Epithelial alarmins are gaining interest as therapeutic targets for chronic infammation. The nuclear alarmin interleukin-33 (IL-33) is upregulated in the colonic mucosa of acute ulcerative colitis (UC) and may represent an early instigator of the infammatory cascade. However, it is not clear what signals drive the expression of IL-33 in the colonic mucosa, nor is the exact role of IL-33 elucidated. We ...

<p><i>Background - </i>The onset of ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with alterations in lipid metabolism and a disruption of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules. Only a few studies describe the mucosal lipid biosignatures during active UC. Moreover, the dynamics of lipid metabolism in the remission state is poorly defined. Therefore, this study aims to characterize mucosal ...

<i>Aim/Objective</i>: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. In UC, a wide range of criteria are used for disease remission, with few studies investigating the differences between disease remission and normal control groups. This paper compares known inflammatory and healing mediators in the mucosa of UC in clinical remission and normal controls, in order to better describe ...

Background and aims - Biological therapy for inflammatory bowel disease is efficient in many cases but not all. The underlying molecular mechanisms behind non-response to biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease are poorly described. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the mucosal cytokine transcript profile in non-immunogenic, non-responder patients with adequate trough level.<p> <p>Material ...

<p><i>Purpose - </i>Adipokines produced by white adipose tissue are central in the development of lifestyle diseases. Individuals in industrialized countries spend a substantial part of life in the non-fasting, postprandial state, which is associated with increased oxidation and inflammation. The aim was to study postprandial adiponectin and leptin levels after an oral fat tolerance test (OFTT) and ...

Background: Accumulative evidence suggests that the biological behavior of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) is regulated by their surrounding niche, in which cytokines function as one of the main mediators for the interaction between CSCs and their microenvironment in the colorectal cancer (CRC).<p> <p>Methods: We characterized the presentation of CSCs and the interleukin (IL)− 8 network in the ...

The role of chemokines in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is not fully understood. The present study aimed to characterize the baseline serum concentrations and the initial β-chemokine response to treatment with interferon-α and ribavirin with respect to the final clinical outcome of virological response to treatment. Serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and of the CC ...

Purpose To explore the association between risk of malnutrition as well as current body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in elderly men and women from the general population. Methods In a cross-sectional population survey including 1,632 men and 1,654 women aged 65 to 87 years from the municipality of Tromsø, Norway, we assessed HRQoL by using the EuroQol (EQ-5D) ...

Little research has been done on the relationship between malnutrition and mental health in community living elderly individuals. In the present study, we aimed to assess the associations between mental health (particularly anxiety and depression) and both the risk of malnutrition and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) in a large sample of elderly men and women from Tromsø, Norway. In a cross-sectional ...

<p><i>Background - </i>This study addresses whether existing transcriptional profiles can improve and support the current definition of UC in remission apart from the today existing endoscopic, histological and laboratory scoring systems. <p><i>Methods - </i>Mucosal biopsies from treatment-naïve UC patients (<i>n</i> = 14), healthy controls (<i>n</i> = 16), and UC patients in remission (<i>n</i> = ...