Juvenile American white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were immersed in aerated beta-glucan and sulphated polysaccharide solutions for 1, 3 and 6 h. Superoxide anion and SOD activity in haemocytes and muscle were investigated to evaluate whether beta-glucan and sulphated polysaccharide induce any immunostimulatory activity. Haemocytes and muscle showed different levels of superoxide anion genera...

Leaves of Murraya koenigii (Linn.) Spreng. (Curry patta) are reported to possess antidiabetic, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activity. In the present study immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extract of its leaves on specific (humoral and cell mediated) and non specific (macrophage) immunity in mice was investigated. Oral administration of the aqueous extract of leaves at the...

Muropeptides are breakdown products of peptidoglycan (PGN) of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. They are released during bacterial growth and division, as part of the host response by lysozyme and amidases, or upon antibiotic treatment. After phagocytosis of bacteria or bacterial breakdown products by host immune cells, the muropeptides trigger intracellular signaling cascades, leading ...

Transcripts possessing a 5'-triphosphate are a hallmark of viral transcription and can trigger the host antiviral response. 5'-triphosphates are also found on common host transcripts transcribed by RNA polymerase III (RNAP III), yet how these transcripts remain non-immunostimulatory is incompletely understood. Most microRNAs (miRNAs) are 5'-monophosphorylated as a result of sequential endonucle...

Many immunostimulatory drugs, such as agonistic antibodies to CD137 and interleukin (IL)-2, generate effective antitumor immune responses in preclinical studies, but demonstrate serious toxicity profiles after systemic administration, which hampers their clinical application. We recently discovered that a combination of antiCD137 with an extended half-life IL-2-Fc fusion protein (lacking Fc rec...

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. Usin...

For the induction of robust humoral and cellular immune responses, a strong rationale exists to use vaccine-adjuvant combinations possessing both immune modulatory and enhanced delivery capabilities. Herein, we evaluated the combination of 2 different adjuvants, a TLR9 agonist, composed of synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing immunostimulatory CpG motifs (CpG), and ISCOMATRIX adjuva...

T helper 1 cells play a crucial role in the clearance of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection. By producing cytokines and presenting antigens to T cells, activated macrophages can orientate the adaptive immune response. The pathway used by macrophages to metabolize arginine has been employed as an important parameter to discriminate their activation state. In this study, the pattern of macroph...