scholarly journals Green Brazilian Propolis Action on Macrophages and Lymphoid Organs of Chronically Stressed Mice

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiane Missima ◽  
José Maurício Sforcin

Stress is a generic term that summarizes how psychosocial and environmental factors influence physical and mental well-being. The interaction between stress and immunity has been widely investigated, involving the neuroendocrine system and several organs. Assays using natural products in stress models deserve further investigation. Propolis immunomodulatory action has been mentioned and it has been the subject of scientific investigation in our laboratory. The aim of this study was to evaluate if and how propolis activated macrophages in BALB/c mice submitted to immobilization stress, as well as the histopathological analysis of the thymus, bone marrow, spleen and adrenal glands. Stressed mice showed a higher hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation by peritoneal macrophages, and propolis treatment potentiated H2O2generation and inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production by these cells. Histopathological analysis showed no alterations in the thymus, bone marrow and adrenal glands, but increased germinal centers in the spleen. Propolis treatment counteracted the alterations found in the spleen of stressed mice. New research is being carried out in order to elucidate propolis immunomodulatory action during stress.

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1575
Author(s):  
Lucia Zanoni ◽  
Riccardo Mei ◽  
Lorenzo Bianchi ◽  
Francesca Giunchi ◽  
Lorenzo Maltoni ◽  
...  

The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the role of [18F]Fluciclovine PET/CT in the characterization of intra-prostatic lesions in high-risk primary PCa patients eligible for radical prostatectomy, in comparison with conventional [11C]Choline PET/CT and validated by prostatectomy pathologic examination. Secondary aims were to determine the performance of PET semi-quantitative parameters (SUVmax; target-to-background ratios [TBRs], using abdominal aorta, bone marrow and liver as backgrounds) for malignant lesion detection (and best cut-off values) and to search predictive factors of malignancy. A six sextants prostate template was created and used by PET readers and pathologists for data comparison and validation. PET visual and semi-quantitative analyses were performed: for instance, patient-based, blinded to histopathology; subsequently lesion-based, un-blinded, according to the pathology reference template. Among 19 patients included (mean age 63 years, 89% high and 11% very-high-risk, mean PSA 9.15 ng/mL), 45 malignant and 31 benign lesions were found and 19 healthy areas were selected (n = 95). For both tracers, the location of the “blinded” prostate SUVmax matched with the lobe of the lesion with the highest pGS in 17/19 cases (89%). There was direct correlation between [18F]Fluciclovine uptake values and pISUP. Overall, lesion-based (n = 95), the performance of PET semiquantitative parameters, with either [18F]Fluciclovine or [11C]Choline, in detecting either malignant/ISUP2-5/ISUP4-5 PCa lesions, was moderate and similar (AUCs ≥ 0.70) but still inadequate (AUCs ≤ 0.81) as a standalone staging procedure. A [18F]Fluciclovine TBR-L3 ≥ 1.5 would depict a clinical significant lesion with a sensitivity and specificity of 85% and 68% respectively; whereas a SUVmax cut-off value of 4 would be able to identify a ISUP 4-5 lesion in all cases (sensitivity 100%), although with low specificity (52%). TBRs (especially with threshold significantly higher than aorta and slightly higher than bone marrow), may be complementary to implement malignancy targeting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Hernández-Torres ◽  
Rogério Silva do Nascimento ◽  
Monica Cardozo Rebouças ◽  
Alexandra Cassado ◽  
Kely Catarine Matteucci ◽  
...  

AbstractChagas disease is a life-threatening disorder caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Parasite-specific antibodies, CD8+ T cells, as well as IFN-γ and nitric oxide (NO) are key elements of the adaptive and innate immunity against the extracellular and intracellular forms of the parasite. Bim is a potent pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family implicated in different aspects of the immune regulation, such as negative selection of self-reactive thymocytes and elimination of antigen-specific T cells at the end of an immune response. Interestingly, the role of Bim during infections remains largely unidentified. To explore the role of Bim in Chagas disease, we infected WT, Bim+/−, Bim−/− mice with trypomastigotes forms of the Y strain of T. cruzi. Strikingly, our data revealed that Bim−/− mice exhibit a delay in the development of parasitemia followed by a deficiency in the control of parasite load in the bloodstream and a decreased survival compared to WT and Bim+/− mice. At the peak of parasitemia, peritoneal macrophages of Bim−/− mice exhibit decreased NO production, which correlated with a decrease in the pro-inflammatory Small Peritoneal Macrophage (SPM) subset. A similar reduction in NO secretion, as well as in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and IL-6, was also observed in Bim−/− splenocytes. Moreover, an impaired anti-T. cruzi CD8+ T-cell response was found in Bim−/− mice at this time point. Taken together, our results suggest that these alterations may contribute to the establishment of a delayed yet enlarged parasitic load observed at day 9 after infection of Bim−/− mice and place Bim as an important protein in the control of T. cruzi infections.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréa Cristina Apolinário da Silva ◽  
Juliana Kelle de Andrade Lemoine Neves ◽  
João Inácio Irmão ◽  
Vláudia Maria Assis Costa ◽  
Valdênia Maria Oliveira Souza ◽  
...  

Previous studies conducted with the imidazolidinic derivative 3-benzyl-5-(4-chloro-arylazo)-4-thioxo-imidazolidin-2-one (LPSF-PT05) show outstanding activity against adultSchistosoma mansoniwormsin vitro. In the first phase of this study,S. mansoni-infected mice were treated, orally, with 100 mg/Kg of the LPSF-PT05 in three formulations: Tween 80 and saline solution, oil/water (70 : 30) emulsion, and solid dispersion with polyethylene glycol (PEG). In the second phase, three other doses of the LPSF-PT05 in PEG were tested: 3, 10, 30 mg/kg. These treatment regimens significantly reduced the number of recovered worms due to increases in the solubility of the compound in this formulation; the greatest reduction (70.5%) was observed at the dose of 100 mg/kg. There was no changes in the pattern of mature egg compared to immature eggs; however there was a significant increase in the number of dead eggs. Histopathological analysis of liver tissue showed changes in morphological aspects of the hepatic parenchyma with decrease exudative-productive hepatic granuloma stages, although we found no significant differences in IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, or NO production in response to the specific antigen SEA. The results show the derivative LPSF-PT05 to be a potential candidate in the etiological treatment of schistosomiasis with a possible dampening effect of the granulomatous process.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera L. Petricevich

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects ofTityus serrulatusvenom (TSV) on murine peritoneal macrophages evaluated in terms of activation. The effects of crude TSV were analysed by detection of cytokines, oxygen intermediate metabolites (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) in supernatants of peritoneal macrophages. Several functional bioassays were employed including anin vitromodel for envenomating: cytotoxicity of TSV was assessed using the lyses percentage. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity was assayed by measuring its cytotoxic activity on L-929 cells, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, whereas NO levels were detected by Griess colorimetric reactions in culture supernatant of macrophages incubated with TSV and subsequently exposed to either lipopolysaccharide or IFN-γ. Incubation of macrophages with TSV increased production of IL-6 and IFN-γ in a dose-dependent manner. TNF production was not detected in supernatants treated with TSV at any concentration. The increase in IL-6 secretion was not associated with concentration-dependent cytoxicity of TSV on these cells. These data suggest that the cytotoxicity does not appear to be the main cause of an increased cytokine production by these cells. Although NO is an important effector molecule in macrophage microbicidal activity, the inducing potential of the test compounds for its release was found to be very moderate, ranging from 125 to 800 mM. Interestingly, NO levels of peritoneal macrophages were increased after IFN-γ. Moreover, NO production had an apparent effect on macrophage activity. The results obtained here also shown that the TSV induces an important elevation in H2O2release. These results combined with NO production suggest that TSV possesses significant immunomodulatory activities capable of stimulating immune functionsin vitro.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 850
Author(s):  
Murilo Luiz Bazon ◽  
Luis Gustavo Romani Fernandes ◽  
Isabela Oliveira Sandrini Assugeni ◽  
Lucas Machado Pinto ◽  
Patrícia Ucelli Simioni ◽  
...  

The social wasp Polybia paulista (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) is highly aggressive, being responsible for many medical occurrences. One of the most allergenic components of this venom is Antigen 5 (Poly p 5). The possible modulation of the in vitro immune response induced by antigen 5 from P. paulista venom, expressed recombinantly (rPoly p 5), on BALB/c mice peritoneal macrophages, activated or not with LPS, was assessed. Here, we analyzed cell viability changes, expression of the phosphorylated form of p65 NF-κB subunit, nitric oxide (NO), proinflammatory cytokines production, and co-stimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86). The results suggest that rPoly p 5 does not affect NO production nor the expression of co-stimulatory molecules in mouse peritoneal macrophages. On the other hand, rPoly p 5 induced an increase in IL-1β production in non-activated macrophages and a reduction in the production of TNF-α and MCP-1 cytokines in activated macrophages. rPoly p 5 decreased the in vitro production of the phosphorylated p65 NF-κB subunit in non-activated macrophages. These findings suggest an essential role of this allergen in the polarization of functional M2 macrophage phenotypes, when analyzed in previously activated macrophages. Further investigations, mainly in in vivo studies, should be conducted to elucidate Polybia paulista Ag5 biological role in the macrophage functional profile modulation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa Gruden-Movsesijan ◽  
Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic

The influence of Trichinella spiralis infection on macrophage activity in rats during the first 28 days of infection was examined by measuring the production of NO and IL-6, as well as the expression of mannose receptor on the surface of peritoneal macrophages. During the course of a dynamic shift in the 3 life-cycle stages of the parasite, intermittent variations in NO production were observed but ended with increased values that coincided with the highest values for IL-6 release in the final, muscle phase of infection. No change in mannose receptor expression was observed during the course of infection. These results confirm that the Trichinella spiralis infection provokes changes in macrophage activity that could influence not only the course of the parasitic disease but also the overall immune status of the host.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Mittos ◽  
Bradley Malin ◽  
Emiliano De Cristofaro

Abstract Rapid advances in human genomics are enabling researchers to gain a better understanding of the role of the genome in our health and well-being, stimulating hope for more effective and cost efficient healthcare. However, this also prompts a number of security and privacy concerns stemming from the distinctive characteristics of genomic data. To address them, a new research community has emerged and produced a large number of publications and initiatives. In this paper, we rely on a structured methodology to contextualize and provide a critical analysis of the current knowledge on privacy-enhancing technologies used for testing, storing, and sharing genomic data, using a representative sample of the work published in the past decade. We identify and discuss limitations, technical challenges, and issues faced by the community, focusing in particular on those that are inherently tied to the nature of the problem and are harder for the community alone to address. Finally, we report on the importance and difficulty of the identified challenges based on an online survey of genome data privacy experts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliann G. Kiang ◽  
Min Zhai ◽  
Bin Lin ◽  
Joan T. Smith ◽  
Marsha N. Anderson ◽  
...  

Exposure to ionizing radiation (radiation injury, RI) in nuclear-related episode is evident to be life-threatening. RI occurs at levels of organs, tissues, cytosols, or nucleus. Their mechanisms are still not fully understood. FDA approves pegylated granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (Neulasta™, Peg-G-CSF) for acute hematopoietic syndrome and has been shown to save lives after lethal RI. We aimed to test whether Ghrelin enhanced Peg-G-CSF’s efficacy to save more lives after lethal RI. B6D2F1/J female mice were used for the study. They received 9.5 Gy (LD50/30 at 0.4 Gy/min) emitted from the 60Co-γ-photon radiation facility. Peg-G-CSF was injected subcutaneously at 1 mg/kg once on days 1, 8, and 15 after irradiation. Ghrelin contains 28 amino acid and is a hunger peptide that has been shown to stimulate food intake, promote intestinal epithelial cell proliferation, elevates immunity, inhibits brain hemorrhage, and increases stress-coping. Ghrelin was injected subcutaneously at 113 μg/kg once on days 1, 2, and 3 after irradiation. Survival, body weight, water consumption, hematology, spleen weight, splenocytes, bone marrow cells, and histology of bone marrow and ileum were performed. We observed that radiation resulted in 30-days survival by 30%. RI decreased their body weights and water consumption volumes. On the 30th day post-RI, platelets and WBCs such as basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils and leukocytes were still significantly decreased in surviving mice. Likewise, their RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and splenocytes remained low; splenomegaly was found in these mice. Bone marrow in surviving RI animals maintained low cellularity with high counts of fat cells and low counts of megakaryocytes. Meanwhile, ileum histology displayed injury. However, mice co-treated with both drugs 24 h after RI resulted in 30-days survival by 45% above the vehicle group. Additionally, the body-weight loss was mitigated, the acute radiation syndrome was reduced. This co-therapy significantly increased neutrophils, eosinophils, leukocytes, and platelets in circulation, inhibited splenomegaly, and increased bone marrow cells. Histopathological analysis showed significant improvement on bone marrow cellularity and ileum morphology. In conclusion, the results provide a proof of concept and suggest that the co-therapy of Peg-G-CSF and Ghrelin is efficacious to ameliorate RI.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document