Previously, we found that emergence of the X4 viral phenotype in HIV-1-infected children was related to the presence of X4 in their mothers (C. H. Casper et al., J Infect Dis 2002; 186: 914-921). Here, we investigated the origin of the X4 phenotype in the child, analyzing two mother-child pairs (Ma-Ca, Mb-Cb) where the mothers carried X4 and their children developed X4 after an initial presence of

To analyze the role of the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation in the effector phase of arthritis, we have induced arthritis in C3- and factor B (FB)-deficient (C3(-/-) and FB-/-) DBA/1J mice using well-defined monoclonal IgG2b and IgG2a antibodies to type II collagen. In control DBA/1J mice, severe swelling of the joints, destruction of cartilage and erosion of bone develo

BACKGROUND: Our recently reported finding of rapid bi-exponential elimination of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical retropubic prostatectomy in patients with moderately elevated PSA levels, which contrasted a very slow, linear elimination of PSA complexed to alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), prompted us to study whether these elimination rates were applicable for patients selected fo

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer cells secrete unique proteases such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) that represent targets for the activation of prodrugs as systemic treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Previously, a combinatorial peptide library was screened to identify a highly active peptide substrate for hK2. The peptide was coupled to an analog of the

Antibody-based microarrays are a rapidly emerging technology that has advanced from the first proof-of-concept studies to demanding serum protein profiling applications during recent years, displaying great promise within disease proteomics. Miniaturized micro- and nanoarrays can be fabricated with an almost infinite number of antibodies carrying the desired specificities. While consuming only min

The suppressors of cytokine signaling ( SOCS) family is thought to act largely as a negative regulator of signaling by cytokines and some growth factors. Surprisingly, the SOCS-6 transgenics had no significant defects in the cytokine signaling and hematopoietic system but displayed significant improvements in glucose metabolism. Insulin stimulation of Akt/protein kinase B was also potentiated. Bio

Twice each year, millions of night-migratory songbirds migrate thousands of kilometers. To find their way, they must process and integrate spatiotemporal information from a variety of cues including the Earth's magnetic field and the night-time starry sky. By using sensory-driven gene expression, we discovered that night-migratory songbirds possess a tight cluster of brain regions highly active on

This review examines evidence that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) depends on autoimmunity to articular collagen, and mechanisms whereby autoantibodies to type II collagen contribute to disease development. Three major autoantigenic reactants have been identified in RA; the corresponding autoantibodies are rheumatoid factor (RF), antibodies to citrullinated peptide antigens (ACPA), citrullinated peptide

Background. Some autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders are associated with increased risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Because different NHL subtypes develop at different stages of lymphocyte differentiation, associations of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with specific NHL subtypes could lead to a better understanding of lymphomagenic mechanisms. Methods: In a population-based ca

We investigate a class of random graph ensembles based on the Feynman graphs of multidimensional integrals, representing statistical-mechanical partition functions. We show that the resulting ensembles of random graphs strongly resemble those defined in random graphs with hidden color, generalizing the known relation of the Feynman graphs of simple one-dimensional integrals to random graphs with a

The nociceptive spinal reflex system performs highly precise sensorimotor transformations that require functionally specified synaptic strengths. The specification is gradually attained during early development and appears to be learning dependent. Here we determine the time course of this specification for heat-nociceptive tail withdrawal reflexes and analyze which types of primary afferents are

Due to their small size, nanoparticles have distinct properties compared with the bulk form of the same materials. These properties are rapidly revolutionizing many areas of medicine and technology. Despite the remarkable speed of development of nanoscience, relatively little is known about the interaction of nanoscale objects with living systems. In a biological fluid, proteins associate with nan

Within the framework of a simple model of photophysical processes in the Weigelt blobs in the vicinity of the luminous blue variable (LBV) star eta Carinae, we explain the presence of the fluorescent < O I > 8446-angstrom and forbidden [O I] 6300-angstrom lines as well as the absence of the allowed O I 7774-angstrom line in spectra recorded with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/STIS instrument (Gu

We describe the design and implementation of a robotic solution to automate the acquisition of gel images. The soft- and hardware aspects are outlined together with the various safety aspects that need to be addressed.