Previous studies indicated that elevated tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) levels may play a role in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The A –238 and A –238 variants of the promoter region of the TNF‐α gene are reportedly associated with altered TNF‐α production. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of these gene polymorphisms on the development and course of NEC in very‐low‐birthweight (VLBW) infants. Dried blood samples from 46 VLBW neonates with NEC were analysed using the method of restriction fragment length polymorphism. Samples from 90 VLBW neonates without NEC were used as controls. The prevalence of alleles with guanine‐adenine transition in the –308 and –238 positions was the same in NEC and control subjects (12% vs 10% and 3% vs 4%, respectively). Conclusion : The investigated genetic variants of the TNF‐α gene promoter region have no influence on the risk and course of NEC in VLBW infants.
To investigate the periprocedural inflammatory response in patients with isolated aortic valve stenosis undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with different technical approaches.Patients were prospectively allocated to one of the following treatments: SAVR using conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC, n = 47) or minimized extracorporeal circulation (MECC, n = 15), or TAVI using either transapical (TA, n = 15) or transfemoral (TF, n = 24) access. Exclusion criteria included infection, pre-procedural immunosuppressive or antibiotic drug therapy and emergency indications. We investigated interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DR), white blood cell count, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and soluble L-selectin (sCD62L) levels before the procedure and at 4, 24, and 48 h after aortic valve replacement. Data are presented for group interaction (p-values for inter-group comparison) as determined by the Greenhouse-Geisser correction.SAVR on CECC was associated with the highest levels of IL-8 and hs-CRP (p<0.017, and 0.007, respectively). SAVR on MECC showed the highest descent in levels of HLA-DR and sCD62L (both p<0.001) in the perioperative period. TA-TAVI showed increased intraprocedural concentration and the highest peak of IL-6 (p = 0.017). Significantly smaller changes in the inflammatory markers were observed in TF-TAVI.Surgical and interventional approaches to aortic valve replacement result in inflammatory modulation which differs according to the invasiveness of the procedure. As expected, extracorporeal circulation is associated with the most marked pro-inflammatory activation, whereas TF-TAVI emerges as the approach with the most attenuated inflammatory response. Factors such as the pre-treatment patient condition and the extent of myocardial injury also significantly affect inflammatory biomarker patterns. Accordingly, TA-TAVI is to be classified not as an interventional but a true surgical procedure, with inflammatory biomarker profiles comparable to those found after SAVR. Our study could not establish an obvious link between the extent of the periprocedural inflammatory response and clinical outcome parameters.
The amount of inflammatory cytokines is a major determinant for the development of sepsis in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) neonates. We investigated whether variants of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-4 receptor alpha-chain, IL-6 and IL-10 genes, associated with altered cytokine production, might influence the risk and complications of sepsis in VLBW infants. We determined the presence of these genetic variants in dried blood samples of 33 septic, 35 infected and 35 healthy VLBW neonates by PCR and RFLP methods and analyzed their association with the risk and complications of sepsis. The frequencies of genetic variants did not differ in uninfected and in infected infants with or without sepsis. Moreover, none of the studied complications was associated with carrier state of any of genetic variants. Four of the 5 septic neonates with disseminated intravascular coagulation, however, carried simultaneously the variants of IL-1 beta and IL-10 genes. We concluded that these genetic polymorphisms do not influence the risk and course of sepsis in VLBW neonates.
Introduction: Table beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. esculenta var. rubra) extract contains a lot of bioactive agents, and metal elements. The high K, Mg, Mn, and Zn contents of the root are beneficial in physiological point of view.
Vizsgalatsorozatunk kapcsan tobb mint 300 kis sulyu koraszulott bevonasaval 32 kulonboző genetikai polimorfizmus (SNP) hordozas kapcsolatat elemeztuk a perinatalis szovődmenyekkel. Tobb olyan elemre sikerult ramutatni, amelynek jelentősege lehet egy adott szovődmeny kialakulasaban. Ilyen az osztrogen-receptorral szembeni erzekenyseget befolyasolo SNP, illetve a renin-angiotenzin rendszer polimorfizmusok osszefuggese a perinatalis adaptacios zavarokkal, a VEGF SNP-k perinatalis szovődmenyekkel valo kapcsolata, a TNF-alfa es az IFN-gamma, valamint az IL-12 SNP-k lelegeztetes iranti igennyel valo kapcsolata. Vizsgalataink a gyogyszerfejlesztes, valamint a terapia optimalasa szempontjabol vegzett klinikai vizsgalatok szamara kiindulasi alapot jelenthetnek. Az eredmenyek masik hasznositasi terulete a szovődmeny-predikcio lehet. Azt, hogy a genotipus-mintazat ismerete a megszuleteskor mennyire segiti ezt a celt, egy uj statisztikai eljarassal (random forest technikaval) elemeztuk. Ezzel a modszerrel meghataroztuk, hogy az egyes SNP-k milyen mertekben segitik onmagukban a predikciot, illetve olyan SNP-mintazatokat allitottunk ossze, amelyekkel megszuleteskor a szovődmeny-predikcio pontossaga fokozhato. | During our studies we enrolled more than 300 preterm infants and determined the association between carrier status of 32 different genetic polymorphisms with the risk of perinatal complications. Several SNPs with a possible involvement in the investigated complications were identified. These include the association of perinatal adaptational disturaűbances with an SNP with an impact on estrogen sensitivity and with genetic polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin system; the association between VEGF SNPs and some perinatal complications; the link between TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-12 SNPs and need for ventilatory support. These results may for a basis for studies aiming drug developemnt and optimization of therapy. Another psosible field for the use of these results is complication prediction. We applied a new statistical approach (random forest technique) to determine, whether the information about genotype patterns at birth may improve complication prediction. For this purpose we established the importance score values of individual SNPs and created optimized SNP patterns with the highest predictive value.
Information processing and cell signalling in biological systems relies on passing chemical signals across lipid bilayer membranes, but examples of synthetic systems that can achieve this process are rare. A synthetic transducer has been developed that triggers catalytic hydrolysis of an ester substrate inside lipid vesicles in response to addition of metal ions to the external vesicle solution. The output signal generated in the internal compartment of the vesicles is produced by binding of a metal ion cofactor to a head group on the transducer to form a catalytically competent complex. The mechanism of signal transduction is based on transport of the metal ion cofactor across the bilayer by the transducer, and the system can be reversibly switched between on and off states by adding cadmium(II) and ethylene diamine tetracarboxylic acid input signals respectively. The transducer is also equipped with a hydrazide moiety, which allows modulation of activity through covalent conjugation with aldehydes. Conjugation with a sugar derivative abolished activity, because the resulting hydrazone is too polar to cross the bilayer, whereas conjugation with a pyridine derivative increased activity. Coupling transport with catalysis provides a straightforward mechanism for generating complex systems using simple components.
An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.
