Because circulation levels of acute-phase proteins fluctuate with the severity and extent Vorinostat clinical trial of the inflammatory reaction, they may be potential biomarkers for the identification of TA activity. To test this hypothesis, certain acute-phase proteins were examined in TA patients and controls.

Methods: The study included 43 prospectively selected TA patients, with 18 in active phase and 25 in inactive phase. The Sharma modified

criteria were used for disease diagnosis, and the National Institutes of Health criteria were used for TA activity assessment. Circulation levels of acute-phase proteins, including serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, complement C4-binding protein (C4BP), C-reactive protein, serum amyloid P, haptoglobin, alpha-acid glycoprotein, transthyretin, alpha 1-microglobin, and complement fraction C3c and C4a were investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent THZ1 ic50 assay ill each participant.

Results: Circulating levels of SAA and C4BP were significantly increased inactive TA patients compared with inactive TA patients and in controls, with (SAA: 95.9 [interquartile range, 51.9] vs 49.2 [82.0], P = .009; and 23.9 [50.1] mg/L, P = .001, respectively; C4BP: 88.5 [72.6] vs 61.7 [57.7], P = .023; and 32.6 [32.1] mg/L, P

< .001, respectively). The levels of both proteins in inactive TA patients were still higher than those in controls (SAA: 49.2 [82.0] vs 23.9 [50.1] mg/L, P = .021; C4BP: 61.7 [57.7] vs 32.6 [32.1] mg/L, P = .025). No difference was found in the MTMR9 levels of the other acute-phase proteins studied.

Conclusions: SAA and C4BP may be useful biomarkers in determining the disease activity of TA. More work should be done to test these results in a large cohort

of patients in a longitudinal manner. (J Vasc Surg 2010;51:700-6.)”
“Reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage brain lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, as well as DNA and may contribute to neurodegeneration. We previously reported that ER- and oxidative stress cause neuronal apoptosis in infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL), a lethal neurodegenerative storage disease, caused by palmitoyl-protein thioesterase-1 (PPT1) deficiency. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are essential components of cell membrane phospholipids in the brain and excessive ROS may cause oxidative damage of PUFA leading to neuronal death. Using cultured neurons and neuroprogenitor cells from mice lacking PUFA, which mimic INCL, we demonstrate that Ppt1-deficient neurons and neuroprogenitor cells contain high levels of ROS, which may cause peroxidation of PUFA and render them incapable of providing protection against oxidative stress. We tested whether treatment of these cells with omega-3 or omega-6 PUFA protects the neurons and neuroprogenitor cells from oxidative stress and suppress apoptosis.