Vasculoprotective and vasodilatation effects of herbal formula (Sahatsatara) and piperine in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Background: The herbal formula (Sahatsatara, STF), the Thai traditional poly-herbal recipe, has been used for treatment of muscle pain, anti-flatulence and numbness on hands and feet, with the caution when used in hypertensive patients. However, there is no scientific evidence to prove its effects on cardiovascular system. Piperine is the proposed major active compound in STF.

The safety of Homnawakod herbal formula containing Aristolochia tagala Cham. in Wistar rats.

Background: A dried root of Aristolochia tagala Cham. (ATC) is often used in Thai traditional medicine as an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory agent, muscle relaxant, appetite-enhancing agent, and analeptic. Homnawakod, an important herbal recipe, originally contains ATC in its formula, however, some Aristolochia species have been reported to cause nephrotoxicity due to aristolochic acid (AA) and its derivatives, resulting in ATC removal from all formulae.

The Phyllanthus emblica L. infusion carries immunostimulatory activity in a mouse model.

Background: Phyllanthus emblica L. (Indian gooseberry, Ma khaam pom) has been an herbal component of Thai traditional recipes proposed to slow down the aging process. A number of methodologies have been employed to investigate the immunological aspects of the so called "anti-aging effects" of P.

Differential expression of Th2 chemokine receptors on T cells from atopic and nonatopic asthmatics in response to Der p 1-pulsed dendritic cells.

Background: In vitro polarized human Th2 cells preferentially express the chemokine receptors CCR3 and CCR4 and migrate to their ligands: eotaxin, monocyte-derived chemokine (MDC) or CCL22, thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) or CCL17. However little is known about the regulation of these chemokine receptor axes by Der p 1-pulsed dendritic cells in house dust mite (HDM)-sensitive and non-atopic asthmatics.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the modulatory effects of Der p 1-pulsed DCs on the expression of CCR3 and CCR4 on CD4+ T cells of HDM-sensitive and non-atopic asthmatics.

Human cytokine-induced killer cells specifically infiltrated and retarded the growth of the inoculated human cholangiocarcinoma cells in SCID mice.

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells were examined for safety and efficacy for cholangiocarcinoma treatment. Several conditions of human CIK cells were examined using ex vivo cytotoxic assay and SCID mice pre-inoculated with cholangiocarcinoma cells. We monitored the ex vivo cytotoxicity, tumor sizes and immunohistochemistry.

Der p 1 suppresses indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase in dendritic cells from house dust mite-sensitive patients with asthma.

Background: Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO), a tryptophan-degrading enzyme in dendritic cells (DCs), mediates an immunosuppressive effect on activated T lymphocytes. However, little is known about the effect of Der p 1 on IDO in human DCs.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the effect of Der p 1 on the expression and activity of IDO in monocyte-derived DCs from house dust mite (HDM)-sensitive patients with asthma.

Effective osteosarcoma cytolysis using cytokine-induced killer cells pre-inoculated with tumor RNA-pulsed dendritic cells.

Osteosarcoma with distant metastases at late stage has posed a challenge for novel therapeutic modalities. The application of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells to osteosarcoma constitutes a promising strategy. This approach had been studied in multiple myeloma and breast cancers, where CIK cells exhibited specific cytotoxicity toward malignant cells while sparing wild-type tissues.