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In this study we investigated the effect of beta-glucan derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on fungicidal activity, cytokine production and natural killer activity. Spleen and peritoneal cells from female C57BL/6 mice, previously injected (24 or 48 h) with 20 or 100 microg of glucan by i.p. route, were assayed. In vivo beta-glucan administration primed spleen cells for a higher production of IL-12 and TNF-alpha when S. aureus was used as a stimulus. In addition, beta-glucan increased NK spleen cells activity against YAC target cells. Some immunomodulatory activities not yet described for beta-glucan were observed in this work.

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Macrophage activity, cytokines serum concentration, serum neutralizing antibodies and lethality by rabies were evaluated in swiss mice experimentally infected with street rabies virus and submitted or not to antirabies vaccination and immunomodulation with P. acnes. Animals were killed at different times and serum was collected in order to evaluate cytokines concentration; peritonial and splenic macrophages were collected for macrophage activity evaluation. Greater survival rates higher IL-10 and low IL-6 serum concentration were observed in vaccinated animals treated using P. acnes.

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Agaricus blazei Murrill, is an edible and medicinal mushroom which is popularly consumed due to its antitumoral properties. The immunomodulatory effects of methanol (METH), dichloromethane (DM) and n-hexane (HEX) extracts of this mushroom were evaluated in Ehrlich tumor-bearing mice. Subcutaneous inoculation of Ehrlich tumor cells inhibited the natural killer (NK) activity of spleen cells (specific lysis=6.18+/-2.56%) compared with normal mice (17.59+/-7.77%). Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with the extracts for 10 days restored the natural killer activity against Yac-1 target cells and the best results were observed by treatment with the HEX extract (21.48+/-5.26%). Treatment of the animals with the HEX extract for 10 days was also able to stimulate the mitogen-induced lymphoproliferative activity of spleen cells. Thirty days after the treatment, all groups presented low proliferative activity. Specific antibody production was observed to be higher in the groups treated with the DM or METH extract 30 days after the treatment. Analysis of the 3 extracts by gas chromatography mass spectrum (GCMS) and magnetic nuclear resonance (MNR) showed that the HEX extract contains mainly sugar and fatty acids and that the METH extract also contains sugar and possibly amino acids.

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Beta-glucan, one of the major cell wall components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been found to enhance immune functions. This study investigated in vivo and in vitro effects of beta-glucan on lymphoproliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by splenic cells from C57BL/6 female mice. All experiments were performed with particulate beta-glucan derived from S. cerevisiae. Data demonstrated that both, i.p administration of particulate beta-glucan (20 or 100 µg/animal) and in vitro stimulation of splenic cells (20 or 100 µg/ml of culture) decreased lymphoproliferation and IFN-gamma production induced by concanavalin A. These results suggest that beta-glucan can trigger a down-modulatory effect regulating a deleterious immune system hyperactivity in the presence of a strong stimulus.

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beta-glucan, one of the major cell wall components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been found to enhance immune functions. This study investigated in vivo and in vitro effects of beta-glucan on lymphoproliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by splenic cells from C57BL/6 female mice. All experiments were performed with particulate beta-glucan derived from S. cerevisiae. Data demonstrated that both, i.p. administration of particulate beta-glucan (20 or 100 micrograms/animal) and in vitro stimulation of splenic cells (20 or 100 micrograms/ml of culture) decreased lymphoproliferation and IFN-gamma production induced by concanavalin A. These results suggest that beta-glucan can trigger a down-modulatory effect regulating a deleterious immune system hyperactivity in the presence of a strong stimulus.

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Propolis, a beehive product widely used in folk medicine as an antiinflammatory agent, has been attracting researchers attention to scientifically elucidate its biological properties and therapeutic activities. The aim of this paper was to study the possible effect of propolis on natural killer activity, since propolis immunomodulatory action has been suggested, especially on non-specific immunity. Propolis was produced by africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), collected throughout a whole year, and pooled by season. Hydroalcoholic solutions of propolis were prepared with each pool and administered to rats by gavage over three days. Natural killer activity of non-adherent spleen cells was evaluated by the 51Cr-release cytotoxicity assay against Yac-1 target cells. Our results indicated that the natural killer activity was increased in spleen cells from propolis-treated animals. There were no significant differences related to the seasonal effect on the immunomodulatory action of propolis.

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The course of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease, is markedly affected by hormones such as estrogen and prolactin. It is well known that heavy exposure to sunlight has deleterious effects on SLE, triggering episodes of the disease. Classical explanations for this occurrence suggest that UV radiation damages DNA, which becomes immunogenic, or induces exposure of the Ro antigen in keratinocytes. In recent years, it has been shown that vitamin D3 has important effects on the immune system. Thus, we proposed an alternative hypothesis, suggesting that UV radiation, by promoting vitamin D3 synthesis, could be a factor aggravating the course of SLE after exposure to sunlight. To test this hypothesis, we injected F1(NZBxW) mice, which are prone to developing SLE, with vitamin D3, and we demonstrated a worsening of the histopathological findings in the kidney.

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The lymphoproliferative response and T lymphocyte subsets were evaluated at different stages of carcinogenesis in male Wistar rats sequentially initiated with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN), N-butyl-N-4(hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN), N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine (DHPN) and N, N'-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) (DMBDD initiation). One group was evaluated at the 4th week and other initiated group at the 30th week. Two initiated groups were also exposed through diet to 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) or phenobarbital (PB), from the 6th until the 30th week. Two groups received only 2-AAF or PB until the 30th week. Five groups were studied to evaluate the effects of each initiator. The lymphoproliferative response was induced in vitro by concanavalin A and the percentage of T lymphocyte subsets was determined by flow cytometry. All groups submitted to initiation only, initiation plus promotion, or promotion only, developed significantly more preneoplastic lesions than the untreated control group. The main target organs for tumor development were the liver, colon, urinary bladder, kidneys and Zymbal glands, mainly in the group treated with DMBDD+2-AAF. There were no alterations of the lymphoproliferative response and of the T lymphocyte subsets percentage in the DMBDD-treated group at the 4th and 30th weeks. At the 30th week, the T lymphocyte subsets percentage was also not affected in the initiated groups after treatments with 2-AAF or PB. The lymphoproliferative response, however, was decreased in the DMBDD+2-AAF group and in the groups treated only with 2-AAF or PB. The present results indicate that the initiating chemicals used in the DMBDD initiation protocol do not exert any influence on the immune system. The alteration of lymphoproliferative response induced at the advanced stage of carcinogenesis without alteration of T lymphocyte subsets may indicate that the influence of 2-AAF and PB on the immune system is functional and not toxic.

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The natural killer (NK) activity and lethality were evaluated in swiss mice experimentally infected with street rabies virus and submitted to immunomodulation by P. acnes (formerly Corynebacterium parvum). The infected animals were sacrificed at different times and spleen non-adherent cells were obtained through ficoll-hypaque gradient and depletion of glass-adherent cells. Immunosuppression was observed in rabies virus infected mice correlated with lower NK activity in clinically ill animals. Higher NK activity and percentual of survival were observed in the group submitted to P. acnes. The increased survival correlated with higher NK activity induced by P. acnes suggests a protective role of this natural barrier against rabies virus infection in mice.

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Kala-azar is the visceral form of leishmaniasis and it is caused by intracellular parasites from the complex Leishmania donovani. Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) infected with Leishmania donovani develop a disease very similar to human Kala-azar. There is conspicuous hipergammaglobulinaemia and their T cells do not respond to stimulation with parasite antigens. We used this experimental model to evaluate the natural killer (NK) activity during the initial phase of the disease. Outbred hamsters infected by intravenous route with 5.10(6) amastigotes of L. donovani 1S showed a concurrent increase in the spleen weight and in the spleen cell number. Using the single cell assay we detected a significant increase in the percentage of NK effector cells on the 4th day of infection. Imprints from spleen and liver showed at days 14 and 28 a significant increase in the parasite burden. These results show that the increased NK activity in the beginning of the infection was not able to restrain the progression of the disease in this experimental model.

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In this work we have demonstrated the effects of oral administration of Chlorella vulgaris (CV) on Natural Killer cells (NK) activity of mice infected with a sublethal dose of viable Listeria monocytogenes. The treatment with C. vulgaris produced a significant increase on NK cells activity in normal (non-infected) animals compared to the animals that received only vehicle (water) (p < 0.0001). Similarly, the infection alone produced a significant increase on NK cells activity, which was observed at 48 and 72 hours after the inoculation of L. monocytogenes. Moreover, when CV was administered in infected animals, there was an additional increase in NK cells activity which was significantly higher than that found in the infected groups (p < 0.0001). CV treatment (50 and 500mg/Kg) of mice infected with a dose of 3 x 10(5) bacteria/animal, which was lethal for all the non-treated controls, produced a dose-response protection which led to a 20% and 55% survival, respectively (p < 0.0001).

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Natural killer (NK) cell activity was evaluated after the initiation and promotion steps in a medium-term multi-organ bioassay for carcinogenesis. NK cell activity was assessed in vitro by Cr51 release assay at the 4th and 30th weeks of the experiment. Male Wistar rats were sequentially initiated with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN i.p.), N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN drinking water), N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU i.p.), dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine (DHPN drinking water) and N,N'-dimethylhydrazine (DMH s.c.) at subcarcinogenic doses for 4 weeks (DMBDD initiation). One group was evaluated at the 4th week and the other was maintained without any further treatment until the 30th week. Two initiated groups were exposed through the diet to 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) or phenobarbital (PB), from the 6th until the 30th week. Five additional groups were studied to evaluate the effects of each initiator on NK activity. All groups submitted to initiation only, initiation plus promotion, or promotion only, developed significantly more preneoplastic lesions than the untreated control group. The main target organs for tumor development in the initiated animals were the liver and the colon, irrespective of treatment with 2-AAF or PB. NK cell activity was not affected by exposure to genotoxic carcinogens after initiation, at the 4th week. Treatments only with PB or 2-AAF did not change NK cell activity. However, decreased NK cell activity was registered in the group only initiated with DMBDD and in the group given DMBDD+2-AAF. This late depression of NK cell activity at the 30th week could be related to the production of suppressing molecules by the tumor cells.

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A sandwich-type ELISA technique for specific and sensitive detection of Crotalus durissus terrificus venom antigens, horse-antivenom, human IgG and IgM antibodies was set up. Sixteen patients, 13 males and 3 females aged between 13 to 63 years (mean 33 ñ 15) bitten by Crotalus durissus terrificus snakes were studied. Of the 15 patiens, 6 had previously received anti-Crotalus venom and no seric venom was detected. For the other 9 patients studied, the venom levels ranged from 2 to 108mg/ml according to the severity of each case. Seric antivenom was detected up to 44 days after the bite. IgM human antibody levels against Crotalus venom were higher between 3 and 18 days after specific treatment. IgG human antibody levels against Crotalus venom were detected between 30 and 90 days after envenoming. Venom and antivenom levels in cerebrospinal fluid were not observed 24 h after the bite. This suggests that neither the venom nor the antivenom is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. In addition, when either venom or the antivenom is presented to the immune system cells an immune response is prepared.

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The infection developed by Wistar Furth rats inoculated with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi was the experimental model used in our study. The results showed that this infection altered considerably the CD4/CD8 lymphocyte subset ratio and the natural cytotoxic activity of mononuclear cells in the spleen, blood, and myocardial tissue. Concomitantly, an expansion of the number of cells expressing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens was observed, as well as spontaneous development of high levels of blast cells, mainly in the spleen. The inflammatory infiltration of the myocardium, made up essentially of CD8+ cells (cytotoxic/suppressor T cells, natural killer cells), was initially found at 9 days postinfection, spread continuously, and was observed until the death of the animals at about 18 days postinfection. T. cruzi infection also enhanced the natural killer activity of mononuclear cells in the blood, spleen, and myocardium. Sorting these cells by affinity columns showed that the natural killer function was performed exclusively by the CD8+ population, which did not express MHC class II antigens. It was shown that the polyclonal T-lymphocyte activation induced by T. cruzi infection results in a wide distribution of CD8+ cells with enhanced natural cytotoxic activity in the spleen, blood, and cardiac tissue.

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The objetive of the presented study was to determine wheter cimetidine, a type-2 histamine receptor antagonist, inhibits the immunological enhancement of allografted rats achieved by treatment with donor antigen plus anti-donor antibody. Groups of rats submitted to this active-passive enhancement protocol and treated ip with 30 (APEC30; Group I; N = 4) or 60 (APEC 60; Group II; N = 8) mg/day cimetidine for 14 days had a significantly shorter graft survival (20.2 ñ 5.1 and 11.1 ñ 2.6 days, respectively) than the control group (animals submitted to the enhancement protocol and killed on day 72 after transplant when the graft was beating normally; APE; Group III; N = 6; P<0.05). On the other hand, these animals had a significantly longer graft survival than rats allotransplanted but not treated for enhancement (ALLO; Group V; N = 5; 8.2 ñ 0.8 days). The surgical control, consisting of isotransplanted animals, had a long-term survival (ISO; Group V; N = 6; rats killed 120 days after transplant with the graft beating normally). Animals treated with cimetidine, but not submitted to the enhancement protocol (AC 60; Group IV, N = 4) had a significantly shorter graft survival (6.25 ñ 0.5) than the allotransplanted animals (Group V). These results indicate inhibition of the suppressor mechanisms which participate in this type of immunological enhancement

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O efeito imunomodulatorio da Cimetidine (CIM), um antagonista do receptor de histamina-tipo 2, foi avaliado na resposta blastogenica a Con A em celulas de ratos Wistar Furth (WF) infectados pela cepa Y de Trypanosoma cruzi (T.cruzi). Foi observado que apenas na concentracao de "10 POT. -3"M de Cimetidine houve amplificacao da resposta blastogenica de esplenocitos normais a Con A. Entretanto, a capacidade mitogenica de esplenocitos de animais infectados foi restaurada na presenca de molaridades da droga que variaram entre "10 POT. -8" a "10 POT. -3". Os resultados demonstraram que a CIM tem o potencial de modular a resposta mitogenica de celulas de animais infectados pelo T.cruzi, sugerindo um papel imunoregulatorio da histamina e/ou celulas que expressam receptores H2 nesta infeccao.

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The immunomodulatory effect of cimetidine (CIM), a histamine type-2 receptor antagonist, was evaluated in respect to the blastogenic response to Con A of Wistar Furth (WF) rats infected by the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). Enhancement of blastogenesis of normal splenocytes was observed at a concentration of 10(3) M. However, the splenocytes from infected animals responded to concentrations of CIM ranging from 10(-8) to 10(-3) M. The mitogenic response to Con A of cells from infected animals was restored in the presence of CIM. The results show that CIM modulates the "in vitro" proliferative response of cells from T. cruzi-infected rats and suggest an immunoregulatory role of histamine and/or of cells that express H2 receptors in this infection.

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The objective of the present study was to determine whether cimetidine, a type-2 histamine receptor antagonist, inhibits the immunological enhancement of allografted rats achieved by treatment with donor antigen plus anti-donor antibody. Groups of rats submitted to this active-passive enhancement protocol and treated ip with 30 (APEC 30; Group I; N = 4) or 60 (APEC 60; Group II; N = 8) mg/day cimetidine for 14 days had a significantly shorter graft survival (20.2 +/- 5.1 and 11.1 +/- 2.6 days, respectively) than the control group (animals submitted to the enhancement protocol and killed on day 72 after transplant when the graft was beating normally; APE; Group III; N = 6; P less than 0.05). On the other hand, these animals had a significantly longer graft survival than rats allotransplanted but not treated for enhancement (ALLO; Group V; N = 5; 8.2 +/- 0.8 days). The surgical control, consisting of isotransplanted animals, had a long-term survival (ISO; Group VI; N = 6; rats killed 120 days after transplant with the graft beating normally). Animals treated with cimetidine, but not submitted to the enhancement protocol (AC 60; Group IV, N = 4) had a significantly shorter graft survival (6.25 +/- 0.5) than the allotransplanted animals (Group V). These results indicate inhibition of the suppressor mechanisms which participate in this type of immunological enhancement.

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The present paper describes the clinical and laboratory follow-up of 11 patients with the diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency. Their age varied from 8 to 45 years. The mean disease time was 12.6 years and mean diagnosis time 4.3 years. Infectious manifestations, mainly of the respiratory and digestive tracts, occurred in all patients. Polyadenomegaly was noted in seven, hepatomegaly in six, splenomegaly in five and arthralgia in four patients. All of them presented serum IgG less than 250 mg/dl. IgA less than 33 mg/dl and IgM less than 31 mg/dl, except one with IgM = 176 mg/dl. The isohaemagglutinin titers were less than 1/20 in all but one patient. The determination of the number of B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood revealed normal counts in three, elevated in one and decreased in five patients. The CD-4/CD-8 ratio was less than 1 in 8 and greater than 1 in three of them. Five patients had positive cutaneous late reactions to at least one of the following antigens: PPD, SK-SD (Varidase), Trichophytin and Levedurin (Candidin). A decrease of the proliferative activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated by lectins (PHA, Con-A, PWM) was also noted. Natural killer function was decreased. The association a possible role of regulatory lymphocytes in the immunopathogenesis of this disease. The data presented here emphasize the diversity of clinical and immunological manifestations of this disease, which could be noted between diverse patients and in the follow-up of a single one. In our cases the disease had an evolutive character, with a primarily humoral dysfunction followed by cellular immunity disturbances that determined poorer prognosis and progressive difficulties in the therapeutics. We suggest a conceptual reevaluation of this condition and a new denomination, for instance "Late-Onset Combined Immunodeficiency". The long delay between the initial clinical manifestations of the disease and its diagnosis was a handicap for an adequate treatment. Early intervention could certainly decrease the morbidity and mortality of the disease.

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