S100A12 correlates with inflammatory and pain symptoms in patients with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is the most prevalent urological condition in men under 50, characterized by persistent or recurrent pelvic and perineal pain, and significantly reduced quality of life. Reliable biomarkers for assessment and mechanistic understanding of pain remain limited. This retrospective case-control study consisting of 90 CP/CPPS patients (median age 29.

Influence of canstatin on fibroblast-driven hypervascularisation in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Hypervascularisation is a dominant feature of the inflamed synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) are key cells of synovial pathophysiology and are located adjacent to the aberrant endothelial cells (ECs), we hypothesised that this interaction might be responsible for the pathological hypervascularisation.

Methods: In the severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse model for RA, RASF-mediated helix-like vessel (HLV) formation was described and modulated by canstatin, an antiangiogenic collagen IV fragment that blocks the angiopoietin (ANGPT)/Tie2 pathway in EC.

[Pathophysiology of fibrosis: inflammatory vs. non-inflammatory].

Fibrosis is characterized by an excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components produced by connective tissue cells. It is a pathophysiological feature of many chronic inflammatory diseases. Nearly every tissue of the body can be affected by fibrosis.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Influence Longitudinal Changes in Leptin But Not Adiponectin.

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a greater risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Adipokines, including leptin and adiponectin, play vital roles in biological processes linked to obesity and cardiometabolic risk. The adiponectin/leptin ratio may represent a marker of impaired hormonal regulation of adipose tissue.

Functional resting state connectivity is differentially associated with IL-6 and TNF-α in depression and in healthy controls.

Inflammatory processes have been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. In human studies, inflammation has been shown to act as a critical disease modifier, promoting susceptibility to depression and modulating specific endophenotypes of depression. However, there is scant documentation of how inflammatory processes are associated with neural activity in patients with depression.

γ1 GABA Receptors in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits.

GABAergic neurons and GABA receptors (GABARs) are critical elements of almost all neuronal circuits. Most GABARs of the CNS are heteropentameric ion channels composed of two α, two β, and one γ subunits. These receptors serve as important drug targets for benzodiazepine (BDZ) site agonists, which potentiate the action of GABA at GABARs.

Recent developments in the synovial fibroblast pathobiology field in rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose Of Review: Synovial fibroblasts are the central cells of connective tissue homeostasis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) tissue, synovial fibroblasts are activated because of the proinflammatory environment very early in the disease. Epigenetic alterations in RASF result in a permanently activated stage, and activated RASF are involved in many processes of RA pathophysiology.

A phospho-deficient α3 glycine receptor mutation alters synaptic glycine and GABA release in mouse spinal dorsal horn neurons.

Glycine receptors (GlyRs), together with GABA receptors, mediate postsynaptic inhibition in most spinal cord and hindbrain neurons. In several CNS regions, GlyRs are also expressed in presynaptic terminals. Here, we analysed the effects of a phospho-deficient mutation (S346A) in GlyR α3 subunits on inhibitory synaptic transmission in superficial spinal dorsal horn neurons, where this subunit is abundantly expressed.

[Inflammation in the blood: what's behind it?].

Inflammation is the body's defensive response to mostly harmful stimuli, usually in response to pathogens or toxic substances. However, the immune response in chronic inflammation is usually directed against harmless antigens, such as allergens, or commensal pathogens, such as herpes viruses, or against the body's own structures, as in autoimmune diseases. The body reacts to the respective stimulating factors with a relatively uniform inflammatory response.

Fractional anisotropy and peripheral cytokine concentrations in outpatients with depressive episode: a diffusion tensor imaging observational study.

Over the past few years, evidence of a positive relationship between inflammation and depression has grown steadily. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether such depression-related inflammation could also be associated with altered microstructural changes in the white matter. FA and serum cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) were measured in 25 patients with depression (DE) and 24 healthy controls (HC).

Plasma Leptin and Adiponectin after a 4-Week Vegan Diet: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Trial in Healthy Participants.

Adiponectin and leptin are important mediators of metabolic homeostasis. The actions of these adipokines extend beyond adipocytes and include systemic modulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, nutrient flux, and the immune response to changes in nutrition. Herein, we hypothesized that short-term intervention with a vegan diet might result in an improvement of plasma concentrations of adiponectin and leptin and the leptin/adiponectin ratio.

Toll-like Receptor 7 (TLR7) Is Expressed in Adipocytes and the Pharmacological TLR7 Agonist Imiquimod and Adipocyte-Derived Cell-Free Nucleic Acids (cfDNA) Regulate Adipocyte Function.

Endosome-localized Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 3 and 9 are expressed and functionally active in adipocytes. The functionality and role of TLR7 in adipocyte biology and innate immunity of adipose tissue (AT) is poorly characterized. We analyzed TLR7 mRNA and protein expression in murine 3T3-L1 and primary adipocytes, in co-cultures of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with murine J774A.

Modulation of Dopamine Receptors on Osteoblasts as a Possible Therapeutic Strategy for Inducing Bone Formation in Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with systemic osteoporosis, which leads to severe disability and low quality of life. Current therapies target osteoclasts to reduce bone degradation, but more treatment options would be required to promote bone protection by acting directly on osteoblasts (OB). Recently, the local production of dopamine in inflamed joints of RA has been observed.

Targeting the Interaction of GABA Receptors With CHOP After an Ischemic Insult Restores Receptor Expression and Inhibits Progressive Neuronal Death.

GABA receptors control neuronal excitability via slow and prolonged inhibition in the central nervous system. One important function of GABA receptors under physiological condition is to prevent neurons from shifting into an overexcitation state which can lead to excitotoxic death. However, under ischemic conditions, GABA receptors are downregulated, fostering over-excitation and excitotoxicity.

Whole-body cryotherapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a monocentric, single-blinded, randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate effects of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients with active RA undergoing a 16-day multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment were randomly assigned to either WBC (6 applications in 14 days at -130°C for 3 min) or no treatment. The primary outcome was the difference between groups in pain on a numerical rating scale after intervention.

Phenotypic and functional characterization of synovial fluid-derived fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play an important pathological role in persistent inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These cells have primarily been characterized in the RA synovial membrane. Here we aim to phenotypically and functionally characterize cultured synovial fluid-derived FLS (sfRA-FLS).

Single-cell analysis of arthritogenic alphavirus-infected human synovial fibroblasts links low abundance of viral RNA to induction of innate immunity and arthralgia-associated gene expression.

Infection by (re-)emerging RNA arboviruses including Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Mayaro virus primarily cause acute febrile disease and transient polyarthralgia. However, in a significant subset of infected individuals, debilitating arthralgia persists for weeks over months up to years. The underlying immunopathogenesis of chronification of arthralgia upon primary RNA-viral infection remains unclear.

Treatment of back pain in active axial spondyloarthritis with serial locoregional water-filtered infrared A radiation: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is an inflammatory rheumatic disease primarily affecting the axial skeleton.

Objective: To evaluate the short-term effects of locoregional water-filtered infrared A radiation (sl-wIRAR) in the treatment of lower back pain in patients with axSpA.

Methods: Patients with active axSpA with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy undergoing a 7-day multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment in an in-patient setting were eligible.

Effects of multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a monocentric prospective study.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the effects of multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment (MRCT), a special concept of in-patient physical treatment (PT), in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: RA patients receiving a 16-day MRCT were eligible. MRCT was delivered to participants in 64 PT sessions of various modalities with a minimum of 1.

Systemic versus local adipokine expression differs in a combined obesity and osteoarthritis mouse model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by cartilage loss and reduced joint function. OA risk factors are age and obesity. Many adipokines are altered by obesity but also OA although systemic adipokine regulation in OA is not always clear.

Multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment in patients with spondyloarthritis - a prospective study.

Introduction: Aim of this study was to prospectively assess the effects of multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment (MRCT), a special concept of in-patient physical treatment (PT) for treating spondyloarthritis (SpA), namely radiographic (r-) and non-radiographic (nr-) axial (ax-) SpA and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: r-, nr-axSpA and PsA patients receiving a 16-day MRCT were eligible. MRCT was delivered to participants over 64 PT sessions of various modalities with a minimum of 1,400 min of treatment.

A Glra3 phosphodeficient mouse mutant establishes the critical role of protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation and inhibition of glycine receptors in spinal inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Glycinergic neurons and glycine receptors (GlyRs) exert a critical control over spinal nociception. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a key inflammatory mediator produced in the spinal cord in response to peripheral inflammation, inhibits a certain subtype of GlyRs (α3GlyR) that is defined by the inclusion of α3 subunits and distinctly expressed in the lamina II of the spinal dorsal horn, ie, at the site where most nociceptive nerve fibers terminate. Previous work has shown that the hyperalgesic effect of spinal PGE2 is lost in mice lacking α3GlyRs and suggested that this phenotype results from the prevention of PGE2-evoked protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent phosphorylation and inhibition of α3GlyRs.