To investigate its role in pulmonary infections, concentrations of interleukin-1 were measured in 22 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples from 19 children with cystic fibrosis (CF), and in 13 disease controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IL-1 beta and the D10.G4.1 proliferation assay for IL-1 activity. Significantly higher levels of IL-1 beta and IL-1 activity were found in BALF from patients with bacterial pulmonary infections than in those without such infection. There was no significant difference between the levels in patients with CF and pulmonary infections and those in children with bacterial infections complicating other diseases. High performance liquid chromatography showed that most of the IL-1 beta was associated with a molecular weight peak of 17 to 18 kD. Pulmonary inflammation reflected by the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in the sample correlated significantly with the IL-1 concentration.

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Every day we march closer to finding the cure for multiple myeloma. The myeloma cells inflict their damage through specialized cellular meshwork and cytokines system. Implicit in these interactions are cellular adhesion molecules and their regulators which include but are not limited to integrins and syndecan-1/CD138, immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecules, such as CD44, cadherins such as N-cadherin, and selectins, such as E-selectin. Several adhesion molecules are respectively involved in myelomagenesis such as in the transition from the precursor disorder monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to indolent asymptomatic multiple myeloma (smoldering myeloma) then to active multiple myeloma or primary plasma cell leukemia, and in the pathological manifestations of multiple myeloma.

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The lung is home to a dynamic microbial population crucial to modulating immune balance. Interest in the role of the lung microbiota in disease pathogenesis and treatment has exponentially increased. In lung cancer, early studies suggested an important role of dysbiosis in tumor initiation and progression. These results have helped accelerate research into the lung microbiota as a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target. Microbiota signatures could represent diagnostic biomarkers of early-stage disease. Lung microbiota research is in its infancy with a limited number of studies and only single-center studies with a significant methodological variation. Large, multicenter longitudinal studies are needed to establish the clinical potential of this exciting field.