Taxol, a mitotic spindle toxin, was found to selectively inhibit the proliferation of Leishmania donovani in vitro at nanomolar concentrations with an IC50 of 35 nM. Concentrations of taxol as high as 50 nM, however, did not affect J774A.1 murine macrophages. Taxol (30 nM) also inhibited amastigote multiplication within a J774A.1 macrophage cell line when used in a 10-day experiment. It resulte...

Arabinosylated lipoarabinomannan (Ara-LAM), a surface glycolipid antigen isolated from avirulent Mycobacterium smegmatis is involved in modulation of host cell signaling. In this study, we investigated Ara-LAM-mediated modulation of impaired immune responses during visceral leishmaniasis caused by protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. Ara-LAM treatment at dose of 3 microg/ml in L. donovani in...

Background:Punica granatum var. pleniflora (PGP) has been used for thousands of years as an effective agent to treat various types of diseases. However, there are a few new evidences addressing its therapeutic effects and related mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects of ethanolic (ET), dichloromet...

hepcidin is an innate immune element which decreases the iron absorption from diet and iron releasing from macrophage cell. in contrast to the chemical iron chelators, there has been limited effort applied to the specific use of hepcidin as a new drug for decreasing the iron overload. hepcidin is produced in different biological systems. for instance, e-coli is used for human hepcidin expressio...

Background: Hemicellulose containing nutritional supplements demonstrate benefi ts to the immune system in vitro and in vivo. Here we show that Natramune (PDS-2865) stimulates phagocytosis, nitric oxide production and boosts viability in J774A.1 murine machrophages. We also show that dietary supplementation with Natramune (PDS-2865) signifi cantly increases the levels of circulating lymphocytes...

OBJECTIVES This study describes the antileishmanial efficacy of the novel drug formulation of amphotericin B (AmB) attached to functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) and compares it with AmB. METHODS f-CNTs were prepared in a two-step chemical carboxylation and amidation process. The AmB was then attached to make f-CNT-AmB and its construction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT...

A new quantum dot (QD) PEGylated micelle laced with phosphatidylserine (PS) for specific scavenger receptor-mediated uptake by macrophages is reported. The size and surface chemistry of PS-QD micelles were characterized by standard methods and the effects of their physicochemical properties on specific targeting and uptake were comprehensively studied in a monocytic cell line (J774A.1).

It has been suggested that retinoic acid (RA) has a potential role in the prevention of atherosclerotic CVD. In the present study, we used J774A.1 cell lines and primary peritoneal macrophages to investigate the protective effects of RA on foam cell formation and atherogenesis in apoE-deficient (apoE- / -) mice. A total of twenty male apoE- / - mice (n 10 animals per group), aged 8 weeks, were ...