Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0030552 (paresis)
 5,831 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cytokine production by T cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and central nervous system (CNS) of SJL/J mice during myelin basic protein (MBP)-induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was examined. Reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) was used to measure interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) mRNA levels from perfused CNS tissue (brain and spinal cord) and from cells isolated from CSF. Animals were grouped according to EAE severity, ranging from asymptomatic (adjuvant only) to severe disease (paralysis or severe paresis). Cytokine signals, normalized to actin, were almost undetectable in control tissues, and only slightly elevated in whole CNS tissue from animals with mild EAE. Both cytokine messages were strongly upregulated in CNS tissues derived from severely affected animals, consistent with previous observations correlating disease progression with infiltration by memory/effector CD4+ T cells, the major source of these cytokines. This cytokine upregulation was specific to the CNS, since other organs from the same animals did not express significant levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma. CSF was obtained from the cisterna magna of unperfused mice and verified as such by absence of red blood cells (RBCs) and by immunoglobulin concentration orders of magnitude lower than in serum. Cytokine message was measured in RNA isolated from cells in CSF. Levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma mRNA in CSF cells were significantly elevated in mild EAE and strongly upregulated in severe disease, correlating with those in total CNS tissue. These results confirm the CSF as representative of the immune status of the CNS and indicate a role for IL-2 and IFN-gamma in inflammatory CNS disease.
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PMID:Cytokine production by cells in cerebrospinal fluid during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in SJL/J mice. 829 48

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) can stimulate growth of gastrointestinal epithelial cells in vitro; however, the physiological role of HGF/SF in the digestive tract is poorly understood. To elucidate this in vivo function, mice were analyzed in which an HGF/SF transgene was overexpressed throughout the digestive tract. Nearly a third of all HGF/SF transgenic mice in this study (28 of 87) died by 6 months of age as a result of sporadic intestinal obstruction of unknown etiology. Enteric ganglia were not overtly affected, indicating that the pathogenesis of this intestinal lesion was different from that operating in Hirschsprung's disease. Transgenic mice also exhibited a rectal inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with a high incidence of anorectal prolapse. Expression of interleukin-2 was decreased in the transgenic colon, indicating that HGF/SF may influence regulation of the local intestinal immune system within the colon. These results suggest that HGF/SF plays an important role in the development of gastrointestinal paresis and chronic intestinal inflammation. HGF/SF transgenic mice may represent a useful model for the study of molecular mechanisms associated with a subset of IBD and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Moreover, our data identify previously unappreciated side effects that may be encountered when using HGF/SF as a therapeutic agent.
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PMID:Ulcerative proctitis, rectal prolapse, and intestinal pseudo-obstruction in transgenic mice overexpressing hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor. 1131 Aug 23