Browsing by Subject "Cytokines"
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Item Ablation of Sphingosine Kinase 1 Protects Cornea from Neovascularization in a Mouse Corneal Injury Model(MDPI, 2022-09-24) Wilkerson, Joseph L.; Basu, Sandip K.; Stiles, Megan A.; Prislovsky, Amanda; Grambergs, Richard C.; Nicholas, Sarah E.; Karamichos, Dimitrios; Allegood, Jeremy C.; Proia, Richard L.; Mandal, NawajesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the role of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1), which generates sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), in corneal neovascularization (NV). Wild-type (WT) and Sphk1 knockout (Sphk1(-/-)) mice received corneal alkali-burn treatment to induce corneal NV by placing a 2 mm round piece of Whatman No. 1 filter paper soaked in 1N NaOH on the center of the cornea for 20 s. Corneal sphingolipid species were extracted and identified using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The total number of tip cells and those positive for ethynyl deoxy uridine (EdU) were quantified. Immunocytochemistry was done to examine whether pericytes were present on newly forming blood vessels. Cytokine signaling and angiogenic markers were compared between the two groups using multiplex assays. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Here, we show that ablation of SphK1 can significantly reduce NV invasion in the cornea following injury. Corneal sphingolipid analysis showed that total levels of ceramides, monohexosyl ceramides (HexCer), and sphingomyelin were significantly elevated in Sphk(-/-) corneas compared to WT corneas, with a comparable level of sphingosine among the two genotypes. The numbers of total and proliferating endothelial tip cells were also lower in the Sphk1(-/-) corneas following injury. This study underscores the role of S1P in post-injury corneal NV and raises further questions about the roles played by ceramide, HexCer, and sphingomyelin in regulating corneal NV. Further studies are needed to unravel the role played by bioactive sphingolipids in maintenance of corneal transparency and clear vision.Item Chronic Disease, sleep quality, and TNF-alpha: Understanding Pathophysiologic Processes(2009-08-01) Sprawls, Kelly S.; Kathryn CardarelliThe purpose of this study was to explore the association between poor sleep quality and TNF-alpha levels and determine which chronic diseases modify this relationship. In this cross-sectional study of 75 participants, we ascertained sleep quality by means of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Analyses revealed females were more likely to experience poor sleep quality compared to males. Although sleep quality was not associated with TNFlevels, significant associations were detected with dyslipidemia and tobacco use. Interestingly, we discovered hypertension and diabetes modified the relationship, creating a trend toward inverse associations. As for the relationship between chronic disease and sleep quality, depressive symptomatology and pain were strongly correlated. Unexpectedly, diabetes bordered associations with improved sleep quality. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these relationships and explore the effects of improved sleep quality and chronic disease management on TNF-alpha levels.Item Hyperacute immune responses associate with immediate neuropathology and motor dysfunction in large vessel occlusions(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022-12-30) Farooqui, Mudassir; Ortega-Gutierrez, Santiago; Hernandez, Katherine; Torres, Vanessa O.; Dajles, Andres; Zevallos, Cynthia B.; Quispe-Orozco, Darko; Mendez-Ruiz, Alan; Manzel, Kenneth; Ten Eyck, Patrick; Tranel, Daniel; Karandikar, Nitin J.; Ortega, Sterling B.OBJECTIVE: Despite successful endovascular therapy, a proportion of stroke patients exhibit long-term functional decline, regardless of the cortical reperfusion. Our objective was to evaluate the early activation of the adaptive immune response and its impact on neurological recovery in patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO). METHODS: Nineteen (13 females, 6 males) patients with acute LVO were enrolled in a single-arm prospective cohort study. During endovascular therapy (EVT), blood samples were collected from pre and post-occlusion, distal femoral artery, and median cubital vein (controls). Cytokines, chemokines, cellular and functional profiles were evaluated with immediate and follow-up clinical and radiographic parameters, including cognitive performance and functional recovery. RESULTS: In the hyperacute phase (within hours), adaptive immune activation was observed in the post-occlusion intra-arterial environment (post). Ischemic vascular tissue had a significant increase in T-cell-related cytokines, including IFN-gamma and MMP-9, while GM-CSF, IL-17, TNF-alpha, IL-6, MIP-1a, and MIP-1b were decreased. Cellularity analysis revealed an increase in inflammatory IL-17+ and GM-CSF+ helper T-cells, while natural killer (NK), monocytes and B-cells were decreased. A correlation was observed between hypoperfused tissue, infarct volume, inflammatory helper, and cytotoxic T-cells. Moreover, helper and cytotoxic T-cells were also significantly increased in patients with improved motor function at 3 months. INTERPRETATION: We provide evidence of the activation of the inflammatory adaptive immune response during the hyperacute phase and the association of pro-inflammatory cytokines with greater ischemic tissue and worsening recovery after successful reperfusion. Further characterization of these immune pathways is warranted to test selective immunomodulators during the early stages of stroke rehabilitation.Item Variations of the lung microbiome and immune response in mechanically ventilated surgical patients(PLOS, 2018-10-24) Huebinger, Ryan M.; Smith, Ashley D.; Zhang, Yan; Monson, Nancy L.; Ireland, Sara J.; Barber, Robert C.; Kubasiak, John C.; Minshall, Christian T.; Minei, Joseph P.; Wolf, Steven E.; Allen, Michael S.Mechanically ventilated surgical patients have a variety of bacterial flora that are often undetectable by traditional culture methods. The source of infection in many of these patients remains unclear. To address this clinical problem, the microbiome profile and host inflammatory response in bronchoalveolar lavage samples from the surgical intensive care unit were examined relative to clinical pathology diagnoses. The hypothesis was tested that clinical diagnosis of respiratory tract flora were similar to culture positive lavage samples in both microbiome and inflammatory profile. Bronchoalveolar lavage samples were collected in the surgical intensive care unit as standard of care for intubated individuals with a clinical pulmonary infection score of >6 or who were expected to be intubated for >48 hours. Cytokine analysis was conducted with the Bioplex Pro Human Th17 cytokine panel. The microbiome of the samples was sequenced for the 16S rRNA region using the Ion Torrent. Microbiome diversity analysis showed the culture-positive samples had the lowest levels of diversity and culture negative with the highest based upon the Shannon-Wiener index (culture positive: 0.77 ± 0.36, respiratory tract flora: 2.06 ± 0.73, culture negative: 3.97 ± 0.65). Culture-negative samples were not dominated by a single bacterial genera. Lavages classified as respiratory tract flora were more similar to the culture-positive in the microbiome profile. A comparison of cytokine expression between groups showed increased levels of cytokines (IFN-g, IL-17F, IL-1B, IL-31, TNF-a) in culture-positive and respiratory tract flora groups. Culture-positive samples exhibited a more robust immune response and reduced diversity of bacterial genera. Lower cytokine levels in culture-negative samples, despite a greater number of bacterial species, suggest a resident nonpathogenic bacterial community may be indicative of a normal pulmonary environment. Respiratory tract flora samples were most similar to the culture-positive samples and may warrant classification as culture-positive when considering clinical treatment.