实验基础

The introduction of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology has dramatically revolutionized basic and clinical molecular biology research in the recent decade. Accurate detection and identification of tiny and limited amounts of DNA are now possible (1). The PCR method, in co ...

Cytokines play a crucial role in innate and adaptive immunity. The onset or progression of immunopathology in various diseases is often associated with aberrant production of one or more cytokines. It is therefore of considerable interest to characterize cytokine “profiles” associ ...

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a member of the rapidly expanding chemokine family, which consists of a large number of small (8–10 kDa) secreted proteins with the capacity to act as leukocyte chemoattractants (1). Chemokines are crucial mediators of inflammation as they are able to enhance migration ...

The regulation of gene activity plays a cardinal role, not only in the overall function of a cell, but also in the response of a given tissue to challenges by extracellular signals, amplifying the response well beyond stimulus-secretion coupling.

Cytokines produced by a variety of cells in response to stimuli are important in the regulation of physiologic and immunologic processes; tremendous efforts have been made to study cytokine profiles in various physiologic and disease conditions. Bioluminescent reverse transcri ...

Bioassays are used to determine the presence and concentration of biologically active cytokines by exploiting the different activities they induce, such as cellular proliferation, chemotaxis, or cytotoxicity. These assays often use established cell lines that depend for their c ...

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a 21-28 kDa glycoprotein produced by T and B cells, monocytes, macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and tumor cells (1). Elevated IL-6 has been identified in the serum of breast cancer patients (2). IL-6 has been implicated in breast cancer metastasis (3), and IL-6 was p ...

Interleukin 15 (IL-15) has been described as a cytokine with biologic functions similar to those of IL-2. IL-2 and IL-15 utilize a receptor composed of three subunits: IL-2 receptor β-chain, the y-chain (βc) shared by IL-15, IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, and IL-9 receptors, and a unique a-chain. The α-chain of the IL-15 recep ...

Stressors may instigate a series of hormonal variations, coupled with neurochemical alterations within the brain that promote cognitive alterations and favor the development of depressive illness. Indeed, it appears that in many respects the effects of stressors are reminiscent ...

The pathogenesis of Graves′ disease, an autoimmune thyroid disorder, remains incompletely understood. Increasing clinical and experimental evidence shows that genetic predisposition, disturbances of the immune system function and environmental factors affecting th ...

Cytokines are considered to be of major importance for the pathogenesis of several cutaneous disorders. Their considerable impact may result from autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine effects. Consequently, numerous investigations aim to measure cytokines, including interle ...

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the most common diseases in cardiology. Recent studies have shown the important role of an activated immune system and its products (interleukins) in the pathogenesis of AMI in these processes: 1.

The history of laboratory testing closely follows developments in the field of immunology in general. Serologic investigations were a natural outgrowth of the study of immunity, and the period from 1900 to 1950 has been called the era of international serology (1). Serology is the study of the non ...

Cytokines are a family of immunoregulatory peptide growth factors. They are produced mainly by immune cells after immune challenge (infection/inflammation). Various cells of nonimmune cell origin such as epithelial, muscle, endothelial, fibroblast, and mesangial, and also spe ...

Cytokines are small-molecular-weight proteins that mainly function in soluble, secreted form. Cytokines regulate a wide variety of cellular functions, such as immune responses and the growth and differentiation of hemopoietic, epithelial, and mesenchymal cells (1,2). Typical f ...

Cytokines are important mediators of the persistent cycle of inflammation and repair that characterizes chronic airway diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF). Interleukin (IL)-5 is a key mediator of the eosinophil infiltra ...

In the history of clinical pathology, all the body fluids have been employed to examine several types of molecules. Obviously, the serum has always been the principle source of exploration, although other fluids, namely, urine, acqueous humor, cerebrospinal fluid, lymph, and others have also ...

Cytokines, low-molecular-weight glycoproteins with diverse bioactivities, are produced from local tissues and leukocytes in response to various stimuli and are involved in both physiologic and pathologic events. Cerebrospinal fluid is an informative material used to evalu ...

Over the last 20 years, advances in the knowledge of cytokine biology have brought a new dimension to the understanding of pathogenic events in human chronic arthritides, showing promise for future therapeutic approaches. Pathogenetically, it is likely that local and systemic manifes ...

The tear film provides a refractive optical surface of the eye and nutrients to the underlying epithelial cells; it also contains factors that protect the eye from invasion by foreign particles including microorganisms. The tear film can alter rapidly from a basal state that occurs during the d ...