Background Dysfunctional innate responses of alveolar macrophages to nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pneumoniae contribute to morbidity in chronic ...obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our earlier studies discovered impaired COPD alveolar macrophage responses to Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands of nontypeable H. influenzae and provide rationale for further evaluation of TLR signaling. While the role of TLR single nucleotide polymorphisms is increasingly recognized in inflammatory diseases, TLR single nucleotide polymorphisms in COPD have only recently been explored. We hypothesized that specific TLR polymorphisms are associated with dysfunctional innate immune COPD alveolar macrophage responses and investigated polymorphisms of TLR2(Arg753Gln), TLR4(Thr399Ile; Asp299Gly), and TLR9(T1486C; T1237C). Methods DNA was purified from cells of 1) healthy nonsmokers (n = 20); 2) COPD ex-smokers (n = 83); 3) COPD active smokers (n = 93). DNA amplifications (polymerase chain reaction) were performed for each SNP. Alveolar macrophages from each group were incubated with nontypeable H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis and S. pneumoniae. Cytokine induction of macrophage supernatants was measured and the association with TLR single nucleotide polymorphism expression was determined. Results No significant inter-group differences in frequency of any TLR SNP existed. However both TLR9 single nucleotide polymorphisms were expressed in high frequency. Among COPD ex-smokers, diminished IL-8 responsiveness to nontypeable H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis and S. pneumoniae was strongly associated with carriage of TLR9(T1237C) (p = 0.02; p = 0.008; p = 0.02), but not TLR9(T1486C). Carriage of TLR9(T1237C), but not TLR9(T1486C), correlated with diminished FEV1%predicted (p = 0.037). Conclusion Our results demonstrate a notable association of TLR9(T1237C) expression with dysfunctional innate alveolar macrophage responses to respiratory pathogens and with severity of COPD.
Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) causes mammary carcinomas and T-cell tumors in mice. MMTV variants that induce T-cell tumors have a large deletion within the U3 region of the long terminal repeat ...(LTR) compared to MMTV strains that induce mammary tumors. We provide evidence here that T-cell tropic MMTV strains lack a redundant binding site for a cellular protein called NBP (negative regulatory element binding protein). The lack of NBP-binding sites in T-cell tropic MMTV strains presumably leads to higher levels of transcription in T-cells during the MMTV life cycle and an increased incidence of mutagenic integration events.
It was found out that humidity of seeds has the great influence on the capacity and energy of germination of horse-bean and lupine seeds and next it is the value of loading, expressed by the velocity ...of the percussive element. Multiple regression equations describe the found out dependence
Results of investigations on field bean drying, the aim of which was to determine the drying coefficient value and to derive drying curves, arc presented in the paper. The investigations were carried ...out at the drying agent flow intensity within the limits of 0.11-0.17 m/s and the temperature within the limits of 14-52 grades C. The investigations enabled to determine, among other things, functional relationships between the drying agent, temperature and the amount of water evaporated from the field bean seed in a time unit. Moreover, an optimum drying time of field bean seed depending on the drying agent temperature has been determined. (Lis, T.; Wrona, T.).
The influence of pile height on biological values of stored horse bean and lupin seeds was examined for both manually separated and combine-harvested seeds. It was found that germinative energy and ...germination capacity were reduced during the first three storage months and after six storage months the initial values were reached, irrespective of static loads imposed
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