PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Research sheds light on how immune system's 'first responders' target infection

2012-02-29
(Press-News.org) University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered previously unsuspected aspects of the guidance system used by the body's first line of defense against infection.

The new work focuses on the regulation of immune response by two forms of the signaling molecule IL-8, as well as IL-8's interaction with cell-surface molecules called glycosaminoglycans (or GAGs for short).

Infected or injured tissues release IL-8 to attract bacteria- and virus-killing white blood cells known as neutrophils, a process known as "recruitment." As IL-8 proteins disperse from the infection site, they anchor themselves to GAGs to provide "signposts" that help neutrophils find their target.

"Neutrophils are killing machines but they're also blind, so they shoot at anything and everything — to fight infection effectively and minimize collateral tissue damage, they have to be precisely directed and activated," said UTMB associate professor Krishna Rajarathnam, lead author of a paper on the study in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "This process of spatial and temporal control is quite complex, but we've gained a fundamental insight into a very basic mechanism."

That mechanism is based on IL-8's existence as both a single unit (a monomer) and a pair (a dimer). In nature, during the course of onset and resolution of infection, IL-8 could exist as a monomer, dimer, or both.

To study how this process affects immune response, Rajarathnam and his colleagues created two forms of IL-8 not found in nature: one made of monomers unable to join into dimers, and the other of dimers unable to split into monomers. They then carried out a series of mouse experiments with monomers, dimers and "wild-type" (normal) IL-8 in which they found that differing concentrations of IL-8 monomer and dimer clearly influenced the strength of neutrophil recruitment.

In addition, drawing on earlier work, they determined that these effects varied depending on the location of the infection — leading them to the conclusion that IL-8 monomers and dimers interact differently with GAGs in different body tissues.

"Our previous experiments involved IL-8 in the lung, and in this study we looked at what happened if we injected IL-8 in the peritoneum, the abdominal wall," Rajarathnam said. "In the lung, the neutrophil activity we saw for wild-type IL-8 was between the monomer alone or the dimer alone, but in the peritoneum the wild type actually produced greater activity. It was synergistic, meaning that in the wild type the monomer and the dimer interact cooperatively to facilitate neutrophil recruitment."

Such unpredictable results are to be expected when investigating a phenomenon as complex as immune response, according to Rajarathnam.

"I believe we have discovered a crucial and fundamental mechanism that regulates neutrophil function," Rajarathnam said. "Our future goal is to characterize the distinct activities of monomer and dimer to see if we can 'control' runaway inflammation and related neutrophil-induced tissue damage in diseases such as sepsis."

Other authors of the paper include graduate student Pavani Gangavarapu, assistant professor Lavanaya Rajagopalan, instructor Deepthi Kolli, assistant professor Antonieta Guerrero-Plata and Dr. Roberto Garofalo.

"This was a truly translational project, bringing together researchers from both basic and clinical sciences to study the molecular mechanisms underlying disease," Rajarathnam said.

###This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Upper class more likely to be scofflaws

2012-02-29
The upper class has a higher propensity for unethical behavior, being more likely to believe – as did Gordon Gekko in the movie "Wall Street" – that "greed is good," according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley. "The increased unethical tendencies of upper-class individuals are driven, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed," said Paul Piff, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley and lead author of the paper published today (Monday, Feb. 27) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Piff's study ...

3 days of NASA infrared images show System 92S tropically developing

3 days of NASA infrared images show System 92S tropically developing
2012-02-29
NASA satellites have been watching the low pressure area called System 92S for days, and infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed cloud temperatures were cooling, indicating the storm was getting more organized after it moved over northern Madagascar. Now it may be headed for landfall in Mozambique. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery on developing System 92S as it moved from the Southern Indian Ocean, west across northern Madagascar and into the Mozambique Channel. On February 25 at 0941 UTC, ...

Hays Reports Tunnel Vision Trapping Workers and Hindering Growth

2012-02-29
The Hays Career Outlook Survey has revealed that workers are being trapped in career silos because they don't believe they can cross sector or industry boundaries, according to new data from the Hays Career Outlook Survey. The survey also highlights that employers in both sectors are often unable to recognise the transferable skills that might help them to identify potential candidates who are capable of supporting their growth plans. The survey reveals the vast majority of employers believe that previous experience in the same sector is important. Whilst only just ...

Salty soil can suck water out of atmosphere: Could it happen on Mars?

2012-02-29
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold, polar desert, yet the sandy soils there are frequently dotted with moist patches in the spring despite a lack of snowmelt and no possibility of rain. A new study, led by an Oregon State University geologist, has found that that the salty soils in the region actually suck moisture out of the atmosphere, raising the possibility that such a process could take place on Mars or on other planets. The study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, has been published online this week ...

Modified bone drug kills malaria parasite in mice

Modified bone drug kills malaria parasite in mice
2012-02-29
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A chemically altered osteoporosis drug may be useful in fighting malaria, researchers report in a new study. Unlike similar compounds tested against other parasitic protozoa, the drug readily crosses into the red blood cells of malaria-infected mice and kills the malaria parasite. The drug works at very low concentrations with no observed toxicity to the mouse. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers found the drug by screening a library of about 1,000 compounds used in previous efforts to target an ...

Protocol reduces sternal wound infections in children by 61 percent

2012-02-29
SAN ANTONIO -- A two-year effort to prevent infections in children healing from cardiac surgery reduced sternum infections by 61 percent, a San Antonio researcher announced at the Cardiology 2012 conference Feb. 23 in Orlando, Fla. Faculty from UT Medicine San Antonio carried out a new infection-control protocol for 308 children who underwent sternotomies at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital between 2009 and 2011. UT Medicine is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. Approach to children ...

HFSA updates recommendations for use of cardiac resynchronization therapy

2012-02-29
Philadelphia, PA, February 27, 2012 – Based on a review of the latest evidence, the Guidelines Committee of the Heart Failure Society of America now recommends that the use of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) be expanded to a larger group of patients with mild heart failure symptoms. Recommendations for integrating new evidence into clinical practice appear in the February issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure. CRT devices synchronize the function of the left ventricle so that it contracts more efficiently and in a coordinated way. It does this by stimulating ...

Guoman Hotels' The Grosvenor Hotel Victoria Uncovers the 'Courtesan's Boudoir'

2012-02-29
Guoman Hotels' The Grosvenor Hotel has revealed its past connection to one of the most risque residents of 1870s London, with the launch of its opulent 'Courtesan's Boudoir'. The Parisian-inspired Suite has been tenderly created in homage to one of the grand railway hotel's most infamous visitors - the scandalous courtesan, Miss Cora Pearl. A lady notorious with entertaining only the highest members of social standing, including royalty, Cora Pearl was one of the most feted courtesans of her time. In the 1870s, Cora made a rare visit to London and, after arriving at ...

Land-ocean connections

Land-ocean connections
2012-02-29
Scientists from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii – Manoa (UHM) and colleagues recently discovered that land-based plant material and coastal macroalgae indirectly support the increased abundances of bottom fish in submarine canyons, like those off the north shore of Moloka'i. Less than a few miles from the shore, these underwater canyons connect to deep river valleys that cut across the landscape of north Moloka'i. The high elevation and forested landscapes along Moloka'i's north shore provide plant material, including ...

SFApps Company Announces Launch of Next-Generation Mobile Application Network

2012-02-29
SFApps Company (www.sfapps.co) announced their new mobile application network and an innovative growth strategy that will focus on acquiring interests in multiple Apple and Android mobile applications to leverage economies of scale across the SFapps network. "SFApps is consolidating a fragmented app marketplace through investment and acquisition," said co-founder Barth Ballard. "Our strategy is to add value to our mobile app investments by growing cross-platform and global reach, centralizing and renegotiating advertising agreements, and deploying best ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP

Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024

PLOS One study: In adolescent lab animals exposed to cocaine, High-Intensity Interval Training boosts aversion to the drug

Scientists identify four ways our bodies respond to COVID-19 vaccines

Stronger together: A new fusion protein boosts cancer immunotherapy

Hidden brain waves as triggers for post-seizure wandering

Music training can help the brain focus

Researcher develop the first hydride ion prototype battery

[Press-News.org] Research sheds light on how immune system's 'first responders' target infection