In this study the programmed cell death (apoptosis) of human neutrophilic granulocytes was investigated in the presence and absence of fetal calf serum (FCS), cycloheximide and actinomycin-D. The results show that when FCS is omitted from cultures, apart from a decrease in viability, the percentage of apoptotic cells and DNA fragmentation increases. Apoptosis is accelerated in serum withdra...

Teucrium polium, a medicinal plant that belongs to the family Labiatae is widely used in folk medicine as antidiabetic, antibactrial and anti-inflammatory agent. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Teucrium polium on the mouse polymorphonuclear neutrophils. The animals were divided into five groups including four test and one control group, which orally received 50 and 100 mg/kg of aqueou...

Despite advances in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is a distinct lack biochemical markers to aid clinical management. Microvesicles (MVs) have been implicated inflammatory diseases including COPD, but their association COPD severity remains unknown. We analyzed different MV populations plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) taken from 62 patie...

Injection of sterile aqueous preparations of the peptidoglycan polysaccharide of group A streptococci produces chronic inflammation in several animal models. Accordingly, the effect of peptidoglycan and group A-specific polysaccharide (PG-APS) polymers on human polymorphonuclear neutrophil oxidative metabolism was studied with the supposition that this interaction may contribute to the inflamma...

Orchestrating a cytotoxic polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) response strictly focused within the tumor tissue remains a formidable challenge for the successful therapeutic use of these cells. A Salmonella vector carrying an shRNA against indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase has been shown to recruit PMNs and enhance their activation specifically in the tumor bed, resulting in significant anticancer eff...

The accumulation of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in unfractionated mononuclear cells and in purified monocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophil polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) was measured in vitro. Accumulation of both drugs in leucocytes was time and dose dependent. Cellular levels comparable to those found during antirheumatic therapy were achieved by preincubation for 60 minutes with u...

The results of a histopathological study of 30 cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis are construed as indicating a four stage pathogenetic sequence: (1) initial infection, involving breaching of the surface epithelium; (2) keratocyte depletion by the invading trophozoites; (3) inflammatory response mediated by neutrophil polymorphonuclear leucocytes; (4) stromal necrosis attributable to leucocytic ac...