Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P43026 (lipopolysaccharide)
 62,215 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Inflammatory bladder disorders such as interstitial cystitis (IC) deserve attention since a major problem of the disease is diagnosis. IC affects millions of women and is characterized by severe pain, increased frequency of micturition, and chronic inflammation. Characterizing the molecular fingerprint (gene profile) of IC will help elucidate the mechanisms involved and suggest further approaches for therapeutic intervention. Therefore, in the present study we used established animal models of cystitis to determine the time course of bladder inflammatory responses to antigen, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and substance P (SP) by morphological analysis and cDNA microarrays. The specific aim of the present study was to compare bladder inflammatory responses to antigen, LPS, and SP by morphological analysis and cDNA microarray profiling to determine whether bladder responses to inflammation elicit a specific universal gene expression response regardless of the stimulating agent. During acute bladder inflammation, there was a predominant infiltrate of polymorphonuclear neutrophils into the bladder. Time-course studies identified early, intermediate, and late genes that were commonly up-regulated by all three stimuli. These genes included: phosphodiesterase 1C, cAMP-dependent protein kinase, iNOS, beta-NGF, proenkephalin B and orphanin, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) R, estrogen R, PAI2, and protease inhibitor 17, NFkB p105, c-fos, fos-B, basic transcription factors, and cytoskeleton and motility proteins. Another cluster indicated genes that were commonly down-regulated by all three stimuli and included HSF2, NF-kappa B p65, ICE, IGF-II and FGF-7, MMP2, MMP14, and presenilin 2. Furthermore, we determined gene profiles that identify the transition between acute and chronic inflammation. During chronic inflammation, the urinary bladder presented a predominance of monocyte/macrophage infiltrate and a concomitant increase in the expression of the following genes: 5-HT 1c, 5-HTR7, beta 2 adrenergic receptor, c-Fgr, collagen 10 alpha 1, mast cell factor, melanocyte-specific gene 2, neural cell adhesion molecule 2, potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, prostaglandin F receptor, and RXR-beta cis-11-retinoic acid receptor. We conclude that microarray analysis of genes expressed in the bladder during experimental inflammation may be predictive of outcome. Further characterization of the inflammation-induced gene expression profiles obtained here may identify novel biomarkers and shed light into the etiology of cystitis.
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PMID:Gene expression profiling of mouse bladder inflammatory responses to LPS, substance P, and antigen-stimulation. 1205 14

An inflammatory response is instrumental in the physiological process of parturition but the upstream signals initiating inflammation are undefined. Because endogenous ligands for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) are released in late gestation, we hypothesized that on-time labor requires TLR4 signaling, to trigger a cytokine and leukocyte response and accelerate the parturition cascade. In pregnant TLR4-deficient (Tlr4-/-) mice, average gestation length was extended by 13 hours and increased perinatal mortality was seen compared with wild-type controls. Quantification of cytokine and uterine activation gene expression showed that late gestation induction of Il1b, Il6, Il12b, and Tnf expression seen in control placenta and fetal membranes was disrupted in Tlr4-/- mice, and accompanied by a transient delay in expression of uterine activation genes, including prostaglandin F receptor, oxytocin receptor, and connexin-43. Leukocyte populations were altered before birth in TLR4-deficient females, with fewer neutrophils and macrophages in the placenta, and fewer dendritic cells and more regulatory T cells in the myometrium. Administration of TLR4 ligand lipopolysaccharide to pregnant wild-type mice induced cytokine expression and fetal loss, whereas Tlr4-/- pregnancies were protected. The small molecule TLR4 antagonist (+)-naloxone increased mean duration of gestation by 16 hours in wild-type mice. Collectively, these data demonstrate that TLR4 is a key upstream regulator of the inflammatory response acting to drive uterine activation and control the timing of labor. Because causal pathways for term and preterm labor converge with TLR4, interventions to manipulate TLR4 signaling may have therapeutic utility for women at risk of preterm labor, or in postterm pregnancy.
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PMID:Toll-Like Receptor 4 Is an Essential Upstream Regulator of On-Time Parturition and Perinatal Viability in Mice. 2615 55