Nutrition
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Editorial Comment
Orosensory and postingestive stimuli for the control of food intake.
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Overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) can contribute to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and septic shock in critically ill patients. We previously found that glutamine (GLN) can attenuate cytokine expression, induce heat shock protein 72 (HSP 72), and protect against endotoxin-induced mortality and organ injury in an in vivo rat model. However, data on the effect of GLN on direct attenuation of cytokine release and HSP 72 expression in human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells (PBMCs) is lacking. ⋯ These results indicate that GLN, which may improve outcomes in critically ill patients, can directly attenuate pro-inflammatory cytokine release in PBMCs. This effect may be related to enhanced HSP 72 expression.