Effect of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment on the Th1/Th2 balance in women with recurrent spontaneous abortions

PROBLEM: The way by which intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIg) acts to prevent immunlogically mediated recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA) has not been clarified. In the present study, a possible effect of IvIg on the T helper cell (Th1/Th2) balance was investigated in abortions of either alloimmune or autoimmune abnormalities. METHOD OF STUDY: The study included 21 women treated with IvIg before conception because of a history of RSA characterized by alloimmune abnormalities (n = 15) or associated with anti-phospholipid antibodies (APA) (n = 6). Peripheral blood samples, collected before and 5 days after the first IvIg infusion, were stimulated, and Th1 and Th2 cells were detected by flow-cytometric analysis using a combination of monoclonal antibodies against T-cell surface markers and intracellular interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-4. The percentage of IFN-gamma-producing (Th1) and IL-4-producing (Th2) cells and the Th1/Th2 ratio were compared between pre- and post-infusion samples. RESULTS: A decrease of Th1 percentage in 66.6% of the cases and a concurrent Th2 percentage increase (47.61%) resulted in a decrease in the Th1/Th2 ratio in most of the cases (76.1%) (p < 0.01). Similar results were found in Group A (Th1/Th2 decreased in 60% of the cases, p < 0.05), while in Group B the effect of IvIg was not clear (Th1/Th2 increased in three and decreased in another three cases). CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that IvIg administration in women with alloimmune RSA enhances Th2 polarization. This is not always the case with APA-associated abortions.     

Progenitor egress from the bone marrow after allergen challenge: role of stromal cell-derived factor 1alpha and eotaxin

BACKGROUND: CCR3 expression on CD34+ cells mediates migration to eotaxin in vitro. CXCR4 and stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1alpha are important for stem cell homing to hemopoietic compartments. OBJECTIVE: To study chemokine-mediated progenitor cell traffic in allergic inflammation. METHODS: Bone marrow (BM) aspirates were obtained at baseline from normal subjects; atopic subjects without asthma; and subjects with asthma before, 5 hours after, and 24 hours after allergen inhalation (dual and early responders). Changes in chemokine receptor expression and migration were assessed. RESULTS: Expression of CXCR4, but not CCR3, on BM CD34+ cells was greater in normal subjects compared with atopic subjects with asthma. Likewise, SDF-1alpha, but not eotaxin, stimulated a greater migrational response by BM CD34+ cells from normal subjects compared with subjects with asthma. For all subjects, a positive correlation was found between intensity of CXCR4 expression and magnitude of CD34+ cell response to SDF-1alpha. Allergen inhalation attenuated both intensity of CXCR4 expression and SDF-1alpha levels in marrow from dual compared with early responders 24 hours postallergen. In contrast, the intensity of CCR3 expression on BM CD34+ cells increased in dual compared with early responders at 24 hours postallergen. In addition, an increase in migrational responsiveness of BM CD34+ cells to eotaxin and a decrease to SDF-1alpha 24 hours postallergen was found in dual responder subjects with asthma. CONCLUSION: After allergen inhalation in subjects with asthma, a downregulation in CXCR4 intensity on BM CD34+ cells and a reduction in BM SDF-1alpha levels may reduce progenitor retention to marrow stroma promoting peripheral egress, possibly mediated by the CCR3/eotaxin axis.     

SARS-CoV-2-Seroprävalenz bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland – ein Überblick

Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz - SARS-CoV-2-Antikörperstudien ergänzen und erweitern die Erkenntnisse aus der Meldestatistik laborbestätigter...     

Dielectric Analysis of Phosphorylcholine Head Group Mobility in Egg Lecithin Liposomes

Purpose. A knowledge of the interfacial properties of lecithin underpins our understanding of many of the physicochemical characteristics of drug delivery systems such as liposomes and lecithin stabilized microemulsions. In order to further this understanding, a high frequency dielectric study of the interfacial properties of egg lecithin liposomes was undertaken. Methods. The effect of temperature, lecithin concentration and probe sonication on the interfacial dielectric properties of liposomal suspensions was investigated by high frequency dielectric relaxation spectroscopy between 0.2–6 GHz. Results. The frequency dependent permittivity of each suspension exhibited a dielectric dispersion centred around 100 MHz, corresponding to the relaxation of zwitterionic head groups. The activation energy for head group reorientation was estimated as H = 6.3 kJ mol^–1. There was an increase in extent of inter-head group interactions on increasing the liposome volume fraction, whereas the effect of probe sonication showed that: (i) head groups in both the outer and inner lamellae contribute to the dielectric response; (ii) the head groups may be less restricted in liposomes of high surface curvature with few lamellae; (iii) the high frequency permittivity of the suspension increased on sonication, as a result of a reduction in the amount of (depolarized) interlamellar water following a reduction in the number of lamellae per liposome. Conclusions. Dielectric analysis of the zwitterionic head groups of lecithin therefore provides a means for investigating the surface of lecithin liposomes, and may be used to investigate the effect of drugs and other solutes on membranes.     

Chemical and pharmaceutical research on pyran derivatives. X. Synthesis of 1-oxo-2-alkyl-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho[2,1b]pyrans]

When reaction of N,N-dialkyl-alpha-ethoxycarbonyl-alpha-alkylacetamides with beta-naphthol in the presence of phosphorus oxychloride was carried out in chlorobenzene at reflux, formation of 1-oxo-2-alkyl-3-dialkyl-amino-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans was achieved together with some other products whose structure was defined. Moreover, substitution of the 2 position of 1-oxo-3-dialkylamino-1H"naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans with chlorine or cyano group as well as the preparation of 1-thio-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans was obtained by suitable chemical methods. Pharmacological screening of these compounds showed the lack of psychotropic activity of the corresponding 1-oxo-3-dialkylamino-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans.     

Cyclosporin A induced internalization of the bile salt export pump in isolated rat hepatocyte couplets.

Isolated rat hepatocyte couplets were used to perform the comparative study of two widely used immunosuppressors, cyclosporin A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506) on hepatocanalicular function. We assessed canalicular function by counting the percentage of couplets that were able to accumulate the fluorescent cholephile, cholyl-lysyl-fluorescein (CLF), into the canalicular vacuole between the two cells, i.e., canalicular vacuole accumulation (CVA) of CLF. Compared to controls (DMSO-treated cells), CsA, in the approximate range of concentrations used therapeutically, caused inhibition of CVA of CLF, disorganization of the bile salt export pump (Bsep) localization at canalicular level resulting in its relocation into the cell, and disruption of the pericanalicular F-actin cytoskeleton. In contrast, FK506, at both approximately therapeutic and supratherapeutic concentrations, had no deleterious effect upon CVA of CLF, upon the localization of the bile salt transporter at the canalicular membrane, or on the organization of the pericanalicular F-actin cytoskeleton. These results point to transporter and cytoskeletal disorganization as contributors or determinants of CsA-induced cholestasis at canalicular level, whereas FK506 does not appear to produce these cholestasis-determining responses even at supratherapeutic concentrations.     

Signaling modulation of bile salt-induced necrosis in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Hydrophobic bile salts induce either necrosis or apoptosis depending on the severity of the injury caused by them. Since bile salt-induced apoptosis is influenced by Ca2+- and protein kinase-signaling pathways, and both necrosis and apoptosis share common initiating mechanisms, we analyzed whether these signaling cascades also influence bile salt-induced necrosis in isolated rat hepatocytes. Taurochenodeoxycholate (TCDC, 0.25-1.50 mM, 2 h) reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, the percentage of viable hepatocytes, and increased the release of the cytosolic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), and that of the plasma membrane enzyme, alkaline phosphatase (AP). The PKC inhibitors, H7 (100 microM) and chelerythrine (2.5 microM), both prevented significantly TCDC-induced necrosis. On the contrary, the PKA activator, dibutyryl-cAMP, exacerbated TCDC-induced cell damage in a dose-dependent manner; this effect was more likely due to cAMP-mediated PKA activation, as the PKA inhibitor, KT5720 (1 microM), counteracted this effect. Instead, the intracellular Ca2+ chelator, BAPTA/AM (20 microM), was without effect. TCDC (1 mM) increased lipid peroxidation from 0.7 +/- 0.2 to 7.5 +/- 0.9 nmol of malondialdehyde per mg of protein, p < 0.001; the addition of the free radical scavenger, diphenyl-p-phenylendiamine, completely blocked this increase and prevented significantly TCDC-induced necrosis. PKC inhibition induced only a slight attenuation of TCDC-induced lipid peroxidation. Possible mechanisms accounting for the modulatory effect of signal transduction pathways on TCDC-induced necrosis, including signaling influence on TCDC transport events and TCDC-induced oxidative stress, are discussed.