Papers by Mark Williams
Shock, Apr 1, 2005
Interleukin 8 (IL-8), a member of the CXC subfamily of chemoattractant cytokines, induces a range... more Interleukin 8 (IL-8), a member of the CXC subfamily of chemoattractant cytokines, induces a range of functional responses in human neutrophils via its interactions with two high-affinity cell-surface receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2. Like other CXC chemokines, IL-8 forms homodimers at physiologic concentrations. Monomers and dimers bind to CXC receptors with high affinity and induce various functions. Binding to glycosaminoglycans decreases the dimerization constant, enhancing surface-bound dimer formation. However, a specific role for IL-8 dimerization has not been identified. We explored the hypothesis that certain neutrophil responses to IL-8 were induced primarily by the IL-8 dimers. To this end, two dimerization-deficient IL-8 mutant proteins, M3 and M4, were used in various functional assays. In contrast to native IL-8, these proteins existed primarily as monomers at micromolar concentrations. The mutants retained high-affinity binding to both CXC receptors and potently induced neutrophil calcium flux, chemotaxis, and elastase release. In contrast to native IL-8, neither mutant inhibited tumor necrosis factor ␣-induced oxidant production. Additionally, M4 was less effective than native IL-8 at desensitizing neutrophil migration. These data suggest that although IL-8 dimers or monomers are sufficient for several neutrophil functions, dimers may participate in suppression of specific surfacedependent neutrophil responses.
Friendship in the works of Ratherius of Verona.
Analysis of the friendship language in Catullus Carm. 50.
A reading of Catullus' carmen 45 emphasizing the rhetorical figure of frigus; Cupid's sneezes are... more A reading of Catullus' carmen 45 emphasizing the rhetorical figure of frigus; Cupid's sneezes are in effect critical comments on the lovers' rhetoric.
Contemporary approachs to the Liber Confortatorius seem too easy, too conveniently suited to mode... more Contemporary approachs to the Liber Confortatorius seem too easy, too conveniently suited to modern expectations, and too little cognizant of the fact that love and friendship in the medieval world were more different from our own than we sometimes wish. What emerges if we read the Liber with an eye to other literature of friendship, including that describing friendships between men and women, rather than simply searching it for hints of scandal? If we attempt thus to distance ourselves from our modern notions and preconceptions, what emerges from a reading of the Liber is Goscelin’s reliance on many of the topoi of friendship that had been developed over the centuries, going back to the early Carolingian era, and even as far as Cicero. What is somewhat—but not entirely—new is Goscelin’s application of these topoi to his relationship with a person of the opposite sex.
Book Reviews by Mark Williams
An indispensable reference work for academic libraries that should also find its way into the pri... more An indispensable reference work for academic libraries that should also find its way into the private collections of pastors and scholars of early Christian literature (though perhaps this last must await the publication of an edition in paper covers). What sets this twovolume work apart from its predecessors is the authors' ironbound determination to treat early Christian writings not for what they can tell us of the development of theology or the canon or ecclesiastical history, but rather as the subject of exclusively literary history. As they note, "Literary history focuses on the development of literary forms in relation to the development of institutions and ideas, and this is the norm that has guided us" (vol. I, p. xiii). In other words, philology rules the roost in these volumes; theology and church history are present, as they must be, but they are not the ends the authors are pursuing. Given their perspective, Moreschini and Norelli locate early Christian literature, first, within the context of the literature of Second Temple Judaism and, second, within the larger context of the GrecoRoman literature of the Hellenistic and Imperial eras. (They do not treat Christian writings in languages of the Roman empire other than Latin and Greek.) A couple of examples of the authors' technique, one drawn from Greek and the other from Latin:
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Papers by Mark Williams
Book Reviews by Mark Williams