There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

다중혈관 관상동맥 환자에서 y-문합을 이용하여 양쪽 내흉동맥만을 사용한 우회술의 조기 성적

Human mesenchymal stem cells are thought to be multipotent cells, which are present in adult marrow, that can replicate as undifferentiated cells and that have the potential to differentiate to lineages of mesenchymal tissues, including bone, cartilage, fat, tendon, muscle, and marrow stroma. Cells that have the characteristics of human mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from marrow aspirates of volunteer donors. These cells displayed a stable phenotype and remained as a monolayer in vitro. These adult stem cells could be induced to differentiate exclusively into the adipocytic, chondrocytic, or osteocytic lineages. Individual stem cells were identified that, when expanded to colonies, retained their multilineage potential.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/284/5411/143.full.pdf

Multilineage Potential of Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

[신간의 별자리x] 우리/미술, 그리고 ‘슬픔의 박물관’

Association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) polymorphisms with risk of meningitis from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an immune mediator encoded in a functionally polymorphic locus. We found the genotype conferring low expression of MIF to be enriched in a cohort of 180 patients with gram-negative bacteremia, compared with 229 healthy controls (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; P = .04), an association that was more pronounced in older adults (OR, 4.6; P = .01). Among older subjects, those with low expression of MIF demonstrated 20% reduced MIF production from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated peripheral blood monocytes and 30% lower monocyte surface Toll-like receptor 4, compared with those with high expression. Our work suggests that older adults with low expression of MIF may be predisposed to hyporesponsiveness to lipopolysaccharide and gram-negative bacterial infection.

/pdf/functional-polymorphisms-in-the-gene-encoding-macrophage-47be5qz5f8.pdf

Functional Polymorphisms in the Gene Encoding Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Are Associated With Gram-Negative Bacteremia in Older Adults

Peripheral Blood Fibrocytes

Dysregulated neutrophil extravasation contributes to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory disorders. Pericytes (PCs) have been implicated in the regulation of neutrophil transmigration, and previous work demonstrates that endothelial cell (EC)-derived signals reduce PC barrier function; however, the signaling mechanisms are unknown. Here, we demonstrate a novel role for EC-derived macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in inhibiting PC contractility and facilitating neutrophil transmigration. With the use of micro-ELISAs, RNA sequencing, quantitative PCR, and flow cytometry, we found that ECs secrete MIF, and PCs upregulate CD74 in response to TNF-α. We demonstrate that EC-derived MIF decreases PC contractility on 2-dimensional silicone substrates via reduction of phosphorylated myosin light chain. With the use of an in vitro microvascular model of the human EC-PC barrier, we demonstrate that MIF decreases the PC barrier to human neutrophil transmigration by increasing intercellular PC gap formation. For the first time, an EC-specific MIF knockout mouse was used to investigate the effects of selective deletion of EC MIF. In a model of acute lung injury, selective deletion of EC MIF decreases neutrophil infiltration to the bronchoalveolar lavage and tissue and simultaneously decreases PC relaxation by increasing myosin light-chain phosphorylation. We conclude that paracrine signals from EC via MIF decrease PC contraction and enhance PC-regulated neutrophil transmigration.-Pellowe, A. S., Sauler, M., Hou, Y., Merola, J., Liu, R., Calderon, B., Lauridsen, H. M., Harris, M. R., Leng, L., Zhang, Y., Tilstam, P. V., Pober, J. S., Bucala, R., Lee, P. J., Gonzalez, A. L. Endothelial cell-secreted MIF reduces pericyte contractility and enhances neutrophil extravasation.

https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1096/fj.201800480R

Endothelial cell-secreted MIF reduces pericyte contractility and enhances neutrophil extravasation

Background: First described in 1994, fibrocytes are now appreciated to participate in different inflammatory and fibrogenic processes as well as in wound healing. Fibrocytes are unique in their expression of both myeloid and connective tissue products, which include a distinct cytokine and surface marker expression profile. Recent studies suggest their clinical utility as predictive biomarkers and as targets for therapeutic intervention. The Problem: Fibrocytes are involved in physiological and beneficial processes such as wound repair. Their involvement in detrimental processes such as aberrant collagen deposition in different fibrosing diseases reveals the sensitive balance in which these bone marrow progenitors have to be maintained. Basic/Clinical Science Advances: The enumeration of circulating fibrocytes and correlation with clinical severity of different fibrosing disorders is one of the most promising advantages in recent fibrocyte research. Besides their potential as a biomarker, fibrocytes may b...

/pdf/fibrocytes-in-fibrotic-diseases-and-wound-healing-4ti0q1dxfn.pdf

Richard Bucala

Papers

Association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) polymorphisms with risk of meningitis from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Functional Polymorphisms in the Gene Encoding Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Are Associated With Gram-Negative Bacteremia in Older Adults

Peripheral Blood Fibrocytes

Endothelial cell-secreted MIF reduces pericyte contractility and enhances neutrophil extravasation

Fibrocytes in Fibrotic Diseases and Wound Healing