STUDY TO ESTABLISH THE ACCEPTANCE RANGE FOR PEROXYL RADICALS SCAVENGER CAPACITY OF NATURAL SOD.

In the context of an emerging market of food supplements, the proven quality of the antioxidant products should be the main criteria for using them. The production process has to be carefully controlled and complementary tests are needed to demonstrate the correspondence between real and declared properties of final product. Using well characterized compounds with proven antioxidant activity in biological systems as reference brings a plus of rigorously to the testing protocol.

A highly purified vegetal fraction able to modulate HMGB1 and to attenuate septic shock in mice.

High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is an intracellular protein that may be released actively from monocytes and macrophages or passively from necrotic or damaged cells. Its inhibition in animal experiments, even in the late phase of septic shock, significantly enhanced the survival rate of rodents. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of a vegetal fraction isolated and highly purified from Helleborus purpurascens regarding the modulation of HMGB1 release either from tumor cells or human blood mononuclear cells.

Implant microparticles--a new concept for non-invasive cancer therapy.

Some progress in cancer research was possible in recent years mainly due to important advances in nanotechnology. However, clinical use of nanomaterials is still hindered by limitations. In search of better performance and control of inoculated materials, the efficiency and toxicity of SBBC implant particles was assessed.

The effects of some Curdlan derivatives on Dectin-1 expression and cytokine production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The cells of immune system such as monocytes and macrophages are in first line defence against dangerous signals. In the present paper the recognition of Dectin 1 receptors and the modulation of Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) cytokine production by Curdlan and Curdlan derivatives in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were studied. The effect of Curdlan or Curdlan derivatives on the expression of Dectin 1 receptors in PBMCs was revealed by flow-cytometry and the levels of IL-10 and TNFalpha were measured by ELISA kit in supernatants of PBMCs cultured in presence or absence of Curdlan, Curdlan derivatives and LPS.

Curdlan derivatives able to enhance cytostatic drugs activity on tumor cells.

The chemotherapy success to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to stop cell division. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. Taking into account the severe side effects of chemotherapy, drugs producers also focus on natural products obtained either from medicinal plants, or from microorganisms.

The effects of cold atmospheric plasma jets on B16 and COLO320 tumoral cells.

Cold atmospheric plasma treatment acts at the cellular level to remove diseased tissue without inflammation and damage, to suppress infections and to modulate the viability (apoptosis/necrosis) of tumoral cells. It is also known that, a major cause of anti-tumor chemotherapy failure is the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors. This study reveals the effect of high voltage pulsed, repetitive cold atmospheric plasma jets which are chemically activated with oxygen, on B16 tumoral cells (murine melanoma cell line) and COLO320DM multidrug resistant cells (human colon cancer cell line).

Recognition and modulation of Dectin-1 and TLR-2 receptors by curdlan derivatives and purified natural extracts.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Dectin-1, as members of Pattern Recognition Receptors play an essential role in innate immune response against bacteria and fungi respectively, contributing to pathogens recognition, phagocytosis, etc. Dectin-1 and TLR-2/TLR-6 can interact for intracellular signal transduction. Dectin-1 is expressed at low levels on macrophages and at high levels on dendritic cells.

The modulation of reactive oxygen species production from human polymorphonuclear cells by curdlan derivatives as dectin-1 agonists/antagonists.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are well known to be cytotoxic and have been implicated in the etiology of a wide array of human diseases including diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and also influence central cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, senescence etc. If in these pathological or degenerative conditions characterized by free radicals excess, reactive species are not eliminated, they can maintain destructive processes, already initiated at different cellular levels. Understanding the role of ROS as key mediators in signaling cascades may provide various opportunities for pharmacological intervention.

The novel arthritis-drug substance MCS-18 attenuates the antibody production in vivo.

Unlabelled: Influence of the novel arthritis drug-substance MCS-18 on the antibody (Ab) production against tetanus toxoid (TT) and diphtheria toxoid (DT) antigens was tested in vivo. Possible involvement of MCS-18 in Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling pathway was further considered.

Materials And Methods: Immunization of male CD1 mice was done with subcutaneous injection of TT emulsified in Freund's Complete (FCA) or Incomplete Adjuvant (FIA) and mixed diversly with MCS-18 and different test substances.

Study of apoptosis induced by cytostatics and vegetal extracts on human endothelial cell line.

Angiogenesis, the biological process by which new capillaries are formed from pre-existing vessels, is a tightly controlled and complex process involving several factors with both stimulating and inhibiting steps. In solid tumor growth, a specific clinical turning point is the transition to the vascular phase. Once it develops an intrinsic vascular network, a tumor grows indefinitely.

COX-2 inhibitors can down-regulate in vivo antibody response against T-dependent antigens.

There are many studies demonstrating by different experimental models that non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), also known as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, can modulate immune response such as lymphoid cells differentiation and proliferation. There are experimental data which show that activated B cells can express mRNA COX-2, release prostaglandins (PGs) and produce immunoglobulins in PGs dependent manner. In this study, using different COX-2 inhibitors and applying personalized immunization scheme, we confirmed that it is possible to modulate in vivo antibody response against T cell dependent antigens, substantiating the importance of PGE2 and E prostanoid receptor (EP-R) in antibody generation.

The effect of the plasma needle on tumoral cell lines apoptosis.

In this paper, we present the effect of the plasma needle on tumor cell surface. The plasma is generated at the tip of a metal needle by using a radio-frequency generator of 13.56 MHz, 100's V amplitude.

Antioxidant properties of some hydroalcoholic plant extracts with antiinflammatory activity.

The hydroalcoholic extracts of Calendula officinalis, Hypericum perforatum, Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra which exhibited different anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated for the possible mode of action by studying their antioxidant potential. In the present study we investigated if standardized hydroalcoholic extracts of plants such as Calendula officinalis, Hypericum perforatum, Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra produced by Hofigal Stock Company could modulate the respiratory burst of human activated neutrophils, as a consequence of their antioxidant capacity. Their antioxidant properties were measured using a colorimetric assay (Total Antioxidant Status kit).

Hydroalcoholic plant extracts with anti-inflammatory activity.

The aim of the present study was to investigate if standardized hydroalcoholic plant extracts such as Calendula officinalis, Hypericum perforatum, Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra can suppress in cell-free systems the activities of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), key enzymes in the formation of proinflammatory eicosanoids from arachidonic acid (AA). Studies were undertaken to compare the above mentioned plant extracts to a known NSAID (nimesulide) in their ability to inhibit both cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and lipoxygenase (5-LO) activities in cell-free systems. We report on 2 vegetal extracts (Hypericum perforatum and Glycyrrhiza glabra) that inhibit 5-LO activity and 2 vegetal extracts (Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra) that inhibit COX-2 activity.