Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015695 (fatty liver)
 13,941 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Although obesity-related fatty livers are vulnerable to damage from endotoxin, the mechanisms involved remain obscure. The purpose of this study was to determine if immunologic priming might be involved by determining if fatty livers resemble normal livers that have been sensitized to endotoxin damage by Propionibacterium acnes infection. The latter induces interleukin (IL)-12 and -18, causing a selective reduction of CD4+NK T cells, diminished IL-4 production, deficient production of T-helper type 2 (Th-2) cytokines (e.g., IL-10), and excessive production of Th-1 cytokines (e.g., interferon gamma [IFN-gamma]). Liver and spleen lymphocyte populations and hepatic cytokine production were compared in genetically obese, ob/ob mice (a model for obesity-related fatty liver) and lean mice. Obese mice have a selective reduction of hepatic CD4+NK T cells. Serum IL-18 is also increased basally, and the hepatic mRNA levels of IL-18 and -12 are greater after endotoxin challenge. Thus, up-regulation of IL-18 and IL-12 in fatty livers may reduce hepatic CD4+NK T cells. In addition, mononuclear cells from fatty livers have decreased expression of the adhesion molecule, leukocyte factor antigen-1 (LFA-1), which is necessary for the hepatic accumulation of CD4+NK T cells. Consistent with reduced numbers of hepatic CD4+NK T cells, mononuclear cells from fatty livers produce less IL-4. Furthermore, after endotoxin treatment, hepatic induction of IL-10 is inhibited, while that of IFN-gamma is enhanced. Thus, fatty livers have inherent immunologic alterations that may predispose them to damage from endotoxin and other insults that induce a proinflammatory cytokine response.
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PMID:Altered hepatic lymphocyte subpopulations in obesity-related murine fatty livers: potential mechanism for sensitization to liver damage. 1070 53

IL-18 is a new type of inflammatory cytokine similar to but distinct from IL-12 and IL-1beta. One intriguing property of IL-18 is synergism with IL-12 in many respects. In this study we examined the in vivo synergistic effects of IL-18/IL-12 in mice and found lethal toxicity accompanying an elevated IFN-gamma level in the serum. Since treatment with IL-18 alone did not have any apparent toxicity, and treatment with IL-12 alone showed only limited toxicity in our system, the synergy between the two cytokines was all the more remarkable. The major symptoms of the toxicity were weight loss, diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, splenomegaly, fatty liver, and atrophic thymus, most of which are similarly found in endotoxin-induced septic shock. However, in contrast to septic shock, TNF-alpha was not induced. The involvement of IFN-gamma in the toxicity was further studied in detail. Treatment of athymic nude mice with anti-asialo-GM1 did not reduce the toxicity, whereas anti-IFN-gamma treatment of wild-type mice alleviated it. When IFN-gamma-deficient mice were treated with IL-18/IL-12, the majority of them showed mortality and toxicity with severe pulmonary edema. These results indicate that IL-18/IL-12 treatment induces severe adverse effects through not only IFN-gamma-dependent mechanisms but also IFN-gamma-independent processes.
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PMID:IFN-gamma-dependent and -independent mechanisms in adverse effects caused by concomitant administration of IL-18 and IL-12. 1070 27

Brown Norway (BN) and BN Katholiek (BN/Ka) rat strains are both susceptible to develop lesions in the internal elastic lamina (IEL) of the aorta. BN/Ka rats are characterized by a single point mutation in the kininogen gene leading to deficiency in high- and low-molecular-weight kininogen. Recently, a suggestive quantitative trait locus for lesions in the IEL of the abdominal aorta was identified in an F2 intercross between Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) and BN rats, implicating kininogen as a positional candidate gene. Therefore, BN and BN/Ka rat strains represent ideal model organisms with which to study the contribution of kininogen to the genetic predisposition to IEL lesion formation and to characterize the early events underlying vascular remodeling. Here we present data demonstrating that genetic kininogen deficiency promotes the formation of aneurysms in the abdominal aorta but not the development of atherosclerosis upon 12-wk treatment with an atherogenic diet. Aneurysm formation was associated with an enhanced elastolysis, increased expression of MMP-2 and MMP-3, downregulation of TIMP-4, and with FasL- and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis. Kininogen-deficient animals also featured changes in plasma cytokines compatible with apoptotic vascular damage, i.e., upregulation of IFN-gamma and downregulation of GM-CSF and IL-1beta. Finally, in response to atherogenic diet, kininogen-deficient animals developed an increase in HDL/total cholesterol index, pronounced fatty liver and heart degeneration, and lipid depositions in aortic media without atherosclerotic plaque formation. These findings suggest that genetic kininogen deficiency renders vascular tissue prone to aneurysmatic but not to atherosclerotic lesions.
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PMID:Genetic kininogen deficiency contributes to aortic aneurysm formation but not to atherosclerosis. 1523 17

There is increasing evidence that the adipose tissue and immunologic processes are closely linked. The most abundant protein within the adipocyte is adiponectin. Our current work reports that adiponectin has potent immuno-suppressive properties, as it induces the production of the anti-inflammatory mediators IL-10 and IL-1RA in primary human monocytes, monocyte-derived macrophages, and dendritic cells. In addition, adiponectin significantly impaired the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-gamma in human macrophages. Moreover, adiponectin-treated macrophages exhibit a reduced phagocytotic and allo-stimulatory capacity. However, we could not detect any functional deficits or phenotypic changes in adiponectin-treated monocytes and monocyte-derived DC. In summary, the presented data support the idea that adiponectin might be of critical relevance for cytokine regulation in obesity and fatty liver diseases affecting primarily macrophage functions. This might represent a fundamental link between over-nutrition and an impaired inflammatory immune response.
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PMID:Adiponectin induces the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-1RA in human leukocytes. 1536 97

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, but it still remains unknown whether saturated or unsaturated fatty acid affects IL-10 production in hepatocytes that contribute to lipid metabolism. Primary rat hepatocyte cultures were treated with different fatty acids (18:0 stearic acid, 18:1 oleic acid; 18:2 linoleic acid, 18:3 linolenic acid) at 300 microM for 24 hours. The concentrations of IL-2, IL-10, GM-CSF and IFN-gamma in the medium were detected by multiplex cytokine array. IL-10 was significantly increased with treatment of stearic acid and oleic acid. Production of IL-10 by saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in hepatocytes may be one of the reasons why the lard oil had less inflammation in the hepatic steatosis animal models.
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PMID:Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids increase interleukin-10 production in rat hepatocytes. 1744 68

We have previously established a correlation between reduced mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1 (GPAT-1) activity and decreased proliferation in splenic T-lymphocytes from aged rats. To better understand the immunoregulatory role of GPAT-1, we examined T-lymphocyte function in young GPAT-1 knockout (KO) mice. We show that without GPAT-1, T-lymphocyte proliferation is inhibited and activation induced apoptosis is increased. Th-1 (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) cytokine secretion is reduced, and Th-2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine secretion is increased. These changes may be due to alterations in membrane lipid composition since we found changes in the relative content of individual phospholipid species. Furthermore, we show increased arachidonate content and subsequent increased prostaglandin E(2) secretion, which may inhibit T-lymphocyte proliferation. Taken together, we show a novel link between GPAT-1 and changes in T-lymphocyte function. These data have broad health implications because GPAT-1 suppression has recently been implicated as a new target for preventing insulin sensitivity and hepatic steatosis and we show that immune function may also be affected. Interestingly, the changes in young GPAT-1 KO splenic T-lymphocytes are similar to defects commonly seen in T-lymphocytes from aged rodents, which further underscores the significance of GPAT-1 in T-lymphocyte function.
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PMID:Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1 regulates murine T-lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production. 1897 90

Hepatitis, a common human disease, may be followed by severe liver injury, eventually leading to fatty liver, liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. CD8 T cells are a double-edged sword in the response to infection with the hepatitis virus. On one hand, rapid activation of CD8 T cells is critically important for the elimination of the virus. On the other hand, in persistent viral infection, the activation of CD8 T cells substantially contributes to liver injury. The clinical course of hepatitis, thus, critically depends on mechanisms regulating the activity of CD8 T cells. In observations in human hepatitis and in mice infected with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, the clinical course of hepatitis is modified by several immunological factors including neutralizing antibodies: RIG-I, TLRs, MyD88, interferon type I, TNF-alpha, MHC I, Tap, TCR, CD8, IL-2, IL-7, PD-1, IFN-I, IL-10, IFN-gamma, perforins, serotonin and iNOS (table 1) . Additional experimental effort is needed to understand the concerted interplay of those molecules in viral hepatitis of man and mice.
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PMID:Host mechanisms in viral hepatitis. 2046 Aug 87