background: herbal medicines have been used since ancient times for treatment of a range of diseases and have represented stimulatory effects on the function of innate immunity. objective: to evaluate the effects of zataria multiflora (z. multiflora) on the function of innate immunity including phagocytic activity and tnf-α secretion in animal model. methods: eight balb/c mice were divided into...

many findings point to the presence of a close relationship between the immune, endocrine and neurologic systems. for example the suppressive effects of β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hcg) on il-l production, the potentiative effect of enkephalins on lymphocyte functions and the suppressive effect of leuteinizing hormone (lh) on natural killer (nk) cell activities have been clearly establish...

objective: it is believed that monocyte isolation methods and maturation factors affect the phenotypic and functional characteristics of resultant dendritic cells (dc). in the present study, we compared two monocyte isolation methods, including plastic adherence-dendritic cells (adh-dc) and magnetic activated cell sorting- dendritic cells (macs-dc), and their effects on phagocytic activity of d...

BACKGROUND Highly effective antiviral treatment can suppress HIV-1 infection, but the chronic effects of HIV-1-related viral proteins, including gp120 and Tat, on organs such as the lungs can be damaging. HIV-1 transgenic rodent models are useful for studying the systemic effects of these proteins independently of viral infection. We have previously shown that HIV-1 transgene expression (and th...

We have identified two LIM domain proteins, LimF and ChLim, from Dictyostelium that interact with each other and with the small, Rab5-related, Rab21 GTPase to collectively regulate phagocytosis. To investigate in vivo functions, we generated cell lines that lack or overexpress LimF and ChLim and strains that express activating or inhibiting variants of Rab21. Overexpression of LimF, loss of ChL...

The plasma protein fibronectin is an important opsonin in wound repair and host defense. To better understand the process of fibronectin-mediated phagocytosis, we have transfectod K562 cells, which endogenously express 0~5fll, with a,f13. In these transfectants, antibodies to t~fl3 block phagocytosis of fibronectin-opsonized beads completely, even though half the ingestion occurs through endoge...

Macrophages have been considered an elusive yet emerging therapeutic target in tumor development since they are an important component in tumor microenvironment. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of C. sinensis on macrophage function (a component of tumor microenvironment which can alter the virulence of cancer) in high-fat diet fed rats. IMR-32 human neuroblastoma cel...

The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within endothelial cells may have several effects, including alterations in the activity of paracrine factors, gene expression, apoptosis, and cellular injury. Recent studies indicate that a phagocyte-type NAD(P)H oxidase is a major source of endothelial ROS. In contrast to the high-output phagocytic oxidase, the endothelial enzyme has much lower ...

Cells in the trabecular meshwork (TM), a tissue responsible for draining aqueous humor out of the eye, are known to be highly phagocytic. Phagocytic activity in TM cells is thought to play an important role in outflow pathway physiology. However, the molecular mechanisms triggered by phagocytosis in TM cells are unknown. Here we investigated the effects of chronic phagocytic stress on lysosomal...

Caesalpinia sappan L. (Caesalpiniaceae) is a medicinal plant which is used as a thirst quencher in southern part of India especially in Kerala. The present study was conducted to scientifically evaluate the effects of extracts of Caesalpinia sappan on phagocytic function of macrophages. In vivo effect of aqueous, ethanol and hexane extract of the plant at two doses (10mg/kg body weight and 25mg...