“
“To assess whether interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-18 and interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE) are involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Peritoneal fluid (PF) was obtained from 85 women with and without endometriosis.

Peritoneal macrophages were cultured and the culture media collected. IL-1beta, IL-18 and ICE levels were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Levels of IL-1beta and ICE in PF of women with endometriosis were higher than those in the control group. However, PF level of IL-18 was significantly lower in the study group than in the controls. Higher secretion of IL-1beta by peritoneal macrophages and lower IL-18 and ICE in endometriosis patients than in control BAY 80-6946 cost were observed. Following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, the macrophages secreted more IL-1beta, IL-18 and ICE in all groups. The results pointed to impairment

of the secretion of the IL-1 cytokine family in endometriosis. Invalid IL-1beta and IL-18 maturation by ICE may be an important pathogenic factor BAY 73-4506 datasheet in endometriosis. “
“Neutrophils potently kill tumour cells in the presence of anti-tumour antibodies in vitro. However, for in vivo targeting, the neutrophils need to extravasate from the circulation by passing through endothelial barriers. To study neutrophil migration in the presence of endothelial cells in vitro, we established a three-dimensional collagen culture in which SK-BR-3 tumour colonies were grown in the presence or absence of an endothelial barrier. We demonstrated that — in contrast to targeting FcγR on neutrophils with mAbs — targeting the immunoglobulin A Fc receptor (FcαRI) instead triggered Fluorouracil concentration neutrophil migration and degranulation leading to tumour destruction, which coincided with release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Interestingly, neutrophil migration was enhanced in the presence of endothelial cells, which coincided with production of significant levels of the neutrophil chemokine IL-8. This supports the idea that stimulation of neutrophil FcαRI, but not

FcγR, initiates cross-talk between neutrophils and endothelial cells, leading to enhanced neutrophil migration towards tumour colonies and subsequent tumour killing. Neutrophils represent the most populous type of cytotoxic effector cells within the blood and their numbers can easily be increased by treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) [1]. Because depletion of these cells resulted in increased tumour outgrowth in animal models, neutrophils may play a role in tumour rejection in vivo [2-4]. It is also becoming increasingly clear that neutrophils secrete a plethora of cytokines and chemokines that can attract other immune cells, such as monocytes, dendritic cells and T cells [5], which may result in more generalised anti-tumour immune responses.