We aimed at analyzing the structure of extracellular polysaccharide A from Grifola frondosa (EXGFP-A) and testing its immunomodulatory activity. Structural analysis shows that EXGFP-A was a contained α-D-glucoside bond and pyranose ring. GC analysis reveals that EXGFP-A was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, by the molar ratio of 0.28:0.31:0.30:0.06:7.98:0.61. The results of MTT(3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay indicates when EXGFP-A was at a concentration of 80 μg/mL and treatment time of 48 h, RAW264.7 cells proliferation index reached a maximum of 137.5%. Meanwhile, the AO staining showed that EXGFP-A activated RAW264.7 cells and improved the level of intracellular nucleic acid metabolism. In addition, in a certain range of concentration, EXGFP-A was able to increase the release of NO in RAW264.7 cells, and upregulate the mRNA expression of immunological factor TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ and iNOS of RAW264.7 cells. Our results confirm that EXGFP-A had immunomodulatory activity. Our findings provided scientific basis for the structural analysis and application of Grifola frondosa polysaccharide.
Animals ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Grifola ; chemistry ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; immunology ; RAW 264.7 Cells

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the proteins that have the role in the gastric carcinogenesis, are stimulated by H. pylori infection in the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of COX-2 and iNOS proteins one year after the eradication of H. pylori. METHODS: Gastric antral mucosa from fifty eight patients with chronic gastritis who were all infected with H. pylori was examined for the expression of COX-2 and iNOS proteins before and one year after the eradication of H. pylori by immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: COX-2 and iNOS proteins were expressed in the epithelial cells and interstitial inflammatory cells of gastric mucosa. Percent expressions of COX-2 and iNOS were significantly decreased one year after the eradication in the patients with cured infection, but not in those having persistent H. pylori. COX-2 and iNOS expressions were well correlated with H. pylori density, acute and chronic inflammation of gastric mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: The eradication of H. pylori can decrease the expression of COX-2 and iNOS in the gastric mucosa in long-term period. This seems to be due to the removal of H. pylori itself and related regression of gastric inflammation.
Cyclooxygenase 2/immunology/*metabolism ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Gastric Mucosa/*enzymology ; Helicobacter Infections/drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/immunology/*metabolism ; Time Factors

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of sildenafil citrate on IL-1 beta induced nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and iNOS expression in human synovial sarcoma SW982 cells. IL-1 beta stimulated the cells to generate NO in both dose- and time-dependent manners. The IL-1 beta -induced NO synthesis was inhibited by guanylate cyclase (GC) inhibitor, LY83583. When the cells were treated with 8-bromo-cGMP, a hydrolyzable analog of cGMP, NO synthesis was increased upto 5-fold without IL-1 beta treatment suggesting that cGMP is an essential component for increasing the NO synthesis. Synoviocytes and chondrocytes contain strong cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity, which has biochemical features of PDE5. When SW982 cells were pretreated with sildenafil citrate (Viagra), a PDE5 specific inhibitor, sildenafil citrate significantly inhibited IL-1 beta -induced NO synthesis and iNOS expressions. From this result, we noticed that PDE5 activity is required for IL-1 beta -induced NO synthesis and iNOS expressions in human synovial sarcoma cells, and sildenafil citrate may be able to suppress an inflammatory reaction of synovium through inhibition of NO synthesis and iNOS expression by cytokines.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/immunology/pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclic GMP/analogs & derivatives/immunology/metabolism ; Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 2/antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta/*metabolism ; Male ; Nitric Oxide/*biosynthesis/genetics/immunology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/*biosynthesis/genetics/immunology ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/immunology/*pharmacology ; Piperazines/immunology/*pharmacology ; Purines/immunology/pharmacology ; Signal Transduction/drug effects/genetics/immunology ; Sulfones/immunology/*pharmacology ; Synovial Membrane/enzymology/immunology

Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation induced by immune dysfunction to inhaled antigens. Although respiratory viral infections are the most common cause of asthma exacerbation, immunologic mechanisms underlying virus-associated asthma exacerbation are controversial. Clinical evidence indicates that nitric oxide (NO) levels in exhaled air are increased in exacerbated asthma patients compared to stable patients. Here, we evaluated the immunologic mechanisms and the role of NO synthases (NOSs) in the development of virus-associated asthma exacerbation. A murine model of virus-associated asthma exacerbation was established using intranasal challenge with ovalbumin (OVA) plus dsRNA for 4 weeks in mice sensitized with OVA plus dsRNA. Lung infiltration of inflammatory cells, especially neutrophils, was increased by repeated challenge with OVA plus dsRNA, as compared to OVA alone. The neutrophilic inflammation enhanced by dsRNA was partly abolished in the absence of IFN-gamma or IL-17 gene expression, whereas unaffected in the absence of IL-13. In terms of the roles of NOSs, dsRNA-enhanced neutrophilic inflammation was significantly decreased in inducible NOS (iNOS)-deficient mice compared to wild type controls; in addition, this phenotype was inhibited by treatment with a non-specific NOS inhibitor (L-NAME) or an specific inhibitor (1400 W), but not with a specific endothelial NOS inhibitor (AP-CAV peptide). Taken together, these findings suggest that iNOS pathway is important in the development of virus-associated exacerbation of neutrophilic inflammation, which is dependent on both Th1 and Th17 cell responses.
Animals ; Asthma/*immunology/virology ; Imines/pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester/pharmacology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/antagonists & inhibitors/*metabolism ; RNA, Double-Stranded/metabolism ; Th1 Cells/*immunology ; Th17 Cells/*immunology

Chronic prostatitis is a common male disease, and its pathogenesis is not yet clear. Most scholars believe that oxidative stress and immune imbalance are the keys to the occurrence and progression of chronic prostatitis. Currently immunotherapy of chronic prostatitis remains in the exploratory stage. This article relates the active ingredients of 5 Chinese medicinal herbs (total glucosides of paeony, tripterigium wilfordii polglycosidium, curcumin, geniposide, and quercetin) for the treatment of chronic prostatitis and their possible action mechanisms as follows: 1) inhibiting the immune response and activation and proliferation of T-cells, and adjusting the proportion of Th1/Th2 cells; 2) upregulating the expression of Treg and enhancing the patient's tolerability; 3) suppressing the activation of the NF-kB factor, reducing the release of iNOS, and further decreasing the release of NO, IL-2 and other inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to the suppression of the immune response; 4) inhibiting the production of such chemokines as MCP-1 and MIP-1α in order to reduce their induction of inflammatory response. Studies on the immune mechanisms of Chinese medicinal herbs in the treatment of chronic prostatitis are clinically valuable for the development of new drugs for this disease.
Chemokines ; immunology ; Cytokines ; immunology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Immune System ; drug effects ; Male ; NF-kappa B p50 Subunit ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; drug effects ; Th1-Th2 Balance

Excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) and proinflammatory cytokines from activated microglia play an important role in human neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we investigated whether celastrol, which has been used as a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent in Chinese medicine, attenuates excessive production of NO and proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells, a mouse microglial cell line. We report here that the LPS-elicited excessive production of NO, TNF-alpha, and IL-1beta in BV-2 cells was largely inhibited in the presence of celastrol, and the attenuation of inducible iNOS and these cytokines resulted from the reduced expression of mRNAs of iNOS and these cytokines, respectively. The molecular mechanisms that underlie celastrol-mediated attenuation were the inhibition of LPS-induced phosphorylation of MAPK/ERK1/2 and the DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB in BV-2 cells. The results indicate that celastrol effectively attenuated NO and proinflammatory cytokine production via the inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and NF-kappaB activation in LPS-activated microglia. Thus, celastrol may be an effective therapeutic candidate for use in the treatment of neurodegenerative human brain disorders.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Cytokines/*biosynthesis/drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects/immunology ; Inflammation/immunology ; Inflammation Mediators/immunology ; Mice ; Microglia/*drug effects/immunology ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/*physiology ; NF-kappa B/metabolism/*physiology ; Nitric Oxide/*metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/biosynthesis/drug effects ; RNA, Messenger/analysis ; Signal Transduction/*drug effects/physiology ; Transcription, Genetic/drug effects/immunology ; Triterpenes/*pharmacology

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) have been known to be involved in various pathophysiological processes such as inflammation. This study was performed to determine the regulatory function of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the LPS-induced expression of iNOS, and COX-2 in RAW 264.7 cells. When a cell-permeable SOD, Tat-SOD, was added to the culture medium of RAW 264.7 cells, it rapidly entered the cells in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with Tat-SOD led to decrease in LPS-induced ROS generation. Pretreatment with Tat-SOD significantly inhibited LPS-induced expression of iNOS and NO production but had no effect on the expression of COX-2 and PGE2 production in RAW 264.7 cells. Tat-SOD inhibited LPS-induced NF-kappaB DNA binding activity, IkappaBalpha degradation and activation of MAP kinases. These data suggest that SOD differentially regulate expression of iNOS and COX-2 in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Cyclooxygenase 2/*genetics/metabolism ; Cytokines/immunology ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; Lipopolysaccharides/immunology/metabolism ; Mice ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/metabolism ; NF-kappa B/metabolism ; Nitric Oxide/metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/*genetics/metabolism ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase/*metabolism

A novel Pleurotus nebrodensis polysaccharide (PN-S) was purified and characterized, and its immune-stimulating activity was evaluated in RAW264.7 macrophages. PN-S induced the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner, as determined by the MTT assay. After exposure to PN-S, the phagocytosis of the macrophages was significantly improved, with remarkable changes in morphology being observed. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that PN-S promoted RAW264.7 cells to progress through S and G2/M phases. PN-S treatment enhanced the productions of interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), interferon gamma (INF-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the macrophages, with up-regulation of mRNA expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interferon gamma(INF-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) being observed in a dose-dependent manner, as measured by qRT-PCR. In conclusion, these results suggest that the purified PN-S can improve immunity by activating macrophages.
Animals ; Cell Cycle ; immunology ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Fungal Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Immunity ; drug effects ; Interferon-gamma ; biosynthesis ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; biosynthesis ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; immunology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; biosynthesis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Pleurotus ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation

The effect of extracellular beta-(1-->3), (1-->6)-glucan, produced by Paenibacillus polymyxa JB115, on nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages was investigated. beta-glucan induced the production of NO by RAW264.7 macrophages in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, beta-glucan stimulation increased the mRNA expression of iNOS, COX-2 and IL-6 in RAW264.7 macrophages in a concentration-dependent manner.
Animals ; Bacillus/*metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cyclooxygenase 2/biosynthesis/genetics ; Interleukin-6/biosynthesis/genetics ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology ; Macrophages/*drug effects/enzymology/immunology ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide/*biosynthesis/immunology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/biosynthesis/genetics/metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis/genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; beta-Glucans/metabolism/*pharmacology

To investigate the purging effect of CD3AK/iNOS on primary leukemic cells from chronic myeloid leukemia patients in vitro, amphotropic packaging cell line PA317 transfected with the whole length of iNOS gene was cultivated, amplified and screened by G418. The viral titer was determined by the NIH3T3 cells. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and activated by anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody in vitro. CD3AK cells were incubated with viral supernatant and selected by G418. Resistant clones were assayed for iNOS gene expression by RT-RCR. The content of nitric oxide and the activity of iNOS in the culture supernatant of CD3AK/iNOS were evaluated by the method of Griess. After BMMNC or PBMNC from CML patients were co-cultured with CD3AK/iNOS, CD3AK/Neo and CD3AK/iNOS respectively, the expression of bcr/abl fusion gene was detected by serial dilution semi-quantitative net RT-PCR assay. The results showed that anti-G418 positive packaging cell line PA317 transfected with the whole length of iNOS gene clones could stably synthesize and excrete recombinant retroviral vectors. The titer of recombinant retroviral vectors was 1.0 x 10(5) CFU/ml. After being transfected by recombinant retroviral supernatant, the iNOS cDNA was expressed in CD3AK/iNOS. The content of NO and activity of iNOS that synthesized and excreted by CD3AK/iNOS were notably increased, compared with those of CD3AK. There were statistically significant differences in NO content and iNOS activity between two groups. After BMMNC or PBMNC from CML patients were co-cultured with CD3AK/iNOS, CD3AK/Neo and CD3AK/iNOS respectively, the expression of bcr/abl fusion gene in all of them was down-regulated by serial dilution semi-quantitative RT-PCR assay. It is concluded that construction of CD3AK/iNOS can markedly increase the content of NO and the activity of iNOS, which can be more efficient in in vitro purging leukemia cells for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; CD3 Complex ; immunology ; Cell Line ; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ; Female ; Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl ; genetics ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; genetics ; immunology ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Middle Aged ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Cells, Cultured