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Am J Chin Med. 2002;30(2-3):215-23.
Effect of ninjin-youei-to on Th1/Th2 type cytokine production in different mouse strains.
Nakada T, Watanabe K, Jin GB, Triizuk K, Hanawa T.
Oriental Medicine Research Center of the Kitasato Institute, Japan.
Ninjin-youei-to (NYT; ren-shen-yang-rong-tang in Chinese) is a traditional herbal formula, which is widely used in Japan, Korea and China to modulate physiological immunity. The effects of oral administration of NYT on cytokine production from splenocytes were investigated in both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice in which Th1 and Th2 were dominant, respectively. Splenocytes from C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, which took NYT orally forfour weeks, were cultured with anti-mouse CD3 mAb, and the supernatant was examined for cytokine production using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Administration of NYT to C57BL/6 mice, increased the production of interleukin-4 (IL-4) significantly, and slightly decreased interferon-y (IFN-gamma) production from splenocytes. In contrast, the same treatment significantly increased IFN-gamma secretion from splenocytes of BALB/c mice. No remarkable changes of IL-12 production from splenocytes were observed in either strain of mice. These results suggest that oral administration of NYT ameliorates the excessive inclination of Th1 and Th2 type cytokine production, and NYT may provide a beneficial effects for the treatment of diseases caused by a skewed Th1-Th2 balance in the immune system.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230010&dopt=Abstract
Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Sep;25(9):1165-8.
Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153) in human mast cells requires NF-kappa B activation.
Kwon O, Lee E, Moon TC, Jung H, Lin CX, Nam KS, Baek SH, Min HK, Chang HW.
College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyongsan, Korea.
Mast cells are critical for initiating innate immune and inflammatory responses by releasing a number of pro-inflammatory mediators. The potential immunomodulatory properties of hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons have been the subject of extensive investigation, as the immune system is a sensitive target for hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbon toxicity. In this report, the effects of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in the human leukemic mast cell line were investigated. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta expressed their respective mRNA in the presence or absence of PCB, while cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and IL-6 mRNA expression were highly induced by PCB after 2 h. Moreover, pre-treatment with the nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB pathway inhibitor, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, suppressed COX-2, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta induction and reduced the IL-6 mRNA levels induced by PCB. The NF-kappaB activity was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift analysis (EMSA) using an oligonucleotide containing a consensus NF-kappaB binding sequence. Stimulating the cells with PCB activated NF-kappaB. However, pre-treating them with a NF-kappaB pathway inhibitor, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, suppressed PCB-induced NF-kappaB activation. This suggests that PCB induces cycloxoygenase-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and that this induction occurs through NF-kappaB.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230110&dopt=Abstract
Proc Nutr Soc. 2002 Aug;61(3):375-80.
1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol: endocrinology meets the immune system.
van Etten E, Decallonne B, Mathieu C.
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Endocrinology, Catholic University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, Belgium.
Previous work has demonstrated that, besides its effects on Ca and bone metabolism, the active form of cholecalciferol, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3), possesses pronounced immunomodulatory effects. In non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice primary (before disease onset), secondary (after insulitis but before diabetes onset) as well as tertiary (after transplantation of syngeneic islets) prevention of diabetes was demonstrated with 1,25(OH)2D3 and its chemically-manufactured non-hypercalcaemic analogues. 1,25(OH)2D3 exerts its immune effects both at the level of the T lymphocyte (shift in cytokine profile from T-helper (Th)1 to Th2, enhanced sensitivity to apoptosis-inducing signals) as well as at the level of the antigen-presenting cell (reduced antigen presentation, reduced production of Th1-promoting cytokines, reduced expression of co-stimulatory molecules). Also, physiologically, 1,25(OH)2D3 is believed to have a role in the immune system by serving as a negative feedback signal, limiting the mounted immune reaction. To test the clinical applicability of 1,25(OH)2D3 as treatment for type 1 diabetes in genetically-at-risk young children, we tested whether short-term early-life intervention with cholecalciferol or non-hypercalcaemic analogues of 1,25(OH)2D3 could prevent diabetes in NOD mice. Significant protection of pancreatic beta cells against autoimmune destruction was observed in analogue-treated and especially in cholecalciferol-treated NOD mice as compared with controls (P<0.005). This short-term early-life intervention was, however, not able to protect the mice from developing diabetes during their lifetime. Possible solutions are longer or combined treatments with other immunomodulators that have synergistic effects with 1,25(OH)2D3 and its analogues.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230797&dopt=Abstract
J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Aug;8(4):459-66.
Gerimax ginseng regulates both humoral and cellular immunity during chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection.
Song Z, Wu H, Mathee K, Hoiby N, Kharazmi A.
Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA. zhijunsonahoo.com
BACKGROUND: Chronic lung infection among patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), diffused panbronchiolitis, and chronic obstructive bronchiecteisis is often because of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. High morbidity and mortality in patients with CF are because of P. aeuruginosa that undergoes genotypic and phenotypic changes during prolonged stay in the lung resulting in increased antibiotic resistance, necessitating a search for alternative or supplement drugs. OBJECTIVE: In this study we compared the therapeutical effect of Gerimax (Dansk Droge A/S, Ishoj, Denmark) ginseng with placebo control by using a rat model of chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection mimicking that in patients with CF. METHODS AND INTERVENTIONS: The animals were challenged intratracheally with the prototypic P. aeruginosa PAO1 in alginate beads (1 x 10(9) colony-forming units per milliliter [CFU/mL]) followed by subcutaneous injection of ginseng extract (150 mg/kg body weight once per day) and examined on days 7 and 21. RESULTS: The day 7 analyses show that ginseng treatment resulted in lowering serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and lung interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels compared to the control group. On day 21, higher lung IgA, upregulated serum IgG2a, stronger lung responses of interferon-gamma, IL-4, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha with milder lung pathology and enhanced lung bacteriology were detected in the ginseng-treated group when compared to those of the control group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the Gerimax ginseng treatment can modulate the immune system in favor of clearing the infection with P. aeruginosa in the lungs of rats. Thus, ginseng might be a promising alternative supplement for the treatment of chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection in patients with CF.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230906&dopt=Abstract
J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Aug;8(4):467-75.
In vitro immunomodulatory effects of ten commonly used herbs on murine lymphocytes.
Wilasrusmee C, Kittur S, Siddiqui J, Bruch D, Wilasrusmee S, Kittur DS.
Transplantation and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Surgery, State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Physicians are increasingly encountering patients who use herbal products. Some of these products are known to modulate the immune system but their scientific basic is not well established. Because these products can affect the host immune system, they could be beneficial in the treatment of immune-related diseases, or alternatively, they could cause inadvertent side-effects. The purpose of this study was to determine which of these common herbal products modulate lymphocyte proliferation in vitro. METHODS: Lymphocyte proliferation assays using concanavalin A (mitogen stimulation) and mixed lymphocyte culture (alloantigen stimulation) were used as in vitro tests to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of 10 commonly used herbal products. RESULTS: Ginger and tea were consistently immunosuppressive while dong quai, milk thistle, and St. John's wort were consistently immunostimulatory in vitro. Ginseng enhanced lymphocyte proliferation only in the mitogen-stimulation assay. The magnitude of the enhancement or suppression of the individual herbal products was different in the two assays. CONCLUSION: Our study provides a uniform survey of the immunomodulatory properties of 10 commonly used herbal products and paves the way for testing these effects in vivo and in clinical setting.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230907&dopt=Abstract
Hair loss is a problem in modern soceity. Examining the factors of hair growth may
shed light on how hair loss might occur.
How long can hair grow before it stops growing eventually if it does?
Given that the hair growth rate is quite uniform and constant, somewhere between 0.3-0.5 millimeters per day, it's believed that the length of anagen, the growth phase, differs among individuals, and this is the major determinant to the maximum hair length. For some individuals, anagen may last ten years. Of course the length of the anagen is governed by genes, and the genetic background of the individuals. Non-genetic factors such as nutritional condition, weather, seasonal changes (hair may grow a bit faster during winter), taking medications, health condition may of course influence the rate of
hair growth as well as
The shape of the hair, straight or curly, is dependent on the shape of the follicle. A circular or round hair follicle would generate straight hair, while the follicle with oval or elliptical shapes (in its cross-section) would produce a curly hair.
DHEA has been suggested to provide numerous potential benefits. DHEA (or dehydroepiandrosterone) is converted into androgens (male hormones)
or estrogens (female hormones) in the cells.
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