Differential actions of glycodelin-A on Th-1 and Th-2 cells: a paracrine mechanism that could produce the Th-2 dominant environment during pregnancy.

Background: The maternal-fetal interface has a unique immunological response towards the implanting placenta. It is generally accepted that a T-helper type-2 (Th-2) cytokine prevailing environment is important in pregnancy. The proportion of Th-2 cells in the peripheral blood and decidua is significantly higher in pregnant women in the first trimester than in non-pregnant women.

Quantitative analysis of anticancer 3-deoxyanthocyanidins in infected sorghum seedlings.

3-Deoxyanthocyanidins are structurally related to the anthocyanin pigments, which are popular as health-promoting phytochemicals. Here, it is demonstrated that the 3-deoxyanthocyanidins are more cytotoxic on human cancer cells than the 3-hydroxylated anthocyanidin analogues. At 200 microM concentration, luteolinidin reduced the viability of HL-60 and HepG2 cells by 90 and 50%, respectively.