International immunopharmacology
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Int. Immunopharmacol. · Dec 2007
ReviewA journey with Tony Hugli up the inflammatory cascade towards the auto-digestion hypothesis.
My association with Tony Hugli, long-term editor of Immunopharmacology and International Immunopharmacology, came about by a specific and long-standing problem in inflammation research. What is the trigger mechanism of inflammation in physiological shock? This is an important clinical problem due to the high mortality associated with physiological shock. We joined forces in the search of the answer to this question for more than a decade. ⋯ Thus, our journey led to a new hypothesis, which is potentially of fundamental importance for death by multi-organ failure. The auto-digestion hypothesis is in line with the century old observation that the intestine plays a special role on shock - indeed it is the organ for digestion. Auto-digestion may be the prize to pay for life-long nutrition.
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Int. Immunopharmacol. · Dec 2007
Sinomenine inhibits activation of rat retinal microglia induced by advanced glycation end products.
Diabetic retinopathy involves an inflammatory response in the retina characterized by an increase in inflammatory cytokines and activation of microglia. The degree of microglia activation may influence the extent of retina injury following an inflammatory stimulus. Cytokines, released by activated microglia, regulate the influx of inflammatory cells to the damaged area. ⋯ AGEs treatment induced a significant release of TNF alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 from retinal microglia. Sinomenine could inhibit release of these cytokines. Sinomenine attenuated ROS production in a dose-dependent fashion and reduced the nuclear translocation of NF-kB p65 in AGEs-activated retinal microglia in culture.