International Journal of Tissue Reactions

The distribution and amount of collagen in skin from a non-tender-point area from fibromyalgia patients was assessed by quantitative analysis of amino acids and by electron and light microscopy. Skin biopsies were obtained from the front of the thigh of 27 females who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology criteria of fibromyalgia and from eight control subjects who were matched for gender, age and physical activity. Amino acids were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Electron and light microscopic investigations were carried out to examine tissue structure...

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the cylooxygenase (COX)-2 specific inhibitor rofecoxib, on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in patients with well-controlled hypertension and osteoarthritis via 24-h ambulatory monitoring. Thirty patients with well controlled hypertension were included. Fifteen patients had osteoarthritis and were recommended by their rheumatologists to take rofecoxib 12.5 mg/day (rofecoxib group). The control group consisted of 15 patients who had hypertension but no clinical osteoarthritis and did not receive any anti-inflammatory drugs...

Impaired endothelial cell growth and function have been suggested to be an initial event leading to the development of atherosclerosis. Nifedipine is one of the most widely used dihydropyridine-based calcium antagonists (DHPs) for the treatment of patients with angina and hypertension. Recently, nifedipine was shown to improve endothelial function in many cardiovascular diseases, thus slowing the development and progression of atherosclerosis. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms for the atheroprotective effects of nifedipine, with special emphasis on its anti-oxidative properties...

We have previously shown that the peak latency of oscillatory potential (OP), the earliest electroretinographic manifestation of diabetic retina, was prolonged in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat, a model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes. These observations suggest that retinal neuronal dysfunction revealed by the OP abnormality in the electroretinogram takes place prior to the angiopathic diabetic changes in this animal model. However whether acellular capillaries and pericyte ghosts, one of the histopathological hallmarks of early diabetic retinopathy in humans, could occur in OLETF rat remains to be elucidated...

The aim of this study was to identify the distribution of aquaporin-9 by immunohistochemistry in rat tissues using specific antipeptide antiserum which we recently produced. Anti-aquaporin-9 antibody was raised in New Zealand white rabbits immunized with a conjugate of synthetic aquaporin-9 peptide with bovine serum albumin. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed by avidin-biotin complex method. Aquaporin-immunoreactivity was visualized in the anterior pituitary, central nervous system, retina, thyroid gland, gastrointestinal tract, liver lung, pancreas and testis...

Since endothelin was found to be expressed in epithelial cells as well as in vascular endothelial cells, the functional regulation of melanocytes with endothelin has been actively investigated. In particular, it has been suggested that endothelin may influence pigmentation and depigmentation, which are mediated by melanocytes. In the present study, we investigated the regulation of melanocyte function and tyrosinase expression by endothelin from the point of view of tyrosinase protein expression and enzyme activity...

Bowen's disease (BD) is a squamous cell carcinoma in situ. Recent studies suggest that human papilloma virus plays an important role in the development of BD. We investigated whether imiquimod 5%, a topical immune response modifier, is an effective treatment for BD in five immunocompetent patients. The lesions were one genital and four extragenital. The frequency of application varied from three times weekly up to twice daily, and treatment duration ranged from 8-24 weeks. Four patients achieved clinical and histological cure...

Cutaneous xerosis is a common clinical condition associated with an altered barrier function of the stratum corneum. Xerotic skin appears dry, rough and slightly scaling. Patients complain of pruritus and stinging. Our aim was to investigate the clinical effects of a cosmetic ointment (Scherilan) in patients with circumscribed senile xerosis (also called asteatotic eczema). Moreover, variations in expression of epidermal proteins such as keratin (K)-5 and involucrin, detected by immunohistochemistry, were also evaluated before and after topical treatment...

Artrofoon (oral ultra-low doses of antibodies to TNF-alpha is a novel drug approved by the Russian Ministry of Health for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to assess clinical efficacy and safety of artrofoon in RA compared with diclofenac. In a 6-month, randomized, open-label, comparative trial, 60 patients with active RA (eight men and 52 women aged 23 to 62, mean disease duration 10 years) received artrofoon (8 tablets daily, n = 30) or diclofenac (100 mg daily, n = 30)...

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can lead to osteoarticular involvement, usually in the late stages. The pathogenesis of these symptoms has usually been attributed to viral load or to dysregulated cytokine production. We evaluated the presence of rheumatic symptoms and levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha viral load and CD4 count in 46 patients with HIV from southern Italy. The prevalence of rheumatic symptoms was 23.9%; CD4 count and viral load presented no statistically significant differences between patients with rheumatic symptoms and patients without osteoarticular involvement, whereas TNF-alpha levels were increased in HIV patients with arthralgias compared with those in patients without arthralgias (p = 0...

The morphological relationship of chondroitin sulphates A, B, and C, collagen types I-IV and fibronectin in the wall of venous sinuses of the red pulp in human spleen has not been a focus of interest among morphologists. Regarding the hypothesis that the structure of the spleen lends it the function of a blood filter the substances described in our study might play a significant role in the functional morphology. Of 146 human spleen surgical specimens, groups of 12 specimens each were examined under a light microscope using the method of antibodies against fibronectin, against collagen types I-IV and against chondroitin sulphates A, B, and C...

Hochu-ekki-to is one of Kampo formulas containing Astragalus root, liquorice, jujube, ginseng, white Atractylodes rhizome, fresh ginger and Chinese angelica root. This formula has been identified as an effective drug to improve the function of digestive systems and to strengthen defensive systems against many kinds of infections. We examined serum IgE levels and eosinophils before and after the administration of Hochu-ekki-to in patients with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis. The increased numbers of eosinophils was statistically decreased after 3 months' use of this formula...

In this double-blind clinical study, we evaluated the effect of our newly developed synthetic collagen-like hexapeptide on wrinkles. Twenty healthy women volunteers, aged 40 to 62 years old, participated in the study Volunteers applied either a gel formula containing 3% of the collagen-like peptide and 1% of a booster molecule that stimulates general cell metabolism with no specific effect on wrinkles, or a placebo gel, on the eye zone area twice a day for 4 weeks. Control visits were performed at the beginning and the end of the study...

Recent studies of our newly developed synthetic collagen-like hexapeptide have shown that it enhances cultured cell adhesion and differentiation and improves the morphology of ex vivo skin. Consequently, we were interested in further investigating the effects of the collagen-like peptide on the skin. We performed different immunostaining studies on ex vivo human skin samples treated with the collagen-like peptide at 1% in time course studies. Our research also included comparative studies with vitamin C (often used as a positive control for enhancing collagen synthesis)...

Cyclosporin A (CsA), one of the most extensively investigated immunomodulatory agents, is widely used today in the treatment of various immunologically triggered dermatologic disorders. The immunologic basis for the therapeutic action of CsA depends on the suppression of lymphokine production by T cells. Due to its immunologic effects, this drug is also commonly preferred in Behcet's disease, especially with neurologic and ocular involvement. Since the course of this chronic disease presents remissions and exacerbations, drug therapy should be long term...

We report on successful induction of remission in a patient with necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil-cytoplasm antibodies by primary use of the anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha chimeric monoclonal antibody infliximab in combination with corticosteroids only. The standard treatment containing cyclophosphamide has reduced the former high mortality from systemic vasculitides. However, the toxicity of this alkylating agent limits its long-term use. As TNF-alpha has been shown to play a central pathogenic role in vasculitis as well as in crescentic glomerulonephritis, anti-TNF-alpha treatment in combination with cyclophosphamide has been found to be effective in therapy-resistant vasculitis...

Transplantation of donor bone marrow cells (BMTx) has been proven to be capable of including allogeneic transplant tolerance. In our previous experiments we reported the positive effect of BMTx together with short-term tacrolimus/hydrocortisone therapy on pancreatic islet survival in recipients haploidentical with donors. In this project we used the same transplant protocol to further investigate this effect in a fully mean histocompatibility system-mismatched model. Lewis male rats and Brown-Norway female rats were used as donors and recipients, respectively...

alpha-Linked galactooligosaccharide (alpha-GOS) has been reported to change the composition of enteric microflora. In the present study, the antiarthritic effect of alpha-GOS was evaluated by employing adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) in Wistar rats and type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in DBA/1J mice. The animals were given alpha-GOS orally. This substance had beneficial effects on both clinical signs, such as erythema and swelling of the limbs, and histopathological findings in the hind paw joints in a dose-dependent manner...

A new method for measuring telomere length in a population of Down's syndrome patients aged 18-60 years old is presented. The method is based on flow cytometry and quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH) on whole cells. At least three methods for measuring the length of telomere repeats have been described: (i) Southern blot analysis, and quantitative FISH using either (ii) digital fluorescence microscopy (Q-FISH) or (iii) flow cytometry (flow-FISH). Both Southern blot analysis and Q-FISH have specific limitations and are time-consuming, whereas flow-FISH needed relatively few cells (1...

Caffeine and its active derivative, theobromine, are probably the most frequently ingested pharmacologically active substances. Considering their uninhibited transport via the placental barrier as well as immature enzymatic activities and metabolic pathways in embryos and infants resulting in the longer half-life of methyloxanthines and their accumulation, unrestrained uptake of these substances might result in noticeably more pronounced biological effects during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Our previous studies have shown that methyloxanthines are significant inhibitors of angiogenic growth factors production and angiogenesis itself...