Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric 70-kD cytokine that can enhance the activity of cytotoxic effector cells. Although IL-12 shares some functional properties with interleukin-2 (IL-2), it appears to act via a distinct mechanism. In this report, we examined the effects of IL-12 on the cytolytic activity and proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from patients ...

OBJECTIVE Many systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients display impaired cellular immune responses against allo- or recall antigens. Given the down-regulating properties of interleukin-10 (IL-10) on antigen-presenting cell functions, this study was undertaken to investigate whether the well-known overproduction of IL-10 by SLE peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was involved in this pr...

Transfusion or transplantation of T lymphocytes into an allogeneic recipient can evoke potent immune responses including, in immunocompromised patients, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). As our previous studies demonstrated attenuated immunorecognition of red blood cells covalently modified with methoxy(polyethylene glycol) (mPEG), we hypothesized that T-cell activation by foreign antigens migh...

Benzodiazepines (BDZs) are known to act not only in the central nervous system, but on peripheral cells and tissues binding to the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors. In the present study, the influence of two different BDZs (diazepam (Dz) and tofizopam (Tof) on several immune functions has been examined in vitro. Some differences between Dz and Tof in their effects on human lymphocyte pr...

Objective(s): Naringin, an essential flavonoid, inhibits inflammatory response and oxidative stress in diabetes. However, whether naringin has beneficial effects on diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains unknown. Materials and Methods: Streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected into male rats (8 weeks old weighting 200-250 g) to establish diabetic model, then naringin (20, 40 or 8...

In this study, genistein, a selective protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, inhibited peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation and interleukin-2 production from cultures that were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus A23187, or PHA plus PMA, and genistein effectively blocked the PHA plus IL-2-induced PBMC proliferation. Further, w...

The role of HLA-DR+ cells in NK activity against CMV-infected FS4 foreskin fibroblasts and K562 erythroleukemia cells was examined. When nonadherent PBMC were depleted of either HLA-DR+ or Leu-11b+ cells by treatment with mAbs plus C, NK activity against CMV-FS4 target cells was markedly reduced. In contrast, depletion of HLA-DR+ cells had no effect on NK activity against K562 target cells. Whe...

Cell-mediated immunity is critical to host defenses against the fungal infection cryptococcosis. Here, two functions critical to effective cell-mediated immunity (CMI), lymphoproliferation and cytokine release, were studied in Cryptococcus neoformans-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from seven healthy donors (controls) and two patients with cryptococcosis. PBMC responses to ...