by The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research HMGB1 is actively released by stimulated sensory neurons. (A and B) Optogenetic stimulation of sensory neurons induces HMGB1 release. DRG neurons harvested from VGlut2-ChR2-YFP mice were stimulated with control yellow light (595 nm, n = 3) or blue light (470 nm, n = 4) at 20 Hz, 10% duty cycle...
by Ryan O’byrne, University of Alberta FIG 1 The massive elevation of plasma Gal-9 discriminates COVID-19 patients from healthy subjects. (A) Detected concentrations of Gal-9 in the plasma specimens of COVID-19-infected individuals compared to healthy controls (HCs) as measured by ELISA. (B) Detected plasma levels of Gal-9 in COVID-19 patients with mild/moderate or severe disease versus...
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS IMAGE: ERIC PIETRAS, PH.D., AND JAMES DEGREGORI, PH.D. CREDIT: CU CANCER CENTER Two recent collaborative publications by CU Cancer Center members provide insights into how chronic inflammation can serve as a key factor in the development of leukemia and other blood cancers. Eric Pietras, Ph.D., CU Cancer Center member...
KANAZAWA UNIVERSITY IMAGE: Caspase-1, a protease of the caspase family, is activated in response to microbial infections, cellular stresses, and so on, through inflammasome activation, resulting in the maturation of the key pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1α and IL-1β. Although caspase-1 directly processes pro-IL-1β into the mature form, pro-IL-1α is not a substrate for caspase-1. It has...
by Bob Shepard, University of Alabama at Birmingham Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson’s disease. Credit: Wikipedia New research shows evidence of inflammation in the blood of Parkinson’s disease patients during the earliest stages of the disease, lending support to theories that inflammation is a...
by Max Planck Society Electron micrograph of mitochondria in a nerve cell. Credit: Hans-Georg Sprenger Electron micrograph of mitochondria in a nerve cell. Credit: Hans-Georg Sprenger Mitochondria are the energy suppliers of our body cells. These tiny cell components have their own genetic material, which triggers an inflammatory response when released into the interior of the...
by Garvan Institute of Medical Research Microscopy image of mammary gland alveoli during lactation. Credit: Dr David Gallego-Ortega New research led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has revealed how breast cancer cells that develop during or after pregnancy change their environment to form more aggressive tumors. In experimental models of pregnancy associated breast cancer, researchers found that cancer cells...
by American Heart Association Credit: CC0 Public Domain Testing how well “good” cholesterol particles reduce inflammation may help predict who is at heightened risk to develop cardiovascular disease caused by narrowed arteries, according to research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation. Assessing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as “good cholesterol,” are already a...
by University of North Carolina Health Care Spinal cord illustration of pro-inflammatory cells (red) and anti-inflammatory MRC1+ macrophages (blue). Credit: Zylka Lab, UNC School of Medicine One of the hallmarks of chronic pain is inflammation, and scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that anti-inflammatory cells called MRC1+ macrophages are dysfunctional in an animal...
by Laura Castañón, Tufts University Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Inflammation is part of an immune response to fight off pathogens and clear infections. But patients with cardiac disease often have chronic inflammation that damages their hearts, even with no infection present. In a recent study published in Circulation, immunologists at Tufts University School of Medicine in collaboration...
