Studies over the past 50 years revealing the molecular events that promote normal T lymphocyte cycle competence and progression led to a detailed understanding of how cytokines function to regulate normal hematopoietic cell proliferation. During that same period, the molecular and genetic changes introduced by the Philadelphia chromosome in chronic myelogenous leukemia were unraveled, and these...

objective(s):pentoxifylline is an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory agent and is used in vascular disorders. it has been shown that pentoxifylline inhibits proinflammatory [d1] cytokines production. the purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of pentoxifylline on the treatment of autoimmune diabetes in mice. materials and methods: diabetes was induced by multiple l...

balb/c mice are highly susceptible to infection with the protozoan parasite leishmania major. this susceptibility has been attributed in part to the expansion of th2 cells and production of their cytokines, il-4 and il-10 and down-regulation of th1 cytokine, inf-γ. the inability of susceptible hosts to mount the immune response necessary to activate macrophage and destroy the parasites can be d...

A common feature seen in states of decreased immune competence or immunosuppression and in diseases of the blood, such as lymphohematopoietic cancers, is the disruption of the normal pathways of cell cycle control. In lymphocytes a series of nonlinear biochemical cascades leads to cellular proliferation and also controls the production of cytokines that provide immunologic help (i.e., aid in B ...

Thyroid hormones play critical roles in differentiation, growth and metabolism, but their participation in immune system regulation has not been completely elucidated. Modulation of in vivo thyroid status was used to carry out an integrative analysis of the role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis in T and B lymphocyte activity. The participation of the protein kinase C (PKC) signa...

Previous studies have shown the down-regulating in vitro effect of cocoa flavonoids on lymphocyte and macrophage activation. In the present paper, we report the capacity of a long-term rich cocoa diet to modulate macrophage cytokine secretion and lymphocyte function in young rats. Weaned rats received natural cocoa (4% or 10% food intake), containing 32 mg flavonoids/g, for 3 weeks. Spleen immu...

Being one of the commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs, Coriolus versicolor (CV), also named as Yunzhi, was known to possess both anti-tumor and immunopotentiating activities. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro immunomodulatory effect of a standardized ethanol-water extract prepared from CV on the proliferation of murine splenic lymphocytes using the MTT assay, and the producti...

recent studies have indicated the profound  anti-tumor activity of artemisinin's compounds,  among  which;  arteether  is an  oil-soluble derivative of  artemisinin with an endoperoxide bridge that can induce apoptosis in tumor cells but not in the normal cells. an experiment was carried out on tumor-bearing balb/c mice to estimate the effects of arteether  on  tumor  growth  and  antitumor  im...

Physalis angulata is a solanaceae widely used in folk medicine in various tropical countries in the world. We have previously described that seco-steroids (physalins) purified from P. angulata are potent inhibitors of macrophage activation, blocking the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and LPS-induced lethality. Herein we investigated the immunomodulatory activities of these substances ...

Background: Genistein (GEN), a naturally occurring flavonoid present in soy bean, has attracted scientific interest for its possible benefits in cancer. Objective: The potential immunomodulatory effects of genistein on the immune system and against TC-1 tumor cell line were evaluated in adult female C57BL/6 mice. Methods: Mice were treated with GEN 10 days before to 10 days after the tumor indu...