The cells that line the gut of an ulcerative colitis patient are inflamed and filled with a protein called PAI-1 (shown in red) that is linked to blood clotting. Nuclei are shown in blue, and other intestinal cells are marked in green. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that blocking the...
Category: <span>Inflammation</span>
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Structures of STING protein illuminate this key regulator of inflammation
The STING protein aids intracellular defences by triggering inflammation. Studies that uncover how STING is activated might lead to strategies for targeting this protein in the treatment of cancer or autoimmune diseases. The branch of the immune system called innate immunity has a pivotal role in host defence by recognizing general hallmarks of disease-causing agents....
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Identifying barriers to care for women with endometriosis
Women face a multitude of barriers to receiving quality care for endometriosis, a chronic, often painful disease that affects approximately 10% of reproductive-age women, an estimated 200 million women and teens worldwide. Endometriosis is a systemic, inflammatory disease that occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body. With symptoms like infertility, chronic pelvic pain, painful periods, painful sex,...
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Interdisciplinary approach uncovers new clues to triggers of gut inflammation
New detail about what happens when a key cellular process is impaired in cells that are vital for a healthy gut have been uncovered by a wide-ranging analysis. Paneth cells are found at the bottom of crypts in the lining of the gut. They help defend against pathogenic microbes, as well as protecting the integrity...
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Regulating the MS-causing properties of Th17 cells
Th17-cell differentiation. Satb1 is dispensable for the differentiation of Th17 cells but plays a pivotal role in the effector functions of pathogenic Th17 cells. EurekAlert! An international study group led by researchers from Osaka University identifies a protein regulator responsible for inducing the pathogenic properties of Th17 cells, leading to multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory...
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Faulty molecular master switch may contribute to AMD
A signaling pathway controlled by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) could be involved in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that interrupting TGF-beta signals to immune cells called microglia causes the cells to enter an activated, inflammatory state....
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Activated PMN exosomes are pathogenic entities that cause destruction in the COPD lung
University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have found a novel, previously unreported pathogenic entity that is a fundamental link between chronic inflammation and tissue destruction in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is the fourth-leading cause of death in the world. Credit: CC0 Public Domain This pathogenic entity—exosomes from...
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Metabolite from pomegranate diet reduces inflammatory bowel diseases
inStem and University of Louisville research teams identify Urolithin A and its synthetic analog to improve gut barrier and reduce inflammation NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Bangalore, INDIA – Millions of people suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) worldwide, either in the form of ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, and few effective long-term treatments are...
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Gut immune cells cut inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at the University of Toronto and UC San Francisco have discovered that the intestine is the source of immune cells that reduce brain inflammation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and that increasing the number of these cells blocks inflammation entirely in a preclinical model of the disease. The cells in question are plasma...
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UO scientists discover new anti-inflammatory bacterial protein
Inflammation is one the ways the body protects itself against outside invaders. And since the digestive system contains a dense array of bacteria, you might expect the body’s immune response to be in constant overdrive as it confronts a mass of gut microbes. But that’s not the case, says UO biologist Karen Guillemin. “One of...