No abstract

IMPORTANCE Current clinical guidelines recommend selecting diagnostic tests for giant cell arteritis (GCA) based on pretest probability that the disease is present, but how pretest probability should be estimated remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of symptoms, physical signs, and laboratory tests for suspected GCA.

Chronic inflammation is a major outcome determinant in several renal disorders. Induction of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 expression in tubular epithelial cells contributes importantly to the recruitment of inflammatory cells from the circulation toward the damaged tubulo-interstitium. Because the MCP-1 gene contains several c-Jun binding sites, we hypothesized that the c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK) pathway regulates MCP-1 expression and subsequently tubulointerstitial inflammation. This was investigated in cultured rat tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E) and in the rat unilateral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model. In NRK-52E cells, the JNK inhibitor anthra(1,9-cd)pyrazol-6(2H)-one-1,9-pyrazoloanthrone (SP600125) reduced interleukin-1␤-, transforming growth factor-␤-, or bovine serum albumin-induced MCP-1