Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0012739 (disseminated intravascular coagulation)
 8,673 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Release of toxins in the organism trigger a cascade of biological and chemical events. The process involves a large number of molecules produced under genetic control in a perfectly regulated chronological order. Certain molecules (TNFx, IL-1, Il-2.) have inflammatory proprieties, generally producing systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS). Other less numerous molecules (IL-4, IL-10) have antiinflammatory actions. Finally, soluble receptors and these cytokines contribute to the decrease in the quantity of active cytokines at the receptor level. Dozens of other molecules, many of which remain to be fully understood, are also found in the blood stream. They can, for example, facilitate white cell adhesion (ICAM, VCAM, selectins.). Some of them (G-CSF. CM-CSF. IL-5) stimulate production of granulocytes, monocytes, eosinophils. More recently, certain peptides, like macrophage inhibiting factor (MIF) and procalcitonin (PCT) have been added to the list of molecules involved in bacterial infections. Coagulation factors are also very rapidly released in response to toxinic aggression triggering disseminated intravascular coagulation. Later, acute-hase inflammation proteins, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, etc. are found in largely increased quantities. All these molecules are potential markers of inflammation. Only a few have however been retained for routine assay due to their fragility and their short-half life or due to analytical difficulties. CRP and PCT can however be used to differentiate viral infections from bacterial infections and are thus routinely used in clinical applications. In the second part of this review, we briefly discuss therapeutic perspectives for severe infections and septic shock. There have been many attempts to neutralize different cytokines but results have been disappointing to date. There are however many possibilities currently under study, particularly neutralization of endotoxins, immunomodulation, use of recombinant C and S proteins, etc.
 ...
PMID:[Inflammatory cascade response to toxin release: therapeutic perspectives]. 1142 20

In chronic schistosomiasis, liver fibrosis is linked to portal hypertension, which is a condition associated with high mortality and morbidity. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was originally described as a nuclear protein that functions as a structural co-factor in transcriptional regulation. However, HMGB1 can also be secreted into the extracellular milieu under appropriate signal stimulation. Extracellular HMGB1 acts as a multifunctional cytokine that contributes to infection, injury, inflammation, and immune responses by binding to specific cell-surface receptors. HMGB1 is involved in fibrotic diseases. From a clinical perspective, HMGB1 inhibition may represent a promising therapeutic approach for treating tissue fibrosis. In this study, we demonstrate elevated levels of HMGB1 in the sera in experimental mice or in patients with schistosomiasis. Using immunohistochemistry, we demonstrated that HMGB1 trafficking in the hepatocytes of mice suffering from acute schistosomiasis was inhibited by Glycyrrhizin, a well-known HMGB1 direct inhibitor, as well as by DIC, a novel and potential anti-HMGB1 compound. HMGB1 inhibition led to significant downregulation of IL-6, IL4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17A, which are involved in the exacerbation of the immune response and liver fibrogenesis. Importantly, infected mice that were treated with DIC or GZR to inhibit HMGB1 pro-inflammatory activity showed a significant increase in survival and a reduction of over 50% in the area of liver fibrosis. Taken together, our findings indicate that HMGB1 is a key mediator of schistosomotic granuloma formation and liver fibrosis and may represent an outstanding target for the treatment of schistosomiasis.
 ...
PMID:Emerging Role of HMGB1 in the Pathogenesis of Schistosomiasis Liver Fibrosis. 3025 38