1,721,110 research outputs found
Biomarkers in sarcoidosis: The contribution of system biology
No full textPurpose of review System biology is an interdisciplinary approach with the purpose to evaluate the experimental results of '-omics' sciences as a whole. The '-omics' sciences do not start generally from a-priori assumptions and are aimed to study the constituents of a specific biological domain (genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome) in a given state, using different high-throughput technologies (as polymerase chain reaction, arrays, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, etc.) and allowing a hermeneutical integration and recomposition of the experimental information. The aim of the present review is to explore the main new findings of system biology studies applied to sarcoidosis in the last year. Recent findings The main new findings of sarcoidosis that were highlighted by different studies in the last year (including miRNAs, TGF-b pathway, TNF-a and related proteins, vesicle trafficking, vitamin D and lipid metabolism, analyzed by system biology) are presented in this article. Summary System biology is a useful approach to combine different experimental results to study the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and to identify groups of new molecules and mediators with potential clinical application as biomarkers
The spectrum of human tuberculosis
No full textAbstract
Clinical, morphological and immunological studies of human tuberculosis have enabled the spectrum of the disease to be determined. We have investigated the cell-mediated immune responses by means of skin tests and leucocyte migration inhibition to PPD, and the humoral immune responses by means of immunodiffusion and haemagglutination tests. Patients with tuberculosis can be classified into two polar groups--reactive (RR) and unreactive (UU), the former showing good cell-mediated immunity and little or no antibody formation and the latter poor cellular responses and exuberant antibody production. The intermediate forms show characteristics of the neighbouring polar groups. The existence of a spectrum of immune response in tuberculosis, which has long been suspected, is now demonstrated.
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC154078
Cytokine modulators in the treatment of sarcoidosis
No full textSarcoidosis is a granulomatous lung disease in which several cytokines play a pivotal pathogenetic role. Steroid-resistant disease can be treated with immunosuppressive drugs, antimalarial therapies and recently with anti-TNFα agents. The use of biological agents for the treatment of sarcoidosis springs from research into the pathogenesis of the disease and also from the experience of rheumatologists with other chronic inflammatory diseases. Rituximab, golimumab and ustekinumab are cytokine modulators, useful in the treatment of immunoinflammatory disorders, for which randomized trials to evaluate safety and efficacy in sarcoidosis are not yet available. Novel anticytokine drugs administered alone or in association may offer a new approach to treatment of the disease. This review focuses on recent advances in anti-TNFα agents and cytokine modulators for the treatment of sarcoidosis and their therapeutic prospects.
PMID: 21644041 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
Immunological aspects of sarcoidosis
No full textAbstract
The results are reported of an immunological study conducted on 37 cases of active sarcoidosis, in which some in vivo and in vitro tests related to the cell-mediated immunitary response were effected. The results are discussed, with relation to the clinical use of the immunological tests adopted, and their immunopathogenetic significance. In particular, the occurrence of false-positive and false-negative results in the in vitro Kveim antigen test (LMT) using the antigen preparations currently available, limit its use in clinical practice
Exhaled nitric oxide is not increased in pulmonary sarcoidosis
Full text linkFractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive biomarker of airway inflammation and nitrosative stress. Previous studies have suggested a possible role of FeNO in the management of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, but published data are discordant
Pollen grain viability in Parietaria judaica L. during the long blooming period and correlation with meteorological conditions and allergic diseases
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