Background
Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of abdominal surgical emergencies that present at the emergency department (ED). Although early phase of acute appendicitis cannot induce ...systemic inflammatory responses, it may induce proliferation immature granulocyte before leukocytosis is occurred. Based on this, we hypothesized that IG% may be beneficial for detecting appendicitis, in addition to classic inflammatory markers including the WBC count, a left shift in neutrophils, and CRP, at no additional cost.
Methods
A retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary‐care, university‐affiliated hospital emergency department in adults (>18 years old) with suspected appendicitis from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. The diagnostic performance of IG% and other inflammatory markers, namely white blood cell (WBC) count, proportion of neutrophils, and C‐reactive protein (CRP), for acute appendicitis was evaluated.
Results
Of 403 patients, 204 (50.6%) were diagnosed with acute appendicitis and 45 (22.0%) had complicated appendicitis. All inflammatory markers, including WBC count, proportion of neutrophils, IG%, and CRP, were statistically different between the appendicitis and nonappendicitis group (P < .01). However, IG% was not clinically useful because the median IG% was the same (0.3 vs 0.3) between the appendicitis and nonappendicitis group. Moreover, the area under the curve for IG% was smaller than for other inflammatory markers (0.57, 0.51‐0.63, P < .02).
Conclusion
The diagnostic ability of IG% for appendicitis is insufficient, and it brings no additional benefit over other inflammatory markers.
The health benefits of bio-active phenolic compounds have been largely investigated in vitro at concentrations which exceed those reachable in vivo. We investigated and compared the anti-inflammatory ...effects of resveratrol, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein at physiologically relevant concentrations by using in vitro models of inflammation.
Human granulocytes and monocytes were stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and the ability of resveratrol, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein to inhibit the oxidative burst and CD11b expression was measured. Nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels, COX-2, iNOS, TNFα, IL-1β and miR-146a expression and activation of the transcription factor Nrf2 were evaluated in macrophages RAW 264.7 stimulated with LPS (1μg/ml) for 18h, exposed to resveratrol, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein (5 and 10μM). Synergistic effects were explored as well, together with the levels of PGE2, COX-2 and IL-1β expression in macrophages after 6h of LPS stimulation. PGE2 and COX-2 expression were also assessed on human monocytes.
All the tested compounds inhibited granulocytes oxidative burst in a concentration dependent manner and CD11b expression was also significantly counteracted by resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol. The measurement of oxidative burst in human monocytes produced similar effects being resveratrol more active. Hydroxytyrosol and resveratrol inhibited the production of NO and PGE2 but did not reduce iNOS, TNFα or IL-1β gene expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 for 18h. Resveratrol slightly decreased COX-2 expression after 18h but not after 6h, but reduced PGE2 levels after 6h. Resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol 10μM induced NRf2 nuclear translocation and reduced miR-146a expression in LPS treated RAW 264.7.
Overall, we reported an anti-inflammatory effect of resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol at low, nutritionally relevant concentrations, involving the inhibition of granulocytes and monocytes activation, the modulation of miR-146a expression and the activation of Nrf2. A regular dietary intake of resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol may be a useful complementary strategy to control inflammatory diseases.
•Low concentrations of resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol attenuate inflammation.•Resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol mitigate oxidative stress.•Resveratrol and hydroxytyrosol decrease PGE2 levels.•miR-146a and Nrf2 are involved in the observed anti-inflammatory effects.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the clinical spectrum caused by mutations in PIGA at Xp22.2, which is involved in the biosynthesis of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, among patients with ...early-onset epileptic encephalopathies (EOEEs).
METHODS:Whole-exome sequencing was performed as a comprehensive genetic analysis for a cohort of 172 patients with EOEEs including early myoclonic encephalopathy, Ohtahara syndrome, and West syndrome, and PIGA mutations were carefully investigated.
RESULTS:We identified 4 PIGA mutations in probands showing early myoclonic encephalopathy, West syndrome, or unclassified EOEE. Flow cytometry of blood granulocytes from patients demonstrated reduced expression of GPI-anchored proteins. Expression of GPI-anchored proteins in PIGA-deficient JY5 cells was only partially or hardly restored by transient expression of PIGA mutants with a weak TATA box promoter, indicating a variable loss of PIGA activity. The phenotypic consequences of PIGA mutations can be classified into 2 types, severe and less severe, which correlate with the degree of PIGA activity reduction caused by the mutations. Severe forms involved myoclonus and asymmetrical suppression bursts on EEG, multiple anomalies with a dysmorphic face, and delayed myelination with restricted diffusion patterns in specific areas. The less severe form presented with intellectual disability and treatable seizures without facial dysmorphism.
CONCLUSIONS:Our study confirmed that PIGA mutations are one genetic cause of EOEE, suggesting that GPI-anchor deficiencies may be an underlying cause of EOEE.
Controlled regulation of lineage decisions is imperative for hematopoiesis. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying hematopoietic lineage choices are poorly defined. Colony-stimulating factor 1 ...(CSF-1), the cytokine acting as the principal regulator of monocyte/macrophage (M) development, has been shown to be able to instruct the lineage choice of uncommitted granulocyte M (GM) progenitors toward an M fate. However, the intracellular signaling pathways involved are unknown. CSF-1 activates a multitude of signaling pathways resulting in a pleiotropic cellular response. The precise role of individual pathways within this complex and redundant signaling network is dependent on cellular context, and is not well understood. Here, we address which CSF-1–activated pathways are involved in transmitting the lineage-instructive signal in primary bone marrow-derived GM progenitors. Although its loss is compensated for by alternative signaling activation mechanisms, Src family kinase (SFK) signaling is sufficient to transmit the CSF-1 lineage instructive signal. Moreover, c-Src activity is sufficient to drive M fate, even in nonmyeloid cells.
•SFK signaling is sufficient to mediate M fate instruction by CSF-1.•c-Src activity is sufficient to enforce M fate, both in myeloid progenitors and in nonmyeloid cells.
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells that proliferate in the setting of cancer and have potent immunosuppressive functions hindering ...anti-tumor immunity. Here we establish that the immunologic landscape and tumor microenvironments (TME) vary between different organs which discretely shape MDSC repertoires. We found that pSTAT3 signaling exerts a dominant effect on MDSC programming in liver metastasis (LM). In contrast, in lung metastasis (LuM), MDSC programming is driven mainly by pSTAT5. Adoptive transfer of LM-MDSC into LuM resulted in a shift from pSTAT3 signaling to pSTAT5, in association with an overall shift toward lung MDSC programming. A shift from more immunosuppressive M-MDSC to G-MDSC, along with enhanced differentiation of MDSCs into pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages in LuM, indicated that MDSC plasticity and differentiation patterns are environmentally dependent. Using mass spectroscopy, we confirmed that LM-MDSCs showed enhanced expression of key proliferation pathway markers. This confirmed that liver-specific MDSC programing was comprehensive but reversible, implying that therapeutic targeting of LM-MDSC could prime the TME in a favorable manner. Our data suggest that MDSC programming in response to malignancy is highly dependent on organ-specific conditions and is modifiable.
The role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of chronic venous disease (CVD) remains obscure. It has been postulated that oscillatory flow present in incompetent veins causes proinflammatory changes. ...Our earlier study confirmed this hypothesis. This study is aimed at assessing chemokines and growth factors (GFs) released by lymphocytes in patients with great saphenous vein (GSV) incompetence. In 34 patients exhibiting reflux in GSV, blood was derived from the cubital vein and from the incompetent saphenofemoral junction. In 12 healthy controls, blood was derived from the cubital vein. Lymphocyte culture with and without stimulation by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was performed. Eotaxin, interleukin 8 (IL-8), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 A and 1B (MIP-1A and MIP-1B), interferon gamma-induced protein (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin 5 (IL-5), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were assessed in culture supernatants by a Bio-Plex assay. Higher concentrations of eotaxin and G-CSF were revealed in the incompetent GSV, compared with the concentrations in the patients’ upper limbs. The concentrations of MIP-1A and MIP-1B were higher in the CVD group while the concentration of VEGF was lower. In the stimulated cultures, the concentration of G-CSF proved higher in the incompetent GSV, as compared with the patients’ upper limbs. Between the groups, the concentration of eotaxin was higher in the CVD group, while the IL-5 and MCP-1 concentrations were lower. IL-8, IP-10, FGF, GM-CSF, and PDGF-BB did not reveal any significant differences in concentrations between the samples. These observations suggest that the concentrations of chemokines and GFs are different in the blood of CVD patients. The oscillatory flow present in incompetent veins may play a role in these changes. However, the role of cytokines in CVD requires further study.
Despite the availability of antibiotics and vaccines, many intractable infectious diseases still threaten human health across the globe. Uncontrolled infections can lead to systemic inflammatory ...response syndrome and the excessive production of inflammatory cytokines, known as a cytokine storm. As cytokines also play necessary and positive roles in fighting infections, it is important to identify nontoxic and anti-inflammatory natural products that can modulate cytokine production caused by infections. Rubi Fructus, the unripe fruits of
Miquel, are known to possess antioxidative properties. In this study, the effect of the water extract of Rubi Fructus (RF) on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response in RAW 264.7 macrophages was investigated using biochemical and cell biology techniques. Our data indicated that RF inhibits p38 phosphorylation, intracellular calcium release, and the production of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-6, monocyte chemotactic activating factor (MCP)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), lipopolysaccharide-induced CXC chemokine (LIX), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, MIP-2, and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) in LPS-treated macrophages. In addition, we observed decreasing mRNA expression of
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without cytotoxic effects. We concluded that RF demonstrated immunoregulatory activity on LPS-stimulated macrophages via an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced calcium/CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) pathway and the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway.
During inflammation, neutrophils are rapidly mobilized from the bone marrow storage pool into peripheral blood (PB) to enter lesional sites, where most rapidly undergo apoptosis. Monocytes constitute ...a second wave of inflammatory immigrates, giving rise to long-lived macrophages and dendritic cell subsets. According to descriptive immunophenotypic and cell culture studies, neutrophils may directly “transdifferentiate” into monocytes/macrophages. We provide mechanistic data in human and murine models supporting the existence of this cellular pathway. First, the inflammatory signal–induced MKK6-p38MAPK cascade activates a monocyte differentiation program in human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor–dependent neutrophils. Second, adoptively transferred neutrophils isolated from G-CSF–pretreated mice rapidly acquired monocyte characteristics in response to inflammatory signals in vivo. Consistently, inflammatory signals led to the recruitment of osteoclast progenitor cell potential from ex vivo–isolated G-CSF–mobilized human blood neutrophils. Monocytic cell differentiation potential was retained in left-shifted band-stage neutrophils but lost in neutrophils from steady-state PB. MKK6-p38MAPK signaling in HL60 model cells led to diminishment of the transcription factor C/EBPα, which enabled the induction of a monocytic cell differentiation program. Gene profiling confirmed lineage conversion from band-stage neutrophils to monocytic cells. Therefore, inflammatory signals relayed by the MKK6-p38MAPK cascade induce monocytic cell differentiation from band-stage neutrophils.
•Our study delineates a signaling pathway and molecular mechanism that band-stage neutrophils acquire to gain monocytic characteristics.•Band-stage neutrophils from G-CSF–mobilized blood differentiate into monocytic cells upon recruitment to inflammatory sites.
Macrophages are one of the first innate immune cells to reach the site of infection or injury. Diverse functions from the uptake of pathogen or antigen, its killing, and presentation, the release of ...pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines, activation of adaptive immune cells, clearing off tissue debris, tissue repair, and maintenance of tissue homeostasis have been attributed to macrophages. Besides tissue-resident macrophages, the circulating macrophages are recruited to different tissues to get activated. These are highly plastic cells, showing a spectrum of phenotypes depending on the stimulus received from their immediate environment. The macrophage differentiation requires colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) or macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), colony-stimulating factor-2 (CSF-2), or granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and different stimuli activate them to different phenotypes. The richness of tissue macrophages is precisely controlled via the CSF-1 and CSF-1R axis. In this review, we have given an overview of macrophage origin via hematopoiesis/myelopoiesis, different phenotypes associated with macrophages, their clinical significance, and how they are altered in various diseases. We have specifically focused on the function of CSF-1/CSF-1R signaling in deciding macrophage fate and the outcome of aberrant CSF-1R signaling in relation to macrophage phenotype in different diseases. We further extend the review to briefly discuss the possible strategies to manipulate CSF-1R and its signaling with the recent updates.
Graphical Abstract
In this cohort study, we investigated whether monitoring blood levels of immature neutrophils (myelocytes, metamyelocytes and band cells) differentiated patients with sepsis from those with the ...non-infectious (N-I) systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). We also ascertained if the appearance of circulating immature neutrophils was related to adverse outcome.
Blood samples were routinely taken from 136 critically ill patients within 48 hours of ICU entry and from 20 healthy control subjects. Clinical and laboratory staff were blinded to each other's results, and patients were retrospectively characterised into those with SIRS (n = 122) and those without SIRS (n = 14). The patients with SIRS were further subdivided into categories of definite sepsis (n = 51), possible sepsis (n = 32) and N-I SIRS (n = 39). Two established criteria were used for monitoring immature white blood cells (WBCs): one where band cells >10% WBCs and the other where >10% of all forms of immature neutrophils were included but with a normal WBC count. Immature neutrophils in blood smears were identified according to nuclear morphology and cytoplasmic staining.
With the first criterion, band cells were present in most patients with SIRS (mean = 66%) when compared with no SIRS (mean = 29%; P <0.01) and with healthy subjects (0%). The prevalence of band cells was higher in definite sepsis (mean = 82%) than in patients with possible sepsis (mean = 63%; P <0.05) or with N-I SIRS (mean = 39%; P <0.001), and they had a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 71% for the detection of definite sepsis. With the second criterion (that is, patients with normal WBC counts), we noted that immature neutrophils did not differentiate any of the patient groups from one another. Patients who died within 1 week of blood sample provision had higher levels of myelocytes and metamyelocytes (median = 9%; P <0.05) than patients who died at 2 to 4 weeks (median =0.5%).
Raised blood levels of band cells have diagnostic significance for sepsis, provided that measurements are not confined to patients with normal WBC counts, whereas an increased prevalence of myelocytes and metamyelocytes may have prognostic application.