gamma-Linolenic acid (GLA), an essential omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (FA) is an attractive concept as anticancer agent because it exerts selective cytotoxic on human breast cancer cells without affecting normal cells. This selective toxicity has been identified to be due, at least in part, to the production of lipid peroxides and free radicals. Interestingly, a novel hypothesis for GLA-i...

Dietary gammalinolenic acid (GLA), a potent inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and suppressor of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), can attenuate the clinical course of rheumatoid arthritics, with negligible side effects. Since Zileuton, also an inhibitor of 5-LOX, attenuates asthma but with an undesirable side effect, we investigated whether dietary GLA would suppress biosynthesis of PMN-LTB4 isolated fr...

To determine the effects of EPA, stearidonic acid (STA) or gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) on immune outcomes, healthy male subjects consumed one of seven oil blends for 12 weeks. EPA consumption increased the EPA content of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Consumption of GLA (2.0 g/d) in the absence of STA or EPA increased di-homo-GLA content in PBMC. Neither STA nor its derivative 20 : 4...

With over eight million cases of tuberculosis each year there is a pressing need for the development of new vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subunit vaccines consisting of recombinant proteins are an attractive vaccine approach due to their inherent safety compared to attenuated live vaccines and the uniformity of manufacture. Addition of properly formulated TLR agonist-containing a...

The complete amino acid sequence of bovine bone matrix Gla protein (MGP) was determined by automatic sequence analysis of the intact protein and of peptides isolated from tryptic and BNPS-skatole digests. This 79-residue, vitamin K-dependent protein contains a single disulfide bond and 4.8 gamma-carboxyglutamate (Gla) residues, one each at positions 37, 41, 48, and 52, and 0.8 Gla and 0.2 Glu a...

To determine the utility of ultrasonography (US) in diagnosing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in children, this study examined 106 children who were at 50% risk for the disease. The children underwent a history, physical examination, abdominal US, and gene linkage analysis (GLA) with tightly linked markers for ADPKD1 and ADPKD2 genes. Only ADPKD1 children were studied. A c...

Innate immune responses to vaccine adjuvants based on lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacterial cell walls, are driven by Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and adaptor proteins including MyD88 and TRIF, leading to the production of inflammatory cytokines, type I interferons, and chemokines. We report here on the characterization of a synthetic hexaacylated lipid A derivative, de...

The incidence of invasive fungal infections is increasing in recent years. The present study mainly investigated glabridin (Gla) alone and especially in combination with fluconazole (FLC) against Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida species (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Candida Glabratas) by different methods. The minimal inhibitory concentration...

The enzymes that are involved in the elongation of fatty acids differ in terms of the substrates on which they act. To date, the enzymes specifically involved in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids have not yet been identified. In an attempt to identify a gene(s) encoding an enzyme(s) specific for the elongation of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) (18:3n-6), a cDNA expression library was ...

BACKGROUND Radiotherapy of the thorax often causes lung inflammation leading to fibrosis. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of glycyrrhizic acid (GLA) could improve the development of lung fibrosis in irradiated animals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Group A rats received thoracic irradiation. Rats in group B received GLA ...