ABSTRACT
Canine coagulation factor VII (FVII) deficiency can be hereditary or acquired and may cause life threatening bleeding episodes if untreated. FVII procoagulant activity can be measured by FVII activity (FVII:C), but assays for measurement of canine specific FVII antigen (FVII:Ag) have not been available to date. In this study, a canine specific ELISA for measurement of FVII:Ag in plasma was developed and validated. The FVII:Ag ELISA correctly diagnosed homozygous and heterozygous hereditary FVII deficiency. Together with activity based assays, such as FVII:C, the FVII:Ag ELISA should be valuable in the diagnosis of hereditary canine FVII deficiency.
Subject(s)
Antigens/blood , Dog Diseases/diagnosis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary , Factor VII Deficiency/veterinary , Animals , Dog Diseases/genetics , Dogs , Factor VII , Factor VII Deficiency/diagnosis , Factor VII Deficiency/genetics , Mice , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
IL-20 is a novel member of the IL-10 cytokine family with pleiotropic effects. Current knowledge of what triggers and regulates IL-20 gene expression is sparse. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of IL-20 expression in cultured normal human keratinocytes. The expression of IL-20 was rapidly induced by proinflammatory stimuli, in particular IL-1beta, IL-6, and UVB irradiation. Using kinase inhibitors and small-interfering RNA, we discovered that the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) as well as inhibitory kappaB kinase-NF-kappaB signaling pathways are crucial for IL-20 expression. By electrophoretic mobility shift assay two kappaB-binding sites were identified upstream from the start codon in the IL-20 gene. Supershift analysis revealed binding of the p50/p65 heterodimer. Furthermore, the p38 MAPK was shown to exert its effects on IL-20 expression through activation of the downstream kinase mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1 (MSK1), indicating transactivation of NF-kappaB driven IL-20 messenger RNA transcription as an important mechanism of action. IL-20 is assumed to be a key cytokine in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and possibly cancer, and therefore the p38 MAPK, MSK1, and NF-kappaB may be important new molecular targets for the modulation of IL-20 expression in these diseases.