A comparison of the anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity of extracts from commonly used medicinal plants.

Background: Resurgences of Staphylococcus aureus infection continue globally, with antibiotic resistance increasing dramatically, making these infections more difficult to treat. S. aureus epidemics impose public health threats, and economic burdens on health care costs worldwide, presenting challenges modern medicine struggles to control.

In vitro characterization of a nineteenth-century therapy for smallpox.

In the nineteenth century, smallpox ravaged through the United States and Canada. At this time, a botanical preparation, derived from the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea, was proclaimed as being a successful therapy for smallpox infections. The work described characterizes the antipoxvirus activity associated with this botanical extract against vaccinia virus, monkeypox virus and variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox.

Regulation of inflammatory gene expression in PBMCs by immunostimulatory botanicals.

Many hundreds of botanicals are used in complementary and alternative medicine for therapeutic use as antimicrobials and immune stimulators. While there exists many centuries of anecdotal evidence and few clinical studies on the activity and efficacy of these botanicals, limited scientific evidence exists on the ability of these botanicals to modulate the immune and inflammatory responses. Using botanogenomics (or herbogenomics), this study provides novel insight into inflammatory genes which are induced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells following treatment with immunomodulatory botanical extracts.

Detection of stratospheric ozone intrusions by windprofiler radars.

Stratospheric ozone attenuates harmful ultraviolet radiation and protects the Earth's biosphere. Ozone is also of fundamental importance for the chemistry of the lowermost part of the atmosphere, the troposphere. At ground level, ozone is an important by-product of anthropogenic pollution, damaging forests and crops, and negatively affecting human health.

Retrievals for the atmospheric chemistry experiment Fourier-transform spectrometer.

SCISAT-1, also known as the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, is a satellite mission for remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere, launched on 12 August 2003. The primary instrument on the satellite is a 0.02 cm(-1) resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer operating in the mid-IR (750-4400 cm(-1)).

Evaluation of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteome analysis technology.

Proteome analysis is most commonly accomplished by a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) to separate and visualize proteins and mass spectrometry (MS) for protein identification. Although this technique is powerful, mature, and sensitive, questions remain concerning its ability to characterize all of the elements of a proteome. In the current study, more than 1,500 features were visualized by silver staining a narrow pH range (4.

Comprehensive analyses of prostate gene expression: convergence of expressed sequence tag databases, transcript profiling and proteomics.

Several methods have been developed for the comprehensive analysis of gene expression in complex biological systems. Generally these procedures assess either a portion of the cellular transcriptome or a portion of the cellular proteome. Each approach has distinct conceptual and methodological advantages and disadvantages.

Analysis of integrin (CD11b/CD18) movement during neutrophil adhesion and migration on endothelial cells.

Little is known of the distribution of cell surface molecules during the adhesion and migration of leucocytes on endothelial cells. We have used confocal microscopy and a Fab fragment of a non-inhibitory monoclonal antibody recognizing the integrin CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1) to study the movement of this adhesion molecule over time. We found that during the initial stage of neutrophil contact with TNF-alpha activated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), there is a rapid accumulation of Mac-1 at the contact area between the two cell types.

Correlation between protein and mRNA abundance in yeast.

We have determined the relationship between mRNA and protein expression levels for selected genes expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae growing at mid-log phase. The proteins contained in total yeast cell lysate were separated by high-resolution two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis. Over 150 protein spots were excised and identified by capillary liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Blockade of CD49d (alpha4 integrin) on intrapulmonary but not circulating leukocytes inhibits airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in a mouse model of asthma.

Immunized mice after inhalation of specific antigen have the following characteristic features of human asthma: airway eosinophilia, mucus and Th2 cytokine release, and hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. A model of late-phase allergic pulmonary inflammation in ovalbumin-sensitized mice was used to address the role of the alpha4 integrin (CD49d) in mediating the airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. Local, intrapulmonary blockade of CD49d by intranasal administration of CD49d mAb inhibited all signs of lung inflammation, IL-4 and IL-5 release, and hyperresponsiveness to methacholine.

Binding of human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes to E-selectin (CD62E) does not promote their activation.

E-selectin (CD62E) is a cytokine-inducible endothelial cell adhesion molecule that tethers polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and supports PMN rolling under conditions of flow. We examined whether interaction of PMNs with E-selectin also leads to activation of CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1, alphaMbeta2), an event that can promote firm adhesion. PMNs were added to monolayers of IL-1beta-activated HUVECs and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with E-selectin cDNA.

Western blot assay for prostate-specific membrane antigen in serum of prostate cancer patients.

There is a need for the development of new diagnostic tools for the early detection of prostate cancer. A candidate molecule for a new screening test is a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSM) recognized by the monoclonal antibody 7E11.C5.

Lipopolysaccharide enhances CD11b/CD18 function but inhibits neutrophil aggregation.

Human neutrophils are primed in the presence of complexes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with its serum binding protein (LBP) in a manner dependent on CD14. Cellular consequences of priming include increased responsiveness, the upregulation of surface proteins including the adhesive integrin CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1), the increased binding of certain ligands to CD11b/CD18, and the concurrent shedding of the L-selectin homing receptor. Because expression of both CD11b/CD18 and L-selectin is obligatory for formyl peptide-stimulated neutrophil aggregation in vitro (Simon et al, Blood 82:1097, 1993), we have examined the consequences of bacterial endotoxin on the expression of neutrophil adhesive molecules.

A role for lectin interactions during human neutrophil aggregation.

We have recently reported that neutrophil aggregation is dependent on both L-selectin and the beta 2-integrin Mac-1, raising the possibility that carbohydrate interactions play a role in aggregation. We used mono- and polysaccharides known to inhibit L-selectin-dependent adhesion of lymphocytes to high endothelial venules to test whether these carbohydrates could inhibit neutrophil aggregation. Similar types and concentrations of carbohydrates found by others to inhibit lymphocyte adhesion were effective in blocking neutrophil aggregation.

Regulation of human neutrophil aggregation: comparable latent times, activator sensitivities, and exponential decay in aggregability for FMLP, platelet-activating factor, and leukotriene B4.

We have recently described a flow cytometry technique, whose sensitivity allows direct measurements of latent times before the onset of aggregation, and of rates, maximal extents, and reversibility of aggregation (J Leuk Biol 50:434, 1991). We report here that activators which stimulate sustained cellular signaling associated with increases in intracellular calcium (ionomycin) or protein kinase C activation (phorbol myristate acetate, PMA) cause complete (> or = 98%) and irreversible neutrophil aggregation, with latent times for the onset of aggregation inversely proportional to the activator concentration. In contrast, the receptor-specific activators leukotriene B4 (LTB4), formyl peptide FMLP, and platelet-activating factor (PAF) gave only partial and reversible aggregatory responses, limited by the following similar properties: latent times of 4.

Beta 2-integrin and L-selectin are obligatory receptors in neutrophil aggregation.

We have recently found that antibodies to L-selectin, the homing receptor on neutrophils, are as effective as those to beta 2-integrin at blocking formyl peptide-stimulated aggregation. Therefore, we investigated the requirements for expression of L-selectin and beta 2-integrin on adjacent cells during aggregation. Fluorescence flow cytometry allowed characterization of aggregates on the basis of size and color, as well as antibody binding to these two adhesive molecules.

A model for the recruitment of neutrophils at sites of inflammation. Physiological relevance of in vivo neutrophil aggregation.

Adhesive glycoproteins on both neutrophils and vascular endothelial cells are known to mediate adhesive interaction between the two cell types. We propose that activation of endothelial cells will lead to the capture of unactivated neutrophils, localizing them at inflammatory sites. The interaction between activated endothelium and captured neutrophils will result in the stimulation of adherent neutrophils.

Dynamics of human neutrophil aggregation evaluated by flow cytometry.

In order to directly monitor neutrophil aggregation, we have developed a simple particle counting technique using flow cytometry. Flow times were used to determine aggregation from changes in the total number of particles per unit volume (%PA(T)), while fluorescent signals emitted from glutaraldehyde-fixed neutrophils were used to measure changes in the total number of singlet neutrophils (%PA(S)). Flow cytometrically-determined %PA values were found to be virtually identical to values determined from microscopy.

Comparative studies of microscopically determined aggregation, degranulation, and light transmission after chemotactic activation of adult and newborn neutrophils.

Changes in the light transmission of suspensions of activated neutrophils are widely used to measure the dynamics of neutrophil aggregation. Such studies have suggested, for example, that aggregation is irreversible for human newborn neutrophils but fully reversible for adult cells. We have evaluated aggregation directly by microscopic particle counting and compared it with changes in light transmission (delta T) and with release from three granule subsets for neutrophils activated with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP).

Synergistic inhibition of complement induced granulocyte margination by BW755C and calcium channel blockers.

Intravenous infusion of granulocyte (PMNL) chemotactic factors including C5ades Arg present in zymosan activated plasma (ZAP), induces granulocytopenia due to PMNL margination. Since some PMNL responses are dependent on Ca++ ions and lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid, we evaluated the effects of a lipoxygenase (and cyclooxygenase) inhibitor, BW755C and Ca++ channel blocking agents, verapamil and nifedipine, on chemotactic factor induced granulocytopenia and margination in rabbits. BW755C (20 mg/kg i.

A role for hemolysin in Escherichia coli-induced inflammation in granulocytopenic rabbits.

Inflammation induced in the skin of granulocytopenic rabbits by Escherichia coli was examined. Protein exudation and platelet deposition in lesions were measured with 125I-labeled albumin and 111In-labeled platelets. In granulocytopenic rabbits 10(4)-10(7) live serum-resistant E.

Formation of ursodeoxycholic acid from chenodeoxycholic acid by a 7 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-elaborating Eubacterium aerofaciens strain cocultured with 7 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-elaborating organisms.

A gram-positive, anaerobic, chain-forming, rod-shaped anaerobe (isolate G20-7) was isolated from normal human feces. This organism was identified by cellular morphology as well as fermentative and biochemical data as Eubacterium aerofaciens. When isolate G20-7 was grown in the presence of Bacteroides fragilis or Escherichia coli (or another 7 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase producer) and chenodeoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid produced.