The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.
wikigene or wiki gene protein drug chemical gene disease author authorship tracking collaborative publishing evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration genes proteins drugs chemicals diseases compound
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
OBJECTIVE: Mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) is a systemic vasculitis of small and medium-size vessels, often associated with the hepatitis C virus.Research has shown an emerging role for chemokines and type 1 cytokines in the pathophysiology of this vasculitis.Interleukin 1 (IL-1) plays a role in initiating the cascade of immunoinflammatory responses, and levels of the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) inducible chemokine CXCL10 have been shown to be significantly associated with the presence of active vasculitis in patients with MC.We evaluated serum levels of IL-1beta, IFN-gamma, and CXCL10 in a series of patients with hepatitis C-related MC (MC+HCV), and correlated these measurements with clinical disease features.METHODS: Serum IL-1beta, IFN-gamma, and CXCL10 were assayed in 54 patients with MC+HCV, in 54 sex- and age-matched patients with type C chronic hepatitis without cryoglobulinemia (HCV+), and in 54 controls.RESULTS: MC+HCV patients showed significantly higher mean IL-1beta and CXCL10 serum levels than controls (p < 0.01) or HCV+ patients (p < 0.01).CXCL10 was significantly increased in 14 cryoglobulinemic patients with active vasculitis (necrotizing vasculitis or vasculitic skin ulcers) compared to those without (p < 0.001); IL-1beta was increased in cryoglobulinemic patients with active vasculitis (p = 0.06).No differences were observed for serum IFN-gamma levels.CONCLUSION: Serum levels of IL-1beta and CXCL10 were high in patients with MC+HCV.Increased CXCL10 and IL-1beta levels were associated with the presence of active vasculitis in MC+HCV patients.[1]
