We hypothesized that the cell wall inhibitor micafungin (MICA) induces apoptosis in both MICA-susceptible (MICA-S) and MICA-non-susceptible (MICA-NS) Candida parapsilosis. Antifungal activity and apoptosis were analyzed in MICA-S and MICA-NS C. parapsilosis strains following exposure to micafungin for 3 h at 37°C in RPMI 1640 medium. Apoptosis was characterized by detecting phosphatidylserine e...

3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl lactic acid (DLA) and salvianolic acid B (SAB) are two major water-soluble components of Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM). Previous works have revealed the ability of DLA and SAB to scavenge oxygen free radicals, inhibiting the expression of adhesion molecules CD11b/CD18 in neutrophil. Cardiotonic pills (CP), which is a traditional Chinese medicine compound preparation containing D...

Phagocytosis and oxidative burst in whole-blood granulocytes were assessed by flow cytometry with Phagotest and Bursttest kits, respectively. Seventy individuals were included in this study: 15 healthy, normal donors, 18 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive patients, 19 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and 18 patients co-infected with Mycobacterium tuberculos...

Background—A T-cell–mediated inflammatory response occurs in the microcirculation during acute hypercholesterolemia. The objective of this study was to define the contribution of T-lymphocyte–derived interferon(IFN) to the leukocyte–endothelial cell adhesion induced by hypercholesterolemia. Methods and Results—Intravital videomicroscopy was used to quantify the adhesion and emigration of leukoc...

Although a growing body of evidence suggests that plant polyphenols can modulate human immune responses, their simultaneous action on monocyte and neutrophil oxidative burst is currently poorly understood. Based on the hypothesis that various polyphenols contained in plant extracts might affect the oxidative burst of phagocytes, we evaluated the effects of ethanolic O. paradoxa extract polyphen...

The fluorescent probes dichlorofluorescin (DCFH), dihydrorhodamine (DHR), and hydroethidine (HE) allow convenient assay of alveolar macrophage (AM) oxidant responses to enviromental particulates and pathogens. We sought to more precisely define the relationship of these measures of oxidant stress to production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Normal AMs were challenged in vitro with a panel of so...

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare genetic disease, which is caused by defects in the NADPH oxidase complex (gp91(phox), p22(phox), p40(phox), p47(phox), and p67(phox)) of phagocytes. This defect results in impaired production of superoxide anions and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are necessary for killing bacterial and fungal microorganisms and leads to recurrent, life-...

Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) the highly reactive coupling product of nitric oxide and superoxide, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of an increasing number of (inflammatory) diseases. At present, however, selective peroxynitrite antagonizing agents with therapeutic potential are not available. Therefore, the NADPH-oxidase inhibitor apocynin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-acetophenone) was tested for its...

ORAC and other in vitro methods have to date proved useful in measuring antioxidant potential in foods. In order to better understand the potential relationship between diet and free radical production/mitigation, an in vivo analytic method can provide new insight into directly measuring reactive oxidant species (ROS). Dihydrorhodamine-6G (DHR6G) is indiscriminate to the various free radicals f...

Monocytes and macrophages are part of the first-line defense against bacterial, fungal, and viral infections during host immune responses; they express high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and cytotoxic molecules, including nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and their reaction product peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite is a short-lived oxidant and a potent inducer of cell death. Honey, in add...