We tested the hypothesis that the accumulation of bound autologous antibody on a "senescent epitope" identifies aged erythrocytes for phagocytic removal by macrophages. Erythrocytes were collected from mice maintained on a hypertransfusion protocol designed to yield cells of defined age. The mouse erythrocytes were assayed for the presence of bound antibody by measuring their susceptibility to ...

Tachyzoites, bradyzoites (in tissue cysts), and sporozoites (in oocysts) are the three infectious stages of Toxoplasma gondii. The prepatent period (time to shedding of oocysts after primary infection) varies with the stage of T. gondii ingested by the cat. The prepatent period (pp) after ingesting bradyzoites is short (3-10 days) while it is long (18 days or longer) after ingesting oocysts or ...

To study the biologic role of migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a pleiotropic cytokine, we generated a mouse strain lacking MIF by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Analysis of the role of MIF during sepsis showed that MIF-/- mice were resistant to the lethal effects of high dose bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) with D-galactosamine and had...

background: we evaluated the effect of the ethanolic extract of scrophularia striata on the iranian strain of leishmania major (mrho/ir/75/er) both in vitro and in vivo conditions methods: the effective dose (ed) of ethanolic extract of s. striata were determined using  mtt assay  on the growth of promastigote forms of  l. major in axenic culture media. then, the ed 50 of  s. striata on mice pe...

Injection of an Ascaris suum extract (Asc) affects both the humoral and cellular immune responses to unrelated antigens when it is co-administered with these antigens. In the present study we evaluated the effect of Asc on macrophage activation in the early phase of Mycobacterium bovis BCG (Pasteur strain TMCC 1173) infection in C57Bl/6 mice. C57Bl/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally (ip) wi...

Background: The water-soluble extract of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) has been used as an immunomodulator to stimulate spleen cells proliferation and cytokine expression. Objective: To investigate the effect of Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) on cytokine production by mice peritoneal macrophages. Methods: Mice peritoneal macrophages were prepared by intra-peritoneal injection of 5 ml cold PBS. Per...

In vivo implantation of sterile materials and devices results in a foreign body immune response leading to fibrosis of implanted material. Neutrophils, one of the first immune cells to be recruited to implantation sites, have been suggested to contribute to the establishment of the inflammatory microenvironment that initiates the fibrotic response. However, the precise numbers and roles of neut...

Introduction: Hydatid cyst is among parasitic diseases common between man and domestic animals, as well as domestic and non domestic carnivorous animals. This disease causes organ damage and injuries in human, and sometimes leads to death. This study aims at assessment of secondary hydatid cyst growth in laboratory animals and determination of their sensitivity. Materials and Methods: The Pr...