Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2010. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 73 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-66).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations.

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2001--Aachen.

Cerebral ischaemia is characterised by an interruption in cerebral blood flow (CBF) leading to neuronal dysfunction and death. Pre-existing systemic inflammation is strongly associated with exaggerated brain injury following cerebral ischaemia with experimental studies showing that increased damage is mediated by interleukin (IL)-1 dependent pathways. The mechanisms through which systemic inflammation worsens stroke have yet to be elucidated, therefore in this thesis we sought to further determine how systemic inflammation affects outcome after acute cerebral ischaemia. The effects of acute pre-existing inflammation on cerebral perfusion and infarct volume after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) in rats were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Systemic IL-1 caused a severe reduction in CBF and increase in infarct volume compared to vehicle. CBF changes were accompanied by upregulation of the vasoconstricting peptide endothelin (ET)-1. Blockade of ET-1 receptors reversed hypoperfusion, reduced ischaemic damage and improved functional outcome when assessed at 48h. Streptoccocus pneumoniae is the most common infection in patients at risk of stroke and is associated with an elevated inflammatory profile. The effect of an acute S. pneumoniae challenge on stroke outcome was assessed in mice and rats following transient MCAo. S. pneumoniae induced a systemic IL-1 response, exacerbated brain injury and increased platelet adhesion to the endothelium. Blockade of IL-1 with IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and administration of glycoprotein (Gp) Ibα (to reduce platelet-endothelial interactions) reversed infection-mediated exacerbation of ischaemic injury and improved functional impairments after MCAo. Presence of chronic inflammation in the form of advanced age and obesity are associated with poorer outcomes following ischaemic stroke. The neuroprotective effects of delayed IL-1Ra on stroke outcome were assessed in aged lean and corpulent rats versus young rats at 7 days post-stroke. IL-1Ra reduced ischaemic damage, blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, improved functional outcomes and preserved neurogenesis in young and aged co-morbid rats at 24 hours and 7 days. Overall, these findings suggest systemic IL-1 is a common point of convergence in both acute and chronic pre-existing inflammatory disorders that are risk factors for stroke. Systemic IL-1 leads to excessive ischaemic damage through effects on the endothelium and the coagulation cascade. These results lend further support to the hypothesis that IL-1 is a potential therapeutic target in ischaemic stroke.

Orientador: Maria Terezinha Serrão Peraçoli / Banca: Ângela Maria Victoriano de Campos Soares / Banca: Gil Benard / Resumo: A interleucina-15 (IL-15) é uma citocina pró-inflamatória produzida principalmente por monócitos e macrófagos em resposta a agentes infecciosos, desempenhando importante papel modulador na imunidade inata e adaptativa. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da IL-15 sobre a atividade fungicida, metabolismo oxidativo e a produção de citocinas por monócitos humanos, infectados in vitro com cepa virulenta de Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb18). Monócitos de sangue periférico, obtidos de indivíduos saudáveis, foram préincubados na ausência ou presença de IL-15 (12,5, 25 e 50 ng/mL) por 24 h a 37oC e infectados com Pb18 na proporção de 50 monócitos para uma célula fúngica durante 4 h e 18 h. A atividade fungicida de monócitos foi determinada após 4 h pela recuperação de fungos viáveis por plaqueamento das co-culturas em meio BHI-ágar. O metabolismo oxidativo foi avaliado pela liberação de peróxido de hidrogênio (H2O2) e de ânion superóxido (O2 -) nas culturas desafiadas com Pb18 e estimuladas com phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) durante 60 mim. A produção de fator de necrose tumoral-alfa (TNF-a), IL-6, IL-10 e IL-15 foi determinada por ensaio imunoenzimático (ELISA) nos sobrenadantes das coculturas obtidos após 4 e 18 h de incubação. Os resultados mostraram que a préincubação de monócitos com IL-15 induziu aumento significativo na atividade fungicida contra Pb18 de maneira dose-dependente, sendo esse efeito neutralizado pela adição de anticorpo monoclonal anti-IL-15. O tratamento com IL- 15 não interferiu na capacidade de liberação de H2O2 e O2 - por monócitos desafiados com Pb18 sugerindo que a atividade fungicida estimulada por IL-15 ocorre por mecanismos independentes do metabolismo oxidativo. Monócitos infectados com o fungo, na ausência de IL-15, produziram níveis de TNF-a, IL-6 e IL-10... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine especially produced by monocytes and macrophages against infectious agents and that play a pivotal role in teh innatte and adaptive immune response. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of IL-15 on fungicidal activity, oxidative metabolism and cytokine production by human monocytes challenged in vitro with a virulente strain of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb18). Peripheral blood monocytes obtained from healthy individuals were pre-incubated for 24h with or without human recombinant IL-15 (12.5,25 and 50 ng/mL), and then challenged with Pb18 in a ratio of 50:1 monocytes:fungi. Fungicidal activity of monocytes against Pb18 was assessed by viable fungi recovery from 4 h co-cultures after plating in BHI-agar. Oxidative metabolism was evaluated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2 -) release in the monocyte cultures challenged by Pb18 and stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) for 60 min. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), IL-6, IL-10 and IL-15 production by monocytes were determined in culture supernatants by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). The results showed that IL-15 ehanced fungicidal activity against Pb18 in a dose-dependent pattern. This effect was abrogated by additon of anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody to the co-cultures. No significant effect of IL-15 on H2O2 and O2 - release by monocytes was observed suggesting that the fungicidal activity was independent of oxidative metabolism activation. Monocytes infected with P. brasiliensis in the absence of IL-15, produced significantly higher levels of TNF-a, IL-6 and IL-10 after 18 h of coculture in comparison to experiments of 4h-incubation with the fungus. The pretreatment of monocytes with IL-15 induced significant higher levels of TNF-a, IL-10 and IL-15 production by these cells challenged with the fungus... (Complete abstract click eletronic address below) / Mestre

Neuroinflammation is a major feature of most neurodegenerative conditions, and can leadto the exacerbation of neuronal injury. Inflammatory challenges in the central nervoussystem (CNS) have been shown to activate peripheral immune cells, which subsequentlyinfiltrate into the brain. Concurrently, resident inflammatory cells in the CNS, such asmicroglia, become activated and release inflammatory mediators, including cytokines.The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a key mediator of neuronal injury.Although two IL-1 agonists exist, IL-1α and IL-1β, the majority of research has focussedon the contribution of IL-1β to neuronal injury. Excitotoxic cell death in the rat brain,induced by striatal injection of the glutamate agonist AMPA, is exacerbated by coadministrationof recombinant IL-1β. To identify possible mediators which facilitate theexacerbation of neuronal injury by IL-1 this study investigated the early peripheral andcentral mediators of inflammation in response to AMPA + IL-1β.Neutrophil infiltration and increased neuronal activity were found to be present at 4h post-AMPA + IL-1β injection, which lead to the induction of microglial IL-1α in the ipsilateralcortex, in the absence of any IL-1β expression. To target the peripheral neutrophil responsean intervention study was performed to inhibit peripheral TNFα, which is thought tomobilise neutrophils. No significant effect of pre-treatment with etanercept, a TNFαinhibitor, was observed on neuronal injury produced in response to AMPA + IL-1β, thougha slight trend for protection was seen. To target the central IL-1α response after AMPA +IL-1β treatment an anti-IL-1α antibody was injected directly into the cerebral cortex, butthis had no effect on AMPA + IL-1β induced cell death. Therefore, using a reductionist invitro approach in organotypic slice cultures haemin, an inducer of endogenous IL-1α, wasused to investigate IL-1α mediated cell death. Haemin induced cell death was shown to beIL-1 dependent and preliminary studies using IL-1αKO mice indicated that IL-1α maypartially mediate this effect. This suggests that in the AMPA + IL-1β paradigm IL-1α is thedominant IL-1 isoform early after AMPA + IL-1β treatment, which can trigger subsequentneuronal cell death, as a result of the additive effects of neutrophil infiltration and highneuronal activity in the cortex. This study highlights the potential therapeutic value ofinhibiting IL-1α expression early following acute neuronal injury.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries from preexisting vessels, plays an essential role in revascularization of the myocardium following myocardial infarction (MI). Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a proinflammatory cytokine increased in the heart following MI, is shown to be essential for angiogenesis in the invasiveness of tumor cells, the progression of arthritic conditions and endometriosis, and the promotion of wound healing. Here we studied the steps of angiogenesis in response to IL-1β in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) and aortic tissue. Cell cycle progression analysis using flow cytometry indicated a G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in IL-1β-stimulated cells. IL-1β significantly reduced levels of fibrillar actin in the cytoskeleton, a pre-requisite for tube formation, as indicated by phalloidin-FITC staining. Wound healing assays demonstrated IL-1β prevents cell-to-cell contact formation. On the other hand, vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) initiated restoration of the cell monolayer. IL-1β significantly inhibited in vitro tube formation as analyzed by three-dimensional collagen matrix assay. Aortic ring assay demonstrated that IL-1β inhibits basal and VEGF-D-stimulated microvessel sprouting from aortic rings. The data presented here are novel and of significant interest, providing evidence that IL-1β impedes the process of angiogenesis in myocardial endothelial cells.

No description available.

by Chuen Ka Yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-166). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLDEGEMENT --- p.ii / PUBLICATIONS --- p.iii-iv / ABBREVIATIONS --- p.v-viii / INDEX FOR FIGURES --- p.ix xii / INDEX FOR TABLES --- p.xiii / ABSTRACT (Chinese and English) --- p.xiv-xvi / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.xvii / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1-37 / Chapter 2. --- OBJECTIVES --- p.38-40 / Chapter 3. --- METHODS AND MATERIALS --- p.41 -70 / Chapter 4. --- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION --- p.71-130 / Chapter 5. --- GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION --- p.131-133 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.134-166

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus that infects up to 80% of the population worldwide, and establishes latency in monocytes and bone marrow cells. Reactivated HCMV can become an opportunistic pathogen in individuals who are immunocompromised, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HCMV infection of AIDS patients causes a sight-threatening retinitis that leads to vision loss and blindness in up to 46% of this population without antiretroviral treatment. Because untreated HIV-infected individuals exhibit the loss of cell-mediated immunity and alterations in CD4+ T-helper (Th) cell cytokines, including elevation of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, and IL-17, we sought to test the hypothesis that these cytokines play key roles in governing the susceptibility to AIDS-related HCMV retinitis. This hypothesis was tested utilizing a clinically relevant mouse model of experimental murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) retinitis that occurs in C57BL/6 mice immunosuppressed by mouse retroviruses (MAIDS). Studies revealed that MAIDS progression was associated with increased levels of IL-4 and IL-10, cytokines whose production has been associated with diminished CD8+ T-cell-mediated immunity during HIV infection. However, MCMV–infected eyes of retinitis-susceptible IL-4-/- or IL-10-/- MAIDS mice exhibited frequency and severity of retinitis and viral titers equivalent to MCMV-infected eyes of wild-type MAIDS animals. These studies indicated that neither IL-4 nor IL-10 alone play key roles in increased susceptibility to MCMV retinitis. In comparison, IL-17, an inflammatory cytokine associated with the ocular autoimmune disease uveitis, was systemically increased during the progression of MAIDS, but MCMV-infected eyes of retinitis-susceptible MAIDS mice exhibited a significant reduction in IL-17. These findings suggested that IL-17 plays no direct role in the pathogenesis of experimental MCMV retinitis. However, these results also suggested the remarkable possibility that MCMV downregulates IL-17 production, a hypothesis supported by the observation that systemic MCMV infection of healthy and MAIDS mice resulted in the downregulation of IL-17. Mechanistic studies revealed that knockdown of IL-10 resulted in a partial recovery IL-17 levels during MCMV infection. We conclude that MCMV-induced IL-17 downregulation occurs via the stimulation of IL-10 and the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3. Taken together, our results add new information to the immunobiology of HCMV and to our basic understanding of the pathogenesis of AIDS-related HCMV retinitis.