Sections of posterior intestine of the euryhaline killifish Fundulus heteroclitus adapted to sea water were stimulated by the calcium ionophore ionomycin (1 micromol l(-1)) in combination with agents to elevate intracellular cyclic AMP levels, 0.5 mmol l(-1) dibutyryl-cyclic AMP (db-cAMP) with 0.1 mmol l(-1) 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). Intestinal bag preparations from recently fed anima...

Introduction. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are a pool of immune and they also convenient model system for studying pathologies. Aim. Testing bioactivity glycerolipid prepa­rations from fern horsetail species containing long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) towards PBMCs without exogenous stimulation after phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) plus ionomycin stimul...

Effect of an extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves (EGb) on oxidative metabolism was studied using rat brain neurons and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin fluorescence. Ionomycin (100 nM to 1 microM), a Ca(2+)-ionophore, dose-dependently augmented the 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin fluorescence in the presence of external Ca2+, but not under the external Ca(2+)-free condition. Preincubation of neurons with EGb (3 m...

The intracellularly trapped fluorescent calcium indicator, quin 2, was used not only to monitor changes in cytosolic-free calcium, [Ca2+]i, but also to assess the role of [Ca2+]i in neutrophil function. To increase cytosolic calcium buffering, human neutrophils were loaded with various quin 2 concentrations, and [Ca2+]i transients, granule content release as well as superoxide [O2-] production ...

Induction of immunotolerance has become a new strategy for treating autoimmune conditions in recent decades. However, so far there is no ideal therapeutics available for clinical use. Medicinal herbs are a promising potential source of immunotolerance inducers. In the current study, we sought first to optimize conditions for a validated cellular model of human Jurkat cells; and then used this m...