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“Dendritic cells (DCs) form a bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems and fundamentally have an impact on anti-infectious defense and immune-mediated diseases, including those affecting the kidney. The field of renal dendritic cells (rDCs) is rapidly evolving, and work in rodent models has provided the first insight into their functional role in kidney homeostasis and disease. Recent findings indicate that rDCs have an important sentinel role against kidney injury and infection. In acute immune-mediated disease they function in an anti-inflammatory

manner, but may acquire pro-inflammatory functionality when renal inflammation becomes chronic. In chronic disease rDCs mature and stimulate rather than tolerize effector T cells, and may contribute to progression of kidney disease. Recent progress in aligning murine Poziotinib ic50 and human DC subsets has opened avenues for making knowledge obtained from mechanistic studies

in find more animal models available for better interpretation of kidney biopsies. There is firsthand evidence indicating changes in human DC subsets and their distribution in some kidney diseases. Data are presently lacking on the identity of rDC progenitors, the molecular mechanisms governing their recruitment into the kidney, and the role of rDCs in kidney homeostasis. This review highlights recent findings in the study of rDCs. Kidney International (2011) 80, 139-145; doi:10.1038/ki.2011.129; published online 25 May 2011″
“The oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia is believed to have an important function, but little is known about its actual mechanisms. We studied the resonance characteristics of subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons and their ionic mechanisms

using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rat brain slices. A swept-sine-wave current with constant amplitude and linearly ��-Nicotinamide nmr increasing frequency was applied to measure the resonance frequency (f(res)) of STN neurons. We also used single-frequency sine wave current to evoke firing. We found that the resonance of STN neurons was temperature- and voltage-dependent. The f(res) of STN neurons was about 4Hz when the temperature was maintained at 38 degrees C and holding potential was at -70 mV. The f(res) increased with more negative holding potentials and decreased with lower temperature. Action potentials fired most readily when the input frequency was near f(res) After application of drug ZD7288 (20 mu M), the resonance of STN neurons was blocked and the spikes evoked by both impedance amplitude profile (ZAP) current and single-frequency sine wave current arose readily at the lowest frequencies, indicating that hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I-h) generated the resonance and mediated a preferential coupling at frequencies near lies between inputs and firing. In conclusion, there is a theta-frequency resonance mediated by I-h in STN neurons.