Propolis anti-inflammatory effects on MAGE-1 and retinoic acid-treated dendritic cells and on Th1 and T regulatory cells.

Background: Propolis exhibits huge potential in the pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, its effects were investigated on dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with a tumor antigen (MAGE-1) and retinoic acid (RA) and on T lymphocytes to observe a possible differential activation of T lymphocytes, driving preferentially to Th1 or Treg cells.

Methods: Cell viability, lymphocyte proliferation, gene expression (T-bet and FoxP3), and cytokine production by DCs (TNF-α, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β) and lymphocytes (IFN-γ and TGF-β) were analyzed.

Age-associated changes in microglia activation and Sirtuin-1- chromatin binding patterns.

The aging process is associated with changes in mechanisms maintaining physiology, influenced by genetics and lifestyle, and impacting late life quality and longevity. Brain health is critical in healthy aging. Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1), a histone deacetylase with silencing properties, is one of the molecular determinants experimentally linked to health and longevity.

Molecular Characterization of a First-in-Human Clinical Response to Nimesulide in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematologic malignancy associated with high morbidity and mortality. Here we describe a case of a patient with AML who presented a partial response after utilization of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide. The response was characterized by complete clearance of peripheral blood blasts and an 82% decrease of bone marrow blasts associated with myeloblast differentiation.

Brazilian green propolis: A novel tool to improve the cytotoxic and immunomodulatory action of docetaxel on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and on women monocyte.

Docetaxel (DTX) is used against breast cancer despite its side effects such as toxicity and immunosuppression. Here we investigated the cytotoxic and immunomodulatory effects of the ethanol solution extract of propolis (EEP) in combination with DTX on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and on women's monocyte. The cytotoxic potential of EEP + DTX was assessed by MTT assay and the type of tumor cell death was evaluated by flow cytometry.

Apoptosis-related gene expression induced by Colombian propolis samples in canine osteosarcoma cell line.

Background And Aim: Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common bone tumor in canines and humans. This study aimed to assess the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of Colombian propolis samples on a canine OSA cell line (OSCA-8) by evaluating the expression of , , , , and genes involved in the apoptosis pathway.

Materials And Methods: After treating the cells with five Colombian propolis samples (Usm, Met, Fus, Sil, and Caj), we evaluated cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release.

Propolis from southeastern Brazil produced by Apis mellifera affects innate immunity by modulating cell marker expression, cytokine production and intracellular pathways in human monocytes.

Objectives: Propolis is a bee-made product used for centuries due to its diverse biological properties, including its immunomodulatory action. This work aimed at investigating whether propolis may affect monocyte functions challenged with retinoic acid (RA), B subunit of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (EtxB), human melanoma-associated antigen-1 (MAGE-1) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods: Monocytes from healthy donors were treated with the stimuli separately or in the presence of propolis.

Metabolic adaptation to calorie restriction.

Calorie restriction (CR) enhances health span (the length of time that an organism remains healthy) and increases longevity across species. In mice, these beneficial effects are partly mediated by the lowering of core body temperature that occurs during CR. Conversely, the favorable effects of CR on health span are mitigated by elevating ambient temperature to thermoneutrality (30°C), a condition in which hypothermia is blunted.

Interplay between alveolar epithelial and dendritic cells and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The innate response plays a crucial role in the protection against tuberculosis development. Moreover, the initial steps that drive the host-pathogen interaction following Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are critical for the development of adaptive immune response. As alveolar Mϕs, airway epithelial cells, and dendritic cells can sense the presence of M.

ABHD12 and LPCAT3 Interplay Regulates a Lyso-phosphatidylserine-C20:4 Phosphatidylserine Lipid Network Implicated in Neurological Disease.

PHARC (polyneuropathy, hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa, and cataract) is a human neurological disorder caused by deleterious mutations in the gene, which encodes an integral membrane lyso-phosphatidylserine (lyso-PS) lipase. Pharmacological or genetic disruption of ABHD12 leads to higher levels of lyso-PS lipids in human cells and the central nervous system (CNS) of mice. ABHD12 loss also causes rapid rewiring of PS content, resulting in selective increases in the level of arachidonoyl (C20:4) PS and decreases in the levels of other PS species.

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL13 and IL13RA1 from individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease increase cellular susceptibility to oxidative stress.

The human genes for interleukin 13 (IL-13) and its receptor alpha 1 (IL-13Rα1) are in chromosomal regions associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The interaction of IL-13 with its receptor increases the susceptibility of mouse dopaminergic neurons to oxidative stress. We identified two rare single SNPs in IL13 and IL13RA1 and measured their cytotoxic effects.

Activation of Kappa Opioid Receptor Regulates the Hypothermic Response to Calorie Restriction and Limits Body Weight Loss.

Mammals maintain a nearly constant core body temperature (T) by balancing heat production and heat dissipation. This comes at a high metabolic cost that is sustainable if adequate calorie intake is maintained. When nutrients are scarce or experimentally reduced such as during calorie restriction (CR), endotherms can reduce energy expenditure by lowering T [1-6].

PGRMC2 is an intracellular haem chaperone critical for adipocyte function.

Haem is an essential prosthetic group of numerous proteins and a central signalling molecule in many physiologic processes. The chemical reactivity of haem means that a network of intracellular chaperone proteins is required to avert the cytotoxic effects of free haem, but the constituents of such trafficking pathways are unknown. Haem synthesis is completed in mitochondria, with ferrochelatase adding iron to protoporphyrin IX.

Time Course of Blood and Brain Cytokine/Chemokine Levels Following Adolescent Alcohol Exposure and Withdrawal in Rats.

Background: Adolescence is a critical period for neural development, and alcohol exposure during adolescence can lead to an elevated risk for health consequences as well as alcohol use disorders. Clinical and experimental data suggest that chronic alcohol exposure may produce immunomodulatory effects that can lead to the activation of pro-inflammatory cytokine pathways as well as microglial markers. The present study evaluated, in brain and blood, the effects of adolescent alcohol exposure and withdrawal on microglia and on the most representative pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and major chemokines that can contribute to the establishing of a neuroinflammatory environment.

Gonadal hormones influence core body temperature during calorie restriction.

During calorie restriction (CR), endotherms adjust several physiological processes including the decrease of core body temperature (T) and reduction of energy expenditure. We recently found that CR-induced hypothermia is regulated in a sex-dependent manner in mice with lowered central insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling. Here, we describe the contribution of sex hormones to CR-induced hypothermia in wild type C57BL6 mice by measuring T of female and male mice following bilateral gonadectomy and hormonal replacement.

Time course of microglia activation and brain and blood cytokine/chemokine levels following chronic ethanol exposure and protracted withdrawal in rats.

Alcohol produces complex effects on the immune system. Moderate alcohol use (1-2 drinks per day) has been shown to produce anti-inflammatory responses in human blood monocytes, whereas, the post mortem brains of severe alcoholics show increased immune gene expression and activated microglial markers. The present study was conducted to evaluate the time course of alcohol effects during exposure and after withdrawal, and to determine the relationship between microglial and cytokine responses in brain and blood.

A new chemotherapeutic approach using doxorubicin simultaneously with geopropolis favoring monocyte functions.

Aims: Chemotherapy has been widely used to treat cancer although it may affect non-target cells involved in the immune response. This work aimed at elucidating whether the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin in combination with geopropolis produced by Melipona fasciculata Smith could affect nontumor immune cells, evaluating their immunomodulatory effects on human monocytes.

Main Methods: Cell viability, expression of cell markers (HLA-DR, TLR-2, TLR-4, C80 and CD40), cytokine production (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10), intracellular pathways (NF-κB and autophagy), the microbicidal activity of monocytes and hydrogen peroxide (HO) production were analyzed.

The chemical composition and events related to the cytotoxic effects of propolis on osteosarcoma cells: A comparative assessment of Colombian samples.

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is a type of bone cancer showing an aggressive biological behavior with metastatic progression. Because propolis potential for the development of new antitumoral drugs has been indicated, we evaluated the chemical composition of Colombian propolis samples and the mechanisms involved in their cytotoxic effects on OSA cells. The chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS and the DPPH free radical scavenging activity was measured.

Molecular basis of central thermosensation.

Classic lesion and physiology experiments identified the hypothalamic preoptic area as a pivotal region in the regulation of temperature homeostasis. The preoptic area can sense changes in local temperature, receives information about ambient temperature, contributes to fever, and can affect thermoregulation in response to several biologic signals. Electrophysiologic studies indicate that these actions are mediated by a neuronal circuitry that comprises temperature-sensitive as well as temperature-insensitive neurons.

Intermittent voluntary ethanol consumption combined with ethanol vapor exposure during adolescence increases drinking and alters other behaviors in adulthood in female and male rats.

Epidemiological studies suggest that binge drinking is prevalent among adolescents, and may result in neurobehavioral consequences. Animal models provide the experimental control to investigate the consequences of "binge" alcohol exposure during this neurodevelopmental epoch. The current study used an animal model that combined an intermittent pattern of alcohol vapor exposure with voluntary drinking of 20% unsweetened alcohol in adolescent male and female Wistar rats (postnatal day [PD] 22-62), in order to test for potential differences in behavioral changes, ethanol drinking, and hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt/OX) signaling associated with exposure status.

Estrogen-Related Receptors Mediate the Adaptive Response of Brown Adipose Tissue to Adrenergic Stimulation.

Adrenergic stimulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) induces acute and long-term responses. The acute adrenergic response activates thermogenesis by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation and enabling increased substrate oxidation. Long-term, adrenergic signaling remodels BAT, inducing adaptive transcriptional changes that expand thermogenic capacity.

Deciphering the pathways that protect from IL-13-mediated potentiation of oxidative stress-induced dopaminergic nerve cell death.

The majority of Parkinson's disease (PD) cases are sporadic with only about 10% of PD patients having a family history of the disease suggesting that this neurodegenerative disorder is the result of both environmental and genetic factors. Both oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are thought to contribute to PD. Previously, we showed that the activation of interleukin 13 receptor alpha 1 (IL-13Rα1) increases the sensitivity of dopaminergic neurons to oxidative damage both in cultured cells and in animals.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor regulates hypothermia during calorie restriction.

When food resources are scarce, endothermic animals can lower core body temperature (T). This phenomenon is believed to be part of an adaptive mechanism that may have evolved to conserve energy until more food becomes available. Here, we found in the mouse that the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) controls this response in the central nervous system.

The 4E-BP growth pathway regulates the effect of ambient temperature on metabolism and lifespan.

Changes in body temperature can profoundly affect survival. The dramatic longevity-enhancing effect of cold has long been known in organisms ranging from invertebrates to mammals, yet the underlying mechanisms have only recently begun to be uncovered. In the nematode , this process is regulated by a thermosensitive membrane TRP channel and the DAF-16/FOXO transcription factor, but in more complex organisms the underpinnings of cold-induced longevity remain largely mysterious.