TY - JOUR A1 - Kleefeldt, Florian A1 - Bömmel, Heike A1 - Broede, Britta A1 - Thomsen, Michael A1 - Pfeiffer, Verena A1 - Wörsdörfer, Philipp A1 - Karnati, Srikanth A1 - Wagner, Nicole A1 - Rueckschloss, Uwe A1 - Ergün, Süleyman T1 - Aging‐related carcinoembryonic antigen‐related cell adhesion molecule 1 signaling promotes vascular dysfunction JF - Aging Cell N2 - Aging is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and therefore of particular interest for the prevention of cardiovascular events. However, the mechanisms underlying vascular aging are not well understood. Since carcinoembryonic antigen‐related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is crucially involved in vascular homeostasis, we sought to identify the role of CEACAM1 in vascular aging. Using human internal thoracic artery and murine aorta, we show that CEACAM1 is upregulated in the course of vascular aging. Further analyses demonstrated that TNF‐α is CEACAM1‐dependently upregulated in the aging vasculature. Vice versa, TNF‐α induces CEACAM1 expression. This results in a feed‐forward loop in the aging vasculature that maintains a chronic pro‐inflammatory milieu. Furthermore, we demonstrate that age‐associated vascular alterations, that is, increased oxidative stress and vascular fibrosis, due to increased medial collagen deposition crucially depend on the presence of CEACAM1. Additionally, age‐dependent upregulation of vascular CEACAM1 expression contributes to endothelial barrier impairment, putatively via increased VEGF/VEGFR‐2 signaling. Consequently, aging‐related upregulation of vascular CEACAM1 expression results in endothelial dysfunction that may promote atherosclerotic plaque formation in the presence of additional risk factors. Our data suggest that CEACAM1 might represent an attractive target in order to delay physiological aging and therefore the transition to vascular disorders such as atherosclerosis. KW - aging KW - anti‐aging KW - cytokines KW - inflammation KW - mouse KW - reactive oxygen species Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201231 VL - 2019 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Glaser, Kirsten A1 - Gradzka-Luczewska, Anna A1 - Szymankiewicz-Breborowicz, Marta A1 - Kawczynska-Leda, Natalia A1 - Henrich, Birgit A1 - Waaga-Gasser, Ana Maria A1 - Speer, Christian P. T1 - Perinatal ureaplasma exposure is associated with increased risk of late onset sepsis and imbalanced inflammation in preterm infants and may add to lung injury JF - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology N2 - Background: Controversy remains concerning the impact of Ureaplasma on preterm neonatal morbidity. Methods: Prospective single-center study in very low birth weight infants <30 weeks' gestation. Cord blood and initial nasopharyngeal swabs were screened for Ureaplasma parvum and U. urealyticum using culture technique and polymerase chain reaction. Neonatal outcomes were followed until death or discharge. Multi-analyte immunoassay provided cord blood levels of inflammatory markers. Using multivariate regression analyses, perinatal Ureaplasma exposure was evaluated as risk factor for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), other neonatal morbidities until discharge and systemic inflammation at admission. Results: 40/103 (39%) infants were positive for Ureaplasma in one or both specimens, with U. parvum being the predominant species. While exposure to Ureaplasma alone was not associated with BPD, we found an increased risk of BPD in Ureaplasma-positive infants ventilated ≥5 days (OR 1.64; 95% CI 0.12–22.98; p = 0.009). Presence of Ureaplasma was associated with a 7-fold risk of late onset sepsis (LOS) (95% CI 1.80–27.39; p = 0.014). Moreover, Ureaplasma-positive infants had higher I/T ratios (b 0.39; 95% CI 0.08–0.71; p = 0.014), increased levels of interleukin (IL)-17 (b 0.16; 95% CI 0.02–0.30; p = 0.025) and matrix metalloproteinase 8 (b 0.77; 95% CI 0.10–1.44; p = 0.020), decreased levels of IL-10 (b −0.77; 95% CI −1.58 to −0.01; p = 0.043) and increased ratios of Tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-8, and IL-17 to anti-inflammatory IL-10 (p = 0.003, p = 0.012, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Positive Ureaplasma screening was not associated with BPD. However, exposure contributed to BPD in infants ventilated ≥5 days and conferred an increased risk of LOS and imbalanced inflammatory cytokine responses. KW - Ureaplasma parvum KW - Ureaplasma urealyticum KW - preterm infants KW - VLBW KW - bronchopulmonary dysplasia KW - late onset sepsis KW - neonatal outcome KW - inflammation Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201270 VL - 9 IS - 68 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muenstermann, Marcel A1 - Strobel, Lea A1 - Klos, Andreas A1 - Wetsel, Rick A. A1 - Woodruff, Trent M. A1 - Köhl, Jörg A1 - Johswich, Kay O. T1 - Distinct roles of the anaphylatoxin receptors C3aR, C5aR1 and C5aR2 in experimental meningococcal infections JF - Virulence N2 - The complement system is pivotal in the defense against invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis (Nme, meningococcus), particularly via the membrane attack complex. Complement activation liberates the anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a, which activate three distinct G-protein coupled receptors, C3aR, C5aR1 and C5aR2 (anaphylatoxin receptors, ATRs). We recently discovered that C5aR1 exacerbates the course of the disease, revealing a downside of complement in Nme sepsis. Here, we compared the roles of all three ATRs during mouse nasal colonization, intraperitoneal infection and human whole blood infection with Nme. Deficiency of complement or ATRs did not alter nasal colonization, but significantly affected invasive disease: Compared to WT mice, the disease was aggravated in C3ar\(^{-/-}\) mice, whereas C5ar1\(^{-/-}\) and C5ar2\(^{-/-}\) mice showed increased resistance to meningococcal sepsis. Surprisingly, deletion of either of the ATRs resulted in lower cytokine/chemokine responses, irrespective of the different susceptibilities of the mice. This was similar in ex vivo human whole blood infection using ATR inhibitors. Neutrophil responses to Nme were reduced in C5ar1\(^{-/-}\) mouse blood. Upon stimulation with C5a plus Nme, mouse macrophages displayed reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, when C5aR1 or C5aR2 were ablated or inhibited, suggesting that both C5a-receptors prime an initial macrophage response to Nme. Finally, in vivo blockade of C5aR1 alone (PMX205) or along with C5aR2 (A8\(^{Δ71−73}\)) resulted in ameliorated disease, whereas neither antagonizing C3aR (SB290157) nor its activation with a “super-agonist” peptide (WWGKKYRASKLGLAR) demonstrated a benefit. Thus, C5aR1 and C5aR2 augment disease pathology and are interesting targets for treatment, whereas C3aR is protective in experimental meningococcal sepsis. KW - inflammation KW - C3a KW - C5a KW - C3aR KW - C5aR1 KW - C5aR2 KW - meningococcal disease KW - sepsis Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200496 VL - 10 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rapa, Shara Francesca A1 - Di Iorio, Biagio Raffaele A1 - Campiglia, Pietro A1 - Heidland, August A1 - Marzocco, Stefania T1 - Inflammation and oxidative stress in chronic kidney disease — Potential therapeutic role of minerals, vitamins and plant-derived metabolites JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a debilitating pathology with various causal factors, culminating in end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. The progression of CKD is closely associated with systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, which are responsible for the manifestation of numerous complications such as malnutrition, atherosclerosis, coronary artery calcification, heart failure, anemia and mineral and bone disorders, as well as enhanced cardiovascular mortality. In addition to conventional therapy with anti-inflammatory and antioxidative agents, growing evidence has indicated that certain minerals, vitamins and plant-derived metabolites exhibit beneficial effects in these disturbances. In the current work, we review the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of various agents which could be of potential benefit in CKD/ESRD. However, the related studies were limited due to small sample sizes and short-term follow-up in many trials. Therefore, studies of several anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents with long-term follow-ups are necessary. KW - chronic kidney disease (CKD) KW - inflammation KW - oxidative stress KW - uremic toxins KW - minerals KW - vitamins KW - plant-derived metabolites Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284998 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 21 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheurer, Mario Joachim Johannes A1 - Brands, Roman Camillus A1 - El-Mesery, Mohamed A1 - Hartmann, Stefan A1 - Müller-Richter, Urs Dietmar Achim A1 - Kübler, Alexander Christian A1 - Seher, Axel T1 - The selection of NFκB inhibitors to block inflammation and induce sensitisation to FasL-induced apoptosis in HNSCC cell lines is critical for their use as a prospective cancer therapy JF - International Journal of Molecular Science N2 - Inflammation is a central aspect of tumour biology and can contribute significantly to both the origination and progression of tumours. The NFκB pathway is one of the most important signal transduction pathways in inflammation and is, therefore, an excellent target for cancer therapy. In this work, we examined the influence of four NFκB inhibitors — Cortisol, MLN4924, QNZ and TPCA1 — on proliferation, inflammation and sensitisation to apoptosis mediated by the death ligand FasL in the HNSCC cell lines PCI1, PCI9, PCI13, PCI52 and SCC25 and in the human dermal keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. We found that the selection of the inhibitor is critical to ensure that cells do not respond by inducing counteracting activities in the context of cancer therapy, e.g., the extreme IL-8 induction mediated by MLN4924 or FasL resistance mediated by Cortisol. However, TPCA1 was qualified by this in vitro study as an excellent therapeutic mediator in HNSCC by four positive qualities: (1) proliferation was inhibited at low μM-range concentrations; (2) TNFα-induced IL-8 secretion was blocked; (3) HNSCC cells were sensitized to TNFα-induced cell death; and (4) FasL-mediated apoptosis was not disrupted. KW - HNSCC KW - NFκB KW - inhibitor KW - TPCA1 KW - apoptosis KW - inflammation KW - TNFα KW - FasL Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201524 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 20 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahn, Daniel A1 - Dorbath, Donata A1 - Kircher, Stefan A1 - Nier, Anika A1 - Bergheim, Ina A1 - Lenaerts, Kaatje A1 - Hermanns, Heike M. A1 - Geier, Andreas T1 - Beneficial effects of vitamin D treatment in an obese mouse model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis JF - Nutrients N2 - Serum vitamin D levels negatively correlate with obesity and associated disorders such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the mechanisms linking low vitamin D (VD) status to disease progression are not completely understood. In this study, we analyzed the effect of VD treatment on NASH in mice. C57BL6/J mice were fed a high-fat/high-sugar diet (HFSD) containing low amounts of VD for 16 weeks to induce obesity, NASH and liver fibrosis. The effects of preventive and interventional VD treatment were studied on the level of liver histology and hepatic/intestinal gene expression. Interestingly, preventive and to a lesser extent also interventional VD treatment resulted in improvements of liver histology. This included a significant decrease of steatosis, a trend towards lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score and a slight non-significant decrease of fibrosis in the preventive treatment group. In line with these changes, preventive VD treatment reduced the hepatic expression of lipogenic, inflammatory and pro-fibrotic genes. Notably, these beneficial effects occurred in conjunction with a reduction of intestinal inflammation. Together, our observations suggest that timely initiation of VD supplementation (preventive vs. interventional) is a critical determinant of treatment outcome in NASH. In the applied animal model, the improvements of liver histology occurred in conjunction with reduced inflammation in the gut, suggesting a potential relevance of vitamin D as a therapeutic agent acting on the gut–liver axis. KW - vitamin D KW - obesity KW - NAFLD KW - NASH KW - inflammation KW - intestine KW - gut–liver axis Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177222 VL - 11 IS - 1 ER -