Burkholderia cenocepacia is an opportunistic pathogen that causes chronic infection and induces progressive respiratory inflammation in cystic fibrosis patients. Recognition of bacteria by mononuclear cells generally results in the activation of caspase-1 and processing of IL-1β, a major proinflammatory cytokine. In this study, we report that human pyrin is required to detect intracellular B. cenocepacia leading to IL-1β processing and release. This inflammatory response involves the host adapter molecule ASC and the bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS). Human monocytes and THP-1 cells stably expressing either small interfering RNA against pyrin or YFP–pyrin and ASC (YFP–ASC) were infected with B. cenocepacia and analyzed for inflammasome activation. B. cenocepacia efficiently activates the inflammasome and IL-1β release in monocytes and THP-1. Suppression of pyrin levels in monocytes and THP-1 cells reduced caspase-1 activation and IL-1β release in response to B. cenocepacia challenge. In contrast, overexpression of pyrin or ASC induced a robust IL-1β response to B. cenocepacia, which correlated with enhanced host cell death. Inflammasome activation was significantly reduced in cells infected with T6SS-defective mutants of B. cenocepacia, suggesting that the inflammatory reaction is likely induced by an as yet uncharacterized effector(s) of the T6SS. Together, we show for the first time, to our knowledge, that in human mononuclear cells infected with B. cenocepacia, pyrin associates with caspase-1 and ASC forming an inflammasome that upregulates mononuclear cell IL-1β processing and release.

Although inhaled glucocorticoids, or corticosteroids (ICS), are generally effective in asthma, understanding their anti‐inflammatory actions in vivo remains incomplete. To characterize glucocorticoid‐induced modulation of gene expression in the human airways, we performed a randomized placebo‐controlled crossover study in healthy male volunteers. Six hours after placebo or budesonide inhalation, whole blood, bronchial brushings, and endobronchial biopsies were collected. Microarray analysis of biopsy RNA, using stringent (≥2‐fold, 5% false discovery rate) or less stringent (≥1.25‐fold, P ≤ 0.05) criteria, identified 46 and 588 budesonide‐induced genes, respectively. Approximately two third of these genes are transcriptional regulators (KLF9, PER1, TSC22D3, ZBTB16), receptors (CD163, CNR1, CXCR4, LIFR, TLR2), or signaling genes (DUSP1, NFKBIA, RGS1, RGS2, ZFP36). Listed genes were qPCR verified. Expression of anti‐inflammatory and other potentially beneficial genes is therefore confirmed and consistent with gene ontology (GO) terms for negative regulation of transcription and gene expression. However, GO terms for transcription, signaling, metabolism, proliferation, inflammatory responses, and cell movement were also associated with the budesonide‐induced genes. The most enriched functional cluster indicates positive regulation of proliferation, locomotion, movement, and migration. Moreover, comparison with the budesonide‐induced expression profile in primary human airway epithelial cells shows considerable cell type specificity. In conclusion, increased expression of multiple genes, including the transcriptional repressor, ZBTB16, that reduce inflammatory signaling and gene expression, occurs in the airways and blood and may contribute to the therapeutic efficacy of ICS. This provides a previously lacking insight into the in vivo effects of ICS and should promote strategies to improve glucocorticoid efficacy in inflammatory diseases.

The apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (Asc) is an adaptor molecule that mediates inflammatory and apoptotic signals. Legionella pneumophila is an intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of Legionnaire's pneumonia. L. pneumophila is able to cause pneumonia in immuno-compromised humans but not in most inbred mice. Murine macrophages that lack the ability to activate caspase-1, such as caspase-1−/− and Nlrc4−/− allow L. pneumophila infection. This permissiveness is attributed mainly to the lack of active caspase-1 and the absence of its down stream substrates such as caspase-7. However, the role of Asc in control of L. pneumophila infection in mice is unclear. Here we show that caspase-1 is moderately activated in Asc−/− macrophages and that this limited activation is required and sufficient to restrict L. pneumophila growth. Moreover, Asc-independent activation of caspase-1 requires bacterial flagellin and is mainly detected in cellular extracts but not in culture supernatants. We also demonstrate that the depletion of Asc from permissive macrophages enhances bacterial growth by promoting L. pneumophila-mediated activation of the NF-κB pathway and decreasing caspase-3 activation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that L. pneumophila infection in murine macrophages is controlled by several mechanisms: Asc-independent activation of caspase-1 and Asc-dependent regulation of NF-κB and caspase-3 activation.

The contribution of gene expression changes to the adverse and therapeutic effects of -adrenoceptor agonists in asthma was investigated using human airway epithelial cells as a therapeutically relevant target. Operational model-fitting established that the long-acting-adrenoceptor agonists (LABA) indacaterol, salmeterol, formoterol, and picumeterol were full agonists on BEAS-2B cells transfected with a cAMP-response element reporter but differed in efficacy (indacaterol ≥ formoterol > salmeterol ≥ picumeterol). The transcriptomic signature of indacaterol in BEAS-2B cells identified 180, 368, 252, and 10 genes that were differentially expressed (>1.5- to <0.67-fold) after 1-, 2-, 6-, and 18-hour of exposure, respectively. Many upregulated genes (e.g., ,, ,, ,, ,) encode proteins with proinflammatory activity and are annotated by several, enriched gene ontology (GO) terms, including ,, and The general enriched GO term was also associated with indacaterol-induced genes, and many of those, including ,, and have putative anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and/or antiviral activity. Numerous indacaterol-regulated genes were also induced or repressed in BEAS-2B cells and human primary bronchial epithelial cells by the low efficacy LABA salmeterol, indicating that this genomic effect was neither unique to indacaterol nor restricted to the BEAS-2B airway epithelial cell line. Collectively, these data suggest that the consequences of inhaling a -adrenoceptor agonist may be complex and involve widespread changes in gene expression. We propose that this genomic effect represents a generally unappreciated mechanism that may contribute to the adverse and therapeutic actions of-adrenoceptor agonists in asthma.

The results showed that post-MI exposure of rats to daily cycles of hyperoxygenation (oxygen cycling) improved stem cell engraftment, cardiac function, and increased NOS3 expression.

Trimetazidine [1-(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)piperazine; TMZ] is an anti-ischemic cardiac drug; however, its efficacy and mechanism of cardioprotection upon reperfusion are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether TMZ, given before reperfusion, could attenuate myocardial reperfusion injury. Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) was induced in rat hearts by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery for 30 min followed by 48 h of reperfusion. TMZ (5 mg/kg b.wt.) was administered 5 min before reperfusion. The study used three experimental groups: control (ϪI/R; ϪTMZ), I/R (ϩI/R; ϪTMZ), and TMZ (ϩI/R; ϩTMZ). Echocardiography and EPR oximetry were used to assess cardiac function and oxygenation, respectively. The ejection fraction, which was significantly depressed in the I/R group (62 Ϯ 5 versus 84 Ϯ 3% in control), was restored to 72 Ϯ 3% in the TMZ group. Myocardial pO 2 in the TMZ group returned to baseline levels (ϳ20 mm Hg) within 1 h of reperfusion, whereas the I/R group showed a significant hyperoxygenation even after 48 h of reperfusion. The infarct size was significantly reduced in the TMZ group (26 Ϯ 3 versus 47 Ϯ 5% in I/R). TMZ treatment significantly attenuated superoxide levels in the tissue. Tissue homogenates showed a significant increase in p38 and p-Akt and decrease in caspase-3 levels in the TMZ group. In summary, the results demonstrated that TMZ is cardioprotective when administered before reperfusion and that this protection appears to be mediated by activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt signaling. The study emphasizes the importance of administering TMZ before reflow to prevent reperfusion-mediated cardiac injury and dysfunction.Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality among both men and women in the United States, and in the world. Clinical interventions such as coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty are routinely used to reintroduction of blood flow to an ischemic region of the myocardium. Such interventions are unavoidably accompanied by an enzymatic cascade of reactions that result in damage to the myocardium, termed ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.Although the etiology of I/R injury is intricate, oxidative stress occurs due to an imbalance between free-radical production and the heart's ability to prevent the damage caused by free radicals. Numerous studies have shown that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the oxygendeprived tissue plays a crucial role in the cellular oxidative damage that happens during I/R (Zweier et al., 1989;Ambrosio et al., 1993;Griendling and FitzGerald, 2003). The generation of free radicals that occurs during I/R has been reported by several groups (Bolli et al., 1988;Zweier et al., 1989) and has revealed that ROS production peaks within the first few minutes of reperfusion. Free-radical scavengers (e.g., antioxidants) have been shown to protect the heart from oxidative damage resulting from the form...

Integrated multi-sensor systems, with their major progress in terms of sensor resolution, data rate and operational flexibility, have become a very attractive mapping tool over the last decade. In aerial mapping application, for example, Exterior Orientation (EO) parameters for the imaging sensors are required. Using the integrated Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) with Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), direct determination of the EO parameters can be obtained from the integrated system navigation solution. This process is referred to as Direct Georeferening (DG). DG provides substantial benefits over the indirect determination method of estimating the EO parameters from conventional Aerial Triangulation (AT) techniques using a block of images with a sufficient number of known control points. These benefits include the ability to map remote and inaccessible regions, and by replacing tie point measurements/matching and AT, significant cost-savings can be obtained for projects that do not require stereo models (such as projects with existing DEM or single image). The accuracy of DG, however, is limited by the accuracy attainable by the DGPS and any residual datum calibration errors. These can typically be as large as 10 cm RMSE, which is not sufficient for some large scale mapping applications. However, by combining the direct EO data a traditional block adjustment, AT techniques can be used to remove the residual errors in the solution. This technique is known as Integrated Sensor Orientation (ISO). It has several advantages over traditional AT, primarily because the stable geometry provided by direct EO can reduce the number of required GCP and tie-point to a minimum. At the same time, ISO provides an excellent tool for Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) of the EO derived from a DG system. This paper examines the factors that determine the system performance for ISO. In addition, examples are given to illustrate the expected accuracy of an aerial mapping project using ISO under different qualities of DGPS/IMU data.

BackgroundGlucocorticoids act on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR; NR3C1) to resolve inflammation and, as inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), are the cornerstone of treatment for asthma. However, reduced efficacy in severe disease or exacerbations indicates a need to improve ICS actions.MethodsGlucocorticoid-driven transcriptomes were compared using PrimeView microarrays between primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells and the model cell lines, pulmonary type II A549 and bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells.ResultsIn BEAS-2B cells, budesonide induced (≥2-fold, P ≤ 0.05) or, in a more delayed fashion, repressed (≤0.5-fold, P ≤ 0.05) the expression of 63, 133, 240, and 257 or 15, 56, 236, and 344 mRNAs at 1, 2, 6, and 18 h, respectively. Within the early-induced mRNAs were multiple transcriptional activators and repressors, thereby providing mechanisms for the subsequent modulation of gene expression. Using the above criteria, 17 (BCL6, BIRC3, CEBPD, ERRFI1, FBXL16, FKBP5, GADD45B, IRS2, KLF9, PDK4, PER1, RGCC, RGS2, SEC14L2, SLC16A12, TFCP2L1, TSC22D3) induced and 8 (ARL4C, FLRT2, IER3, IL11, PLAUR, SEMA3A, SLC4A7, SOX9) repressed mRNAs were common between A549, BEAS-2B and HBE cells at 6 h. As absolute gene expression change showed greater commonality, lowering the cut-off (≥1.25 or ≤ 0.8-fold) within these groups produced 93 induced and 82 repressed genes in common. Since large changes in few mRNAs and/or small changes in many mRNAs may drive function, gene ontology (GO)/pathway analyses were performed using both stringency criteria. Budesonide-induced genes showed GO term enrichment for positive and negative regulation of transcription, signaling, proliferation, apoptosis, and movement, as well as FOXO and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Repressed genes were enriched for inflammatory signaling pathways (TNF, NF-κB) and GO terms for cytokine activity, chemotaxis and cell signaling. Reduced growth factor expression and effects on proliferation and apoptosis were highlighted.ConclusionsWhile glucocorticoids repress mRNAs associated with inflammation, prior induction of transcriptional activators and repressors may explain longer-term responses to these agents. Furthermore, positive and negative effects on signaling, proliferation, migration and apoptosis were revealed. Since many such gene expression changes occurred in human airways post-ICS inhalation, the effects observed in cell lines and primary HBE cells in vitro may be relevant to ICS in vivo.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12920-018-0467-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.