The surface M protein of group A streptococci (GAS) is one of the major virulence factors for this pathogen. Antibodies to the M protein can facilitate opsonophagocytosis by phagocytic cells present in human blood. We investigated whether pooled normal immunoglobulin G (IVIG) contains antibodies that can opsonize and enhance the phagocytosis of type M1 strains of GAS and whether the levels of t...

background: cardiac involvement was the major leading cause of death in patients with kawasaki and ivig administration reduces cardiac complications. the objective of this study was to determine the frequency of cardiovascular complications and duration of fever with regard to the time of intravenous immunoglobulin (ivig) administration of patients with kawasaki disease. methods: this follow-up...

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of infants and young children, preferentially affecting the coronary arteries. Intravenous infusion of high dose Ig (IVIG) effectively reduces systemic inflammation and prevents coronary artery lesions in KD. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of IVIG, we examined gene expression profiles of PBMC and purified monocytes o...

BACKGROUND Kawasaki disease (KD) is known to be associated with T help (Th) 2 reaction and subsequently allergic diseases. Interleukin-31 (IL-31) has also been reported to be involved in Th2 mediated diseases such as allergic diseases. However, the role of IL-31 in KD has not been previously reported. The aim of this study is to investigate whether IL-31 is associated with KD and its clinical o...

Intravenous Ig therapy (IVIg) is reported to be a useful regimen in treating autoimmune diseases. In this study, we asked whether IVIg (in vitro) could increase the expression of TGF-beta, IL-10, and the transcription factor FoxP3 in T regulatory (Treg) cells, and the idea that IVIg could enhance suppressive properties of these cells. CD4(+) T cells from 12 healthy individuals were cultured in ...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the long-term effects of megadoses of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in a small cohort of patients with relapsing primary APS resistant to conventional treatments. METHODS Five primary APS patients, 4 women, mean age 45.1 years (range 31-76 years), were considered eligible for IVIG therapy due to relapsing thrombotic events (4 recurrent venous thromboses, 2 ischae...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is used as replacement therapy in patients with antibody deficiencies and at higher dosages in immune-mediated disorders. Although different mechanisms have been described in vitro, the in vivo immunomodulatory effects of IVIG are poorly understood. Different studies have suggested that IVIG modulates B-cell functions as activation, proliferation, and apoptosis...

plasma cell differentiation [3-8]. IVIg also modulates cell-mediated immunity. It inhibits production of interleukin-2 and interferon-gamma by T cells, induces degradation of complement factors, and upregulates/downregulates expression of the FcγRII macrophage receptor [9-11]. An elegant experiment by Zhang et al. [12] revealed additional protective mechanisms of IVIg. The binding of mice anti-...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of treatment without aspirin in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD) and to determine whether it is necessary to expose children to high- or medium-dose aspirin. METHODS A total of 162 patients who fulfilled the established criteria of acute KD between 1993 and 2003 were included in this retrospective study. All patients were treated with high-dose intrave...