Mark Wm Rolfe

• Doctor of Medicine
• Banner Health System

The use of bortezomib in combination with other desensitization therapies like plasmapheresis, IVIG, and rituximab has allowed the decrease of antibody levels during treatment in some patients. However, all patients described here have experienced rebound effects to the same or higher levels than the ones before therapy was started. Unfortunately,...

INTRODUCTION: A bronchopleural fistula (BPF) may be one of the most disappointing complications of pneumonectomy or lobectomy. The clinical sequela may include incomplete lung expansion, empyema, prolonged ventilator support, and often gas exchange problems in addition to increased morbidity and mortality. Numerous modalities using chemical agents...

To the Editor: Late complications after pneumonectomy include excessive mediastinal displacement to the ipsilateral side with bronchovascular compromise, bronchopleural fistula with empyema, and decreased pulmonary reserve in the event of a respiratory infection.1,2 We recently learned of an unusual late complication of pneumonectomy that was repor...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a poorly understood interstitial disease that usually proves refractory to therapy and results in irreversible tissue scarring and pulmonary dysfunction. Previous investigations have suggested a number of possible mediators of inflammation and fibrosis that typify IPF. We report increases in lung interleukin-1...

The temporal recruitment of leukocytes to a site of inflammation is dependent on a complex interplay of a number of soluble mediators. Recently, two families of chemotactic cytokines have been discovered. The -C-X-C-family, which includes IL-8, appears to recruit neutrophils and lymphocytes. In contrast, the -C-C-family, which includes monocyte che...

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease with a marked propensity for involvement of the pulmonary parenchyma and thoracic lymphatic system. This granulomatous process is characterized by aggregations of mononuclear cells, multinucleated giant cells, and variable degrees of fibrosis. The agent(s) responsible for the initiation of the inflamm...

Bronchogenic carcinoma displays an aggressive clinical course that may reflect a capacity to evade host defenses. We postulated that tumors may elaborate interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IRAP) to escape host interleukin-1-dependent responses. Homogenates of human bronchogenic lung tumors demonstrated significant increases of IRAP compared...

Mononuclear phagocyte (M phi) recruitment and activation is a hallmark of a number of chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung, including sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We hypothesized that macrophage inflammatory protein-1 (MIP-1 alpha), a peptide with leukocyte activating and chemotactic properties, may play an important ro...

Delayed-type hypersensitivity and allograft rejection are dependent upon the generation of Ag-specific T cell immune responses. The mixed lymphocyte reaction is a model of alloantigen-driven immunity and has provided significant insight into the mechanisms of T cell proliferation. Recently, soluble mediators, including TNF-alpha have been shown to...

Recruitment and activation of mononuclear phagocytes are potentially critical regulatory events for control of pulmonary inflammation. Located at the boundary between the alveolar airspace and the interstitium, alveolar epithelial cells are ideally situated to regulate the recruitment and activation of mononuclear phagocytes through the production...

Organ transplantation has become a therapeutic option for the replacement of malfunctioning tissues and organs. Since the advent of the first combined heart-lung transplant in 1981, there has been a rapid growth in the popularity of lung transplantation for a number of end-stage pulmonary disorders. Interestingly, these lung transplant patients exp...

Lung transplantation has become a therapeutic option for a number of end-stage pulmonary disorders. Lung transplant recipients experience more complications due to acute and chronic allograft rejection as compared to recipients of other solid organs. We postulated that the generation of TNF-alpha plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of acut...

Theoretic and in vitro evidence suggests that thrombosis and inflammation are interrelated. The purpose of the present study was to define the relationship between inflammation and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in an in vivo model. Initiation of DVT was accomplished by administration of antibody to protein C (HPC4, 2 mg/kg) and tumor necrosis factor...

Hard metal pneumoconiosis is a recently recognized occupational lung disease associated with the exposure to cobalt fumes in the workplace. Chronic exposure in susceptible individuals results in interstitial lung disease histopathologically manifested as interstitial fibrosis with an associated mononuclear cell infiltrate and the presence of "canni...

Acute inflammation constitutes the host’s response to a variety of insults, including infection, multiorgan failure associated with sepsis, cancer, trauma, shock, allograft rejection, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. The salient inflammatory reaction that accompanies these states is often related to severe microvascular injury. The consequence of t...

Monocyte recruitment is essential for maintenance of normal pulmonary macrophage populations. In addition, acute and chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases are associated with sequestration of mononuclear phagocytes in the lung. Although alveolar macrophages (AM phi) can secrete a number of potent inflammatory and chemoattractment mediators, these...

During acute inflammation, the first line of cellular response for host defense is the neutrophil. In addition to the historic role of the neutrophil as a phagocyte, recent studies have identified this cell as an important source of a number of cytokines. In this study, we provide evidence that the neutrophil is a significant source of interleukin-...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is an immunologically mediated pulmonary disorder in which activated alveolar macrophages (AM) and neutrophils play cardinal roles in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory lung lesion. The factors responsible for the induction and perpetuation of the neutrophilic alveolitis are not known. Recently, a novel cytokine (Int...

Various human alveolar macrophage (AM)-derived cytokines in the lungs have been shown to be present under conditions of normal homeostasis as well as during the pathogenesis of inflammation. Although extensive investigation has demonstrated the induction of cytokines from AM, relatively little is known regarding endogenous and exogenous regulation...

The alveolar macrophage (AM) is the sentinel immune cell of the distal airspace of the lung. These mononuclear phagocytic cells represent the major host defense against inhaled environmental agents. When activated, the AM has the capacity to release reactive oxygen and arachidonic acid metabolites and produce a number of cytokines, such as interleu...

Mononuclear phagocytes are important immune effector cells that play a fundamental role in cellular immunity. In addition to their antigen-presenting and phagocytic activities, monocytes/macrophages produce a vast array of regulatory and chemotactic cytokines. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a potent neutrophil-activating and chemotactic peptide, is produced...

The human alveolar macrophage (AM) is an important immune effector cell of the lung, as this cell possesses potent antimicrobial activities and has the ability to present antigen. In addition, the Am can secrete a number of regulatory and chemotactic cytokines in response to both endogenous and exogenous stimuli. In this study, we demonstrate that...

The pulmonary fibroblast's (PF) unique location allows it to communicate in a bidirectional fashion between the vascular compartment and alveolar airspace, placing it in a strategic position for the elicitation of inflammatory leukocytes into the lung. In this study, we demonstrate that PF may contribute to pulmonary inflammation through the produc...

The salient features of systemic or local inflammation are the myriad of cellular and humoral interactions that result in elicitation of inflammatory leukocytes. In this study using specialized connective tissue, intact whole blood, we demonstrate the gene expression of two novel chemotactic factors. The buffy-coat cellular expression of neutrophil...