With the exception of complement protein C3, most soluble mediators of innate immunity are found in relatively small amounts in the serum under normal conditions. The concentrations of several of these proteins, however, can increase as much as 1000-fold during serious infections or other crises, as part of a coordinated protective reaction called the acute-phase response. In this response, the liver temporarily increases its synthesis of more than 30 different serum proteins, often called acute-phase proteins (Table bellow). Many of these, such as complement factors C3 and B, MBL, LBP, C-reactive protein, and serum amyloid protein P, participate in antimicrobial defense. (more…)
Acute phase proteins are plasma proteins, the synthesis and the circulating concentrations of which are adaptively regulated in res ...
Most acute phase proteins are synthesized in the liver, although the genes for some are also expressed in cells and tissues els ...
There is considerable diversity among acute phase proteins with respect to the concentrations attained, their structures, and their ...
Acute phase proteins and the acute phase response in general arc stably conserved in evolution and are universal within each specie ...
An especially elaborate and important type of innate antimicrobial enzymes defense is provided by a group of serum proteins tha ...
AP-1 is an inducible transcription factor that binds to promoter or enhancer regions of many cytokine genes, often in close association with the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT). AP-1 is composed of c-fos and c-jun or c-jun/c-jun homodimers. AP-1 binding has been demonstrated as obligatory for NF-AT-mediated cytokine gene acti- vation in many cases. The signal transduction pathway responsible for AP-1 activation involves jun and p38 kinase-activated protein kinase). (more…)
The overlapping functions of cytokines largely reflect the properties of the cell surface receptors to which they bind. All cyt ...
Perhaps the most exciting recent advance in the cytokine signaling field has been the elucidation of the Jak/Stat pathway. The ...
The Ras-dependent pathway can be triggered by a variety of cytokine receptors, as well as by certain adhesion molecules and by ...
The T-bet (T-box 21) gene (TBX21) encodes a transcription factor, T-box expressed in T cells, which has been implicated in asthma t ...
A previous genome-wide screen for mite-sensitive atopic dermatitis asthma in Japanese families indicated linkage to chromosome 5q33 ...