Colitis
Inflammation of the COLON section of the large intestine (INTESTINE, LARGE), usually with symptoms such as DIARRHEA (often with blood and mucus), ABDOMINAL PAIN, and FEVER.
Colon
Peroxidase
Nitrobenzenes
Intestinal Mucosa
Lining of the INTESTINES, consisting of an inner EPITHELIUM, a middle LAMINA PROPRIA, and an outer MUSCULARIS MUCOSAE. In the SMALL INTESTINE, the mucosa is characterized by a series of folds and abundance of absorptive cells (ENTEROCYTES) with MICROVILLI.
Administration, Rectal
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Chronic, non-specific inflammation of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. Etiology may be genetic or environmental. This term includes CROHN DISEASE and ULCERATIVE COLITIS.
Disease Models, Animal
Haptens
Small antigenic determinants capable of eliciting an immune response only when coupled to a carrier. Haptens bind to antibodies but by themselves cannot elicit an antibody response.
Dextran Sulfate
Long-chain polymer of glucose containing 17-20% sulfur. It has been used as an anticoagulant and also has been shown to inhibit the binding of HIV-1 to CD4-POSITIVE T-LYMPHOCYTES. It is commonly used as both an experimental and clinical laboratory reagent and has been investigated for use as an antiviral agent, in the treatment of hypolipidemia, and for the prevention of free radical damage, among other applications.
Colitis, Ulcerative
Inflammation of the COLON that is predominantly confined to the MUCOSA. Its major symptoms include DIARRHEA, rectal BLEEDING, the passage of MUCUS, and ABDOMINAL PAIN.
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Rats, Wistar
Mesalamine
Cytokines
Non-antibody proteins secreted by inflammatory leukocytes and some non-leukocytic cells, that act as intercellular mediators. They differ from classical hormones in that they are produced by a number of tissue or cell types rather than by specialized glands. They generally act locally in a paracrine or autocrine rather than endocrine manner.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Substances that reduce or suppress INFLAMMATION.
Myenteric Plexus
One of two ganglionated neural networks which together form the ENTERIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. The myenteric (Auerbach's) plexus is located between the longitudinal and circular muscle layers of the gut. Its neurons project to the circular muscle, to other myenteric ganglia, to submucosal ganglia, or directly to the epithelium, and play an important role in regulating and patterning gut motility. (From FASEB J 1989;3:127-38)
Crohn Disease
A chronic transmural inflammation that may involve any part of the DIGESTIVE TRACT from MOUTH to ANUS, mostly found in the ILEUM, the CECUM, and the COLON. In Crohn disease, the inflammation, extending through the intestinal wall from the MUCOSA to the serosa, is characteristically asymmetric and segmental. Epithelioid GRANULOMAS may be seen in some patients.
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Inbred C57BL mice are a strain of laboratory mice that have been produced by many generations of brother-sister matings, resulting in a high degree of genetic uniformity and homozygosity, making them widely used for biomedical research, including studies on genetics, immunology, cancer, and neuroscience.
Gastrointestinal Agents
Drugs used for their effects on the gastrointestinal system, as to control gastric acidity, regulate gastrointestinal motility and water flow, and improve digestion.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Serum glycoprotein produced by activated MACROPHAGES and other mammalian MONONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES. It has necrotizing activity against tumor cell lines and increases ability to reject tumor transplants. Also known as TNF-alpha, it is only 30% homologous to TNF-beta (LYMPHOTOXIN), but they share TNF RECEPTORS.
Inflammation Mediators
The endogenous compounds that mediate inflammation (AUTACOIDS) and related exogenous compounds including the synthetic prostaglandins (PROSTAGLANDINS, SYNTHETIC).
Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
A CALCIUM-independent subtype of nitric oxide synthase that may play a role in immune function. It is an inducible enzyme whose expression is transcriptionally regulated by a variety of CYTOKINES.
Injections, Intraperitoneal
Th1 Cells
Subset of helper-inducer T-lymphocytes which synthesize and secrete interleukin-2, gamma-interferon, and interleukin-12. Due to their ability to kill antigen-presenting cells and their lymphokine-mediated effector activity, Th1 cells are associated with vigorous delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions.
NF-kappa B
Ubiquitous, inducible, nuclear transcriptional activator that binds to enhancer elements in many different cell types and is activated by pathogenic stimuli. The NF-kappa B complex is a heterodimer composed of two DNA-binding subunits: NF-kappa B1 and relA.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Anti-inflammatory agents that are non-steroidal in nature. In addition to anti-inflammatory actions, they have analgesic, antipyretic, and platelet-inhibitory actions.They act by blocking the synthesis of prostaglandins by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, which converts arachidonic acid to cyclic endoperoxides, precursors of prostaglandins. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis accounts for their analgesic, antipyretic, and platelet-inhibitory actions; other mechanisms may contribute to their anti-inflammatory effects.
Fibrosis
Any pathological condition where fibrous connective tissue invades any organ, usually as a consequence of inflammation or other injury.
Inflammation
Mice, Knockout
Strains of mice in which certain GENES of their GENOMES have been disrupted, or "knocked-out". To produce knockouts, using RECOMBINANT DNA technology, the normal DNA sequence of the gene being studied is altered to prevent synthesis of a normal gene product. Cloned cells in which this DNA alteration is successful are then injected into mouse EMBRYOS to produce chimeric mice. The chimeric mice are then bred to yield a strain in which all the cells of the mouse contain the disrupted gene. Knockout mice are used as EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODELS for diseases (DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL) and to clarify the functions of the genes.
Intestines
RNA, Messenger
RNA sequences that serve as templates for protein synthesis. Bacterial mRNAs are generally primary transcripts in that they do not require post-transcriptional processing. Eukaryotic mRNA is synthesized in the nucleus and must be exported to the cytoplasm for translation. Most eukaryotic mRNAs have a sequence of polyadenylic acid at the 3' end, referred to as the poly(A) tail. The function of this tail is not known for certain, but it may play a role in the export of mature mRNA from the nucleus as well as in helping stabilize some mRNA molecules by retarding their degradation in the cytoplasm.
Immunohistochemistry
Body Weight
Interferon-gamma
The major interferon produced by mitogenically or antigenically stimulated LYMPHOCYTES. It is structurally different from TYPE I INTERFERON and its major activity is immunoregulation. It has been implicated in the expression of CLASS II HISTOCOMPATIBILITY ANTIGENS in cells that do not normally produce them, leading to AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES.
Nitric Oxide Synthase
Interleukin-10
A cytokine produced by a variety of cell types, including T-LYMPHOCYTES; MONOCYTES; DENDRITIC CELLS; and EPITHELIAL CELLS that exerts a variety of effects on immunoregulation and INFLAMMATION. Interleukin-10 combines with itself to form a homodimeric molecule that is the biologically active form of the protein.
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
A critical subpopulation of T-lymphocytes involved in the induction of most immunological functions. The HIV virus has selective tropism for the T4 cell which expresses the CD4 phenotypic marker, a receptor for HIV. In fact, the key element in the profound immunosuppression seen in HIV infection is the depletion of this subset of T-lymphocytes.