Lactose-riched Mongolian mare's milk improves physical fatigue and exercise performance in mice

Fatigue may cause the efficiency of the organ in human body to decrease, which may affect the daily life and exercise performance of the general people and athletes. Mare''s milk powder (MMP) is a lactose rich supplement. The research of the study is to evaluate the whether MMP has anti-fatigue effect. Forty male ICR mice were randomly divided into four group to receive vehicle or MMP by oral gavage at 0 (Vehicle), 0.27 (MMP-1X), 0.54 (MMP-2X), 1.35 (MMP-5X) g/kg/day for 14 days. The forelimb grip of the MMP-2X, and MMP-5X group were significantly higher than the vehicle group. The swim-to-exhaustion times of the MMP-1X, MMP-2X, and MMP-5X group were significantly greater than the vehicle group. Glycogen levels in liver and muscle were significantly larger in the MMP-1X, MMP-2X, and MMP-5X groups than the vehicle group. Receive MMP supplement for 14 days can promoting exercise performance and amelioration of exercise-induced fatigue.     

Yam storage protein dioscorins modulate cytokine gene expression in BALB/c and C57BL/6 lymphocytes

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dioscorins isolated from 2 yam species, Dioscorea alata (Da-dioscorins) and Dioscorea japonica (Dj-dioscorins), on mouse immune activities. Results from cytokine array indicated that Dj-dioscorins increased the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-13, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) in the spleen cells of BALB/c mice. In RAW264.7 macrophage, Da-dioscorins upregulated the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, RANTES, MCP-1, and GCSF genes to a greater extent than Dj-dioscorins did. TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and RANTES gene expression was higher in spleen cells than in bone marrow and thymus cells in Da-dioscorin- or Dj-dioscorin-treated BALB/c and C57BL/6. Overall, our results suggest that dioscorins exert distinct immunomodulatory effects on mouse immune cells, and that different mouse strains respond differently to dioscorins.     

Innate Immunity and Immune Evasion by Enterovirus 71

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a major infectious disease affecting millions of people worldwide and it is the main etiological agent for outbreaks of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Infection is often associated with severe gastroenterological, pulmonary, and neurological diseases that are most prevalent in children. Currently, no effective vaccine or antiviral drugs exist against EV71 infection. A lack of knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of EV71 infection in the host and the virus-host interactions is a major constraint to developing specific antiviral strategies against this infection. Previous studies have identified and characterized the function of several viral proteins produced by EV71 that interact with the host innate immune proteins, including type I interferon signaling and microRNAs. These interactions eventually promote efficient viral replication and increased susceptibility to the disease. In this review we discuss the functions of EV71 viral proteins in the modulation of host innate immune responses to facilitate viral replication.