Hepatic expression of CCL2 in alcoholic liver disease is associated with disease severity and neutrophil infiltrates.

Serum levels and liver expression of CCL2 are increased in patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH). In an experimental model of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), CCL2 was implicated in proinflammatory cytokines activation and hepatic lipid metabolism, but its role in human disease is currently unknown. In a large cohort of ALD patients, we analysed plasma levels and liver expression of CCL2 and their association with liver disease severity and histological lesions. We also studied the relationship between -2518 A > G CCL2 and CCR2 190 A/G polymorphisms and severity of ALD. We show that CCL2 plasma levels are increased in ALD patients compared with healthy subjects. AH patients had significantly higher plasma levels and hepatic expression of CCL2 than patients without AH. Plasma levels and hepatic expression of CCL2 were associated with disease severity. CCL2 liver expression was correlated with neutrophil infiltrate and interleukin (IL)-8 expression, but not with steatosis. Moreover, there were more G-allele carriers of -2518 A > G CCL2 polymorphism in severe AH patients than in other ALD patients. Our results demonstrate that CCL2 is increased in ALD, particularly in severe forms, and suggest a role for CCL2 in the pathogenesis of ALD via neutrophil recruitment.

An inhibitor of interleukin-6 trans-signalling, sgp130, contributes to impaired acute phase response in human chronic liver disease.

In chronic liver disease, high circulating interleukin (IL)-6 contrasts with a poor acute phase response. We evaluated the impact of liver and circulating IL-6-receptor (IL-6R) forms on IL-6 bioactivity in chronic liver disease. IL-6, soluble IL-6-receptor and sgp130 levels were assayed in plasma from 45 patients with alcoholic liver disease, 84 with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection undergoing transjugular liver biopsies and 15 healthy subjects. IL-6R mRNA was quantified on liver extracts from 54 patients with alcoholic liver disease with or without cirrhosis and 18 HCV-infected patients. The effect of gp130-Fc on fibrinogen secretion induced by IL-6 trans-signalling was evaluated on hepatocyte cultures. Levels of plasma IL-6 and sgp130, but not soluble IL-6R, increased with the stage of chronic liver disease, and correlated significantly with disease severity. Alcoholic liver disease patients had higher plasma IL-6 levels than hepatitis C, but lower liver IL-6R expression. In alcoholic and HCV-related liver diseases, liver IL-6R expression decreased with advanced fibrosis stage. In vitro, on hepatocytes, gp130-Fc blunted the acute phase response while soluble IL-6R enhanced IL-6 stimulation. In advanced chronic liver disease, high plasma IL-6 is associated with low liver IL-6R expression. This situation enables high plasma sgp130 to act as a major negative regulator of liver IL-6 trans-signalling, as demonstrated functionally here on hepatocytes. This might explain the poor acute phase response induced by IL-6 in chronic liver disease.

Isolation of HIV-1 from seropositive people living in Cotonou, Benin.

Benin is located in West Africa and is situated between HIV-2 and HIV-1-endemic zones. The first cases of HIV-1 infection in Benin were reported in 1987. Since then, AIDS cases have been diagnosed there and the number of known HIV-seropositive people has rapidly increased. Blood samples were collected from 14 seropositive and 11 seronegative patients living in the main city, Cotonou, and their peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured. In seven of the seropositive cases, a retrovirus was detected by measurement of Mg2(+)-dependent reverse transcriptase activity and electron microscopy. HIV-1 antigen assay and genomic analysis indicated that the isolated viruses belong to the first serotype. In each positive case, an HIV-1 DNA probe hybridized to the RNA extracted from the virus and six isolates were found positive by the polymerase chain reaction using HIV-1-specific primers.

Action of chloroquine on nitric oxide production and parasite killing by macrophages.

Chloroquine is known to inhibit several functions of macrophages, but its effect on the nitric oxide (NO)-dependent parasite killing capacity of macrophages has not been documented. NO synthesis by interferon-gamma-induced mouse and casein-elicited rat macrophages was significantly and irreversibly inhibited by chloroquine. The activity of the inducible NO synthase was not directly altered, but previous incubation of macrophages with chloroquine decreased it. Chloroquine did not alter arginase activity or arginine uptake. NADPH diaphorase activity, an indicator of NO synthase was impaired. Western blotting showed that inducible NO synthase synthesis was blocked by chloroquine. The blocking of NO formation by chloroquine resulted in increased infection of mouse peritoneal macrophages by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). This suggests that chloroquine decreases NO formation by macrophages by inhibiting the induction of NO synthase. The findings are further evidence that NO is involved in the anti-parasitic response of macrophages.

Indomethacin prevents the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase in murine peritoneal macrophages and decreases their nitric oxide production.

Indomethacin (0.14-.5 mM concentration) inhibits nitric oxide production in murine peritoneal macrophages. This was evidenced by measuring both nitrite production or 14C-L-citrulline formation. The inhibition was caused by the diminution of de novo inducible nitric oxide synthase production as demonstrated by Western blotting experiment. The effect of indomethacin after 4 h treatment was irreversible. NO synthase and arginase activities and the uptake of arginine were not directly affected by the drug. Indomethacin also decreased uridine incorporation in macrophages. The effect of indomethacin on the induction of other enzymes (i.e. arginase) was weaker.

Chicken cystatin stimulates nitric oxide release from interferon-gamma-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages via cytokine synthesis.

Cystatins are natural tight-binding, reversible inhibitors of cysteine proteases. We have shown that cystatins also stimulate nitric oxide (NO) production by interferon-gamma-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages [Verdot, L., Lalmanach, G., Vercruysse, V., Hartman, S., Lucius, R., Hoebeke, J., Gauthier F. & Vray, B. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 28077-28081]. The present study was undertaken to further document this new function. Macrophages activated with interferon-gamma and then stimulated with interferon-gamma plus chicken cystatin generated increased amounts of NO in comparison with macrophages only activated with interferon-gamma. Interferon-gamma-activated macrophages must be incubated with chicken cystatin for at least 8 h to upregulate NO production. NO induction was due to increased inducible nitric oxide synthase protein synthesis. Macrophages incubated with chicken cystatin alone or with interferon-gamma plus chicken cystatin produced increased amounts of both tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 10. The addition of recombinant murine tumor necrosis factor alpha alone or in combination with recombinant murine interleukin-10 mimicked the effect of chicken cystatin. The addition of neutralizing anti-(tumor necrosis factor alpha) antibodies reduced sharply NO production by chicken cystatin/interferon-gamma-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages. Taken together, these data suggest that chicken cystatin induces the synthesis of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 10. In turn, these two cytokines stimulate the production of NO by interferon-gamma-activated macrophages. The findings point to a new relationship between cystatins, cytokines, inflammation and the immune response.

The Food and Nutrition Surveillance Systems of Chad and Mali: The "SAP" After Two Years.

The "Systèmes d'Alerte Précoce" - the SAPs - of Chad and Mali have been in operation since April 1986. Their purpose is to forecast (or more realistically, detect as early as possible) food shortages in the drought-prone areas of each country. They are based on a multidisciplinary strategy, taking into account all relevant phenomena, from meteorology to nutritional status, and are implemented through the governmental networks. The present experience shows that, compared with the devastations due to famine and the cost of emergency food aid, they are not that expensive and they seem sustainable over the long term. "Faultless" prediction is not yet the rule, but several procedures permit progressive improvement in the ability of the systems to analyse and interpret. This paper explains the functioning process of the SAPs and presents several operational results. Additionally, it covers innovative concepts that have proved to be successful, such as the "participative information network".

Cystatins up-regulate nitric oxide release from interferon-gamma-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Up-regulation of nitric oxide (NO) production by activated murine macrophages was observed during infection by Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas' disease. Cell infection by T. cruzi depends at least in part on cruzipain, a membrane-associated papain-related proteinase which is sensitive to inhibition by synthetic inhibitors of cysteine proteinases. Using the natural cysteine proteinase inhibitor chicken cystatin, a representative member of cystatin family 2, to investigate the effect of cruzipain on macrophage infection and NO release, we found that the inhibitor alone up-regulated NO release from interferon-gamma-activated macrophages. A 12-fold increase in NO production was observed in the presence of 1 microM chicken cystatin. This overproduction was concentration-dependent and could be detected at concentrations as low as 10 nM and remained in the presence of polymyxin B. Representative members of the other cystatin families, i.e. stefin B (family 1), T-kininogen, and its inhibitory domains (family 3), were also able to enhance NO production from interferon-gamma-activated macrophages. Neither E64, an irreversible inhibitor of cysteine proteinases, nor inhibitors of aspartyl and serine proteinases (aprotinin, pepstatin, and soybean trypsin inhibitor) enhanced NO production. Upon complexation with saturating amounts of reduced-alkylated papain, cystatins still remained active in increasing NO production, suggesting that the cystatin inhibitory site was not involved in the mechanism. The results demonstrate that members of all 3 cystatin families share another common property unrelated to their function of cysteine proteinase inhibitors, i.e. up-regulation of NO production, which biological significance remains to be elucidated.

Migrations and nutritional status in the sahel.

In the Sahel, migration is of considerable importance. It permits the peasants to adjust to variable food conditions. In areas affected by food shortages, cluster sample studies of villages showed that, as the number of recently abandoned houses in a cluster increased, the prevalence of malnutrition decreased, and this linear trend was significant (p < 0.05). This phenomenon tends to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition in these areas, and it emphasizes the fact that the malnutrition rate is a late indicator when used for nutritional surveillance. The article provides also a brief description of the current migration patterns in the Sahel and underlines the effects droughts have had on them.

Limitations of short dialysis are the indications for ultrashort daily auto dialysis.

Dialysis efficiency can be increased while shortening the duration of the treatment by the use of highly permeable dialysis membranes, larger surfaces, and higher blood and dialysate flows. However, vascular repletion of water and solutes, compared with the amount removed by rapid dialysis, is a limitation of short dialysis. This can be overcome by ultrashort daily dialyses, preferably performed by the patient alone. A safe, efficient, and user-friendly apparatus has been developed to permit Ultrashort Daily Auto Dialysis (UDAD).

(A)typical symptoms during single needle dialysis.

In 5 elderly patients, an abnormally high occurrence of some symptoms was noted during dialysis. All patients were dialyzed with biocompatible membranes, bicarbonate dialysate, and a blood flow of 250 to 300 ml/min by a single needle system, on a fistula 14 Gauge catheter-needle. These symptoms were: 1) "angina," resistant to O2 and nitrates, with biochemical stigmata of infarction, but without electrocardiogram (ECG) localization; 2) intractable persistent hypotension, not hypovolemic, lasting 1 or 2 days; 3) esophagal spasms, with inability to swallow solid food. Because we knew that these symptoms were compatible with hemolysis (biochemically proven by the increase in serum LDH during dialysis and by a fall in haptoglobin) due to red cell fragmentation (RCF), we switched these patients from fistula dialysis (A) to central catheter dialysis (B), with the same apperture, blood flow, etc. The total number of sessions of A versus B were 512 and 891; the mean LDH ratios (serum LDH postdialysis divided by predialysis) were 1.8 and 1.0 (= no RCF); angina events were 132 (26%) for A, and 25 (3%) for B; persistent hypotension was seen 37 (7%) times in A and 5 (0.6%) times in B; esophagal spasms were noted 65 (13%) times for A, and 0 times for B. This clinical improvement was so overwhelming that 3 patients refused to be dialyzed again using their well functioning fistulae. This study also proved the need for a better designed and manufactured peripheral dialysis catheter-needle.