THE EFFECT OF HOMALANTHUS POPULNEUS (GIESEL.) PAX. EXTRACT IN EXPRESSION OF T-CELL RECEPTOR: INHIBITION STUDY OF HIV INFECTION

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of Homalanthus populneus’s extract toward the expression of CD4 and CD8 which both areimportant in body’s defense mechanism against HIV.Methods: Leaves and barks of H. populneus were extracted with 70% ethanol. Freeze dry method had been used in order to get the final extract.PBMCs were extracted and it has been used for CD4 and CD8 expression test using flow cytometry. In oreder to analyze the effect of the extract to theHIV type 1, gp41 and gp120 expression was tested using talicytometry and using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.Results: This study reported that H. populneus’s extract reduced the expression of CD4 receptor in both peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)and T-lymphoblast cell line (CEM). In contract, this extract increased CD8 expression in PBMC. It was also able to reduce the percentage of proteingp41 and gp120 in CEM cultures.Conclusion: Those results show that H. populneus’s extract is potentially developed as an HIV drug from Indonesia. However, further study needs tobe done including analyzing the effect of variety of concentrations and also exposure periods.

Antiproliferative and apoptotic potencies of glucocorticoids: nonconcordance with their antiinflammatory and immunossuppressive properties

Relative antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive potencies of glucocorticoids (GC) were previously well defined. Nonetheless, GC also regulate cell proliferation and programmed death (apoptosis). The aim of this study was to determine the relative potency of different GC on the modulation of cell survival. The GC-sensitive lymphoblast cell line CEM-c7/14 was submitted to 48h-exposure to GC (dose-response curve from 10-8 to 10-5M). Cell survival was analyzed employing the DimethylTiazol-Tetrazolium (MTT) test. For each GC at least 4 experiments were performed in quadruplicate. Responses to different GC at the same molarity were analyzed by ANOVA on Ranks. Cell responses to the same GC in different concentrations were tested by repeated measures ANOVA. The EC50 for each GC was calculated with the GraphPad Prism 3.0 software. The use of low concentrations (10-8 and 10-7M) of hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone determined a similar effects on cell survival, which was less prominent than that observed with betamethasone, budesonide or momethasone. Momethasone was the most potent GC, inducing the most intense dexamethasone reduction on cell survival at the lowest concentration (10-8M). Momethasone and methylprednisolone were the two GC with the strongest impact on cell survival. Our findings suggest that antiproliferative and apoptotic potencies of GC are different from those previously reported antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive actions.