Acute-phase serum samples collected during an outbreak of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever in Penang, Malaysia, were tested by a method involving antibody-dependent enhancement of infectivity in the mouse macrophage-like cell line, P388D1. 58 of 71 (81.7%) serologically positive cases yielded virus.
Pseudomonas pseudomallei exotoxin was found to be a potent inhibitor of protein and DNA synthesis in cultured macrophages. Inhibition of DNA synthesis occurred at toxin concentrations as low as 1-2 micrograms/ml and inhibition of 3H-thymidine uptake was almost complete at concentrations of 8 micrograms/ml or more. A close correlation between cell damage and inhibition by DNA synthesis was observed. For protein synthesis, inhibition was obtained at much lower doses (0.06-2.0 micrograms/ml) of the toxin. At similar toxin concentrations, DNA synthesis was marginally affected. Further, it was shown that protein synthesis inhibition occurred almost immediately after incubation, reaching its maximal inhibitory effect of 70% after 6 hr. DNA synthesis, however, was minimally affected by a similar toxin concentration even after 10 hr of incubation. The inhibition of macromolecular synthesis in macrophages by P. pseudomallei exotoxin may be relevant to its modulatory effect on the host defense mechanism.
Mouse macrophages pre-labeled with [3H]arachidonic acid (20:4) were shown to release metabolites generated by the lipoxygenase and cyclo-oxygenase pathways following in vitro addition of heat-killed Salmonella typhi. These metabolites were maximally released after 60-90 min of incubation and consisted of prostaglandins (85%), leukotriene C (6%), di-HETEs, leukotrienes D and E (4%), mono-HETEs (2%) and other metabolites (3%). Of the metabolites generated by the cyclo-oxygenase pathway (prostaglandins), 6-keto PGF1 alpha and PGE2 were generated at a ratio of 1.2 to 1. The significance and importance of these results are discussed.
Human Herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infections are ubiquitous in human populations with an antibody prevalence of 30-85 percent in normal adults. The virus in vivo infects T-lympho-cytes, at various stages of differentiation and is cytopathic to host cell during productive infection. In culture the virus is pleiotropic for several established cell lines including T and B lymphocytes, macrophages and neural cells. Primary viral infection occurs mostly in early childhood. The saliva is the primary source of infection. The infection remains clinically silent in majority but it establishes a lifelong latent presence. However, in about 30 percent of infants, probably a varient HHV-6, causes exanthem subitum (roseola infantum). If the primary infection of HHV-6 is delayed until adolescence it is accompanied by clinical manifestation of an Epstein-Barr virus like infectious mononucleosis in some individuals. Depressed host immune functions may reactivate the latent HHV-6 infection and further aggravation of the primary disease. Since the virus is cytopathic to the host cell the presence of HHV-6 in AIDS patients and other lympholiferative disorders may increase the severity and pathogenicity of the primary disease. Antibodies to the HHV-6 are enhanced in autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, progressive lymphoroliferative disorders and organ transplant patients on immunosuppressive drugs therapy. While considerable basic immunovirological information has been obtained in the last 4 years, large gaps in knowledge still exist on the biologic interaction of HHV-6 with the host.
A 35-year-old man from Bangladesh, who had been in Malaysia for approximately a year, was extensively investigated for more than two months in a state hospital for pyrexia with hepatosplenomegaly. However, no obvious cause of his illness was found. He was treated with multiple antibiotics with no resolution of pyrexia and hepatosplenomegaly. He was later referred to the Haematology Unit, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for further assessment as a case of lymphoma. On carefully reviewing his bone marrow aspirate smears, the diagnosis of leishmaniasis (kala-azar) was finally made. The patient responded to treatment with pentamidine.
Fusarium species is an emerging genus of fungal pathogens which until recently were rare causes of human disease apart from localized infection of the skin and nails. Two cases of fungaemia due to Fusarium sp. in children are described. The first child, an 8-year old girl with acute myeloid leukaemia developed character-sitic pyoderma gangrenosum-like skin lesions before succumbing to disseminated Fusarium infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The second child, a 5-month old boy, developed pneumonia associated with a transient erythematous skin rash while on chemother-apy for congenital leukaemia. Both patients had Fusarium isolated from blood. The second child improved after six weeks of treatment with ampho-tericin B and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulat-ing factor but ultimately she died of the disease follow-ing discharge. Fusarium spp should be recognised as an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. Current literature suggests that liposomal amphotericin B in conjunction with leukocyte growth factors are the treatment of choice in this potentially fatal infection.
An experiment was designed to study the in vivo effect of Pasteurella haemolytica A2 infection on the phagocytosis activity of caprine broncho-alveolar macrophages and the extent of pneumonic lesions. Twelve healthy local Kacang goats, about 7 months of age, were divided into two groups of six. Goats in group 1 were inoculated intratracheally with 4 ml inoculum containing 2.8 x 10(9) colony-forming units (CFU)/ml of Staphylococcus aureus. Goats in group 2 were inoculated intratracheally with 4 ml of inoculum containing 9.5 x 10(8) CFU/ml of Pasteurella haemolytica A2 isolated earlier from pneumonic lungs of goat. At intervals of 3 and 7 days post-challenge five goats from each group were killed and the lungs were washed with sterile phosphate-buffered saline. Smears were prepared from the lung washing fluid and the number of macrophages with phagocytic activity was determined. At day 3 post-infection, goats of both groups showed a similar pattern of pneumonic lesion. The lung washing fluid of goats in group 2 was found to contain numerous neutrophils and macrophages. Goats in group 2 showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher extent of lung lesions than group 1. Similarly, the average extent of lung lesions was significantly (P < 0.05) more severe in group 2 at day 7 post-infection. The lung washing fluid contained mostly macrophages. The phagocytic activity following S. aureus infection was more efficient and significantly (P < 0.01) higher compared with infection by P. haemolytica A2. There were weak correlations between the extent of pneumonic lesion and the phagocytic activity. Thus, goats with poor phagocytic activity were likely to develop more extensive lung lesions.
Nine local plant species were picked randomly and their aqueous extracts have been screened to know their effects on the phagocytic capability and intracellular killing of StapllylococclIs al/rellS bacteria by mouse peritoneal macrophages. Macrophage cultures were incubated with different concentration of each plant extracts forI hour. Among these aqueous extracts, Ageratum conyzoides and Malastoma melabathricum inhibited the phagocytic capability and intracellular killing of Stapllylococclls aureus compared with controls. Elicited (activated) cells have more phagocytic capability and intracellular killing than the resident (normal) macrophages. There were no differences in the viability of cells between treated cells (with extracts) and controls (without extracts). KEYWORDS: Aqueous plant extracts, murine macrophage, phagocytosis.
The aim of this study was to determine whether Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans lipopolysaccharide (LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans) could stimulate a murine macrophage cell line (RAW264.7 cells) to produce nitric oxide (NO). The cells were treated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans or Escherichia coli LPS (LPS-Ec) for 24 h. The effects of N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), polymyxin B and cytokines (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-4 and IL-12) on the production of NO were also determined. The role of protein tyrosine kinase, protein kinase C and microtubulin organization on NO production were assessed by incubating RAW264.7 cells with genistein, bisindolylmaleide and colchicine prior to LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans stimulation, respectively. NO levels from the culture supernatants were determined by the Griess reaction. The results showed that LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans stimulated NO production by RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner, but was slightly less potent than LPS-Ec. NMMA and polymyxin B blocked the production of NO. IFN-gamma and IL-12 potentiated but IL-4 depressed NO production by LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. TNF-alpha had no effects on NO production. Genistein and bisindolylmalemaide, but not colchicine, reduced the production of NO in a dose-dependent mechanism. The results of the present study suggest that A. actinomycetemcomitans LPS, via the activation of protein tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C and the regulatory control of cytokines, stimulates NO production by murine macrophages.
The aim of this study was to determine the role of macrophages in the Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans-induced murine immune response. BALB/c mice were given carrageenan solution by intraperitoneal injection before immunisation with heat-killed A. actinomycetemcomitans. Mice immunised with antigens and phosphate-buffered saline served as positive and negative controls, respectively. One week after the last immunisation, the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response was assessed by measurement of footpad swelling. Serum IgG and IgM anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans antibody levels and culture supernate levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma were determined by ELISA. The diameter of abscess formation was determined every 5 days. Sham-immunised spleen cells were transferred to carrageenan-untreated recipients (groups A and B) and to carrageenan-treated recipients (group D). Antigen-immunised spleen cells were transferred to carrageenan-untreated (group C) and carrageenan-treated (group E) recipients. The carrageenan-treated recipients in groups F and G received macrophages from antigen- and sham-immunised mice respectively. All mice except those in group A were immunised with antigen 24 h after cell transfer. After 1 week, a partial suppression of DTH response, reduced levels of IFN-gamma, serum IgG and IgM anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans antibodies and delayed healing were seen in carrageenan-treated mice when compared with the positive control. The immune response to A. actinomycetemcomitans in groups A, B and D was lower than that in groups C and E. Healing of the lesion in the former groups was also delayed when compared with the latter groups. The immune response and the healing of the lesion could be partially restored in carrageenan-treated mice that received antigen-pulsed macrophages (group F) but not in those that received naive macrophages (group G). These results suggest that macrophages play a partial role in the induction of the murine immune response to A. actinomycetemcomitans.
The aim of this study was to determine whether Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans lipopolysaccharide (LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans) could induce murine spleen cells to produce nitric oxide (NO). Spleen cells derived from Balb/c mice were stimulated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans or LPS from Escherichia coli for 4 days. The effects of N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), polymyxin B, and cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-4) on the production of NO were also assessed. The NO production from the carrageenan-treated spleen cells stimulated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans or both LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans and IFN-gamma was determined. The carrageenan-treated mice were transferred with splenic macrophages and the NO production was assessed from the spleen cells stimulated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans or LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans and IFN-gamma. The results showed that NO production was detectable in the cultures of spleen cells stimulated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans in a dose-dependent fashion, but was lower than in the cells stimulated with LPS from E. coli. The NO production was blocked by NMMA and polymyxin B. IFN-gamma up-regulated but IL-4 suppressed the production of NO by the spleen cells stimulated with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans. The carrageenan-treated spleen cells failed to produce NO after stimulation with LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans or both LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans and IFN-gamma. Adoptive transfer of splenic macrophages to the carrageenan-treated mice could restore the ability of the spleen cells to produce NO. The results of the present study suggest that LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans under the regulatory control of cytokines induces murine spleen cells to produce NO and that splenic macrophages are the cellular source of the NO production. Therefore, these results may support the view that NO production by LPS-A. actinomycetemcomitans-stimulated macrophages may play a role in the course of periodontal diseases.
The aim of this study was to determine the role of intracellular proteins in phagocytosis of opsonized Porphyromonas gingivalis by RAW264.7 cells, a murine macrophage-like cell line. This periodontopathogen was grown anaerobically and opsonized with an IgG2a murine monoclonal anti-P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide antibody. RAW264.7 cells were preincubated with protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (staurosporine and genistein), protein kinase C inhibitors (phorbol myristic acetate and bisindolylmaleimide), a serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitor (okadaic acid), a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor (worthmannin), phospholipase A2 inhibitors (bromophenacyl bromide and nordihydroguaiaretic acid), phospholipase C inhibitors (p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate and neomycin sulfate), an actin-filament depolymerizer (cytochalasin D), and a microtubule disrupting agent (colchicine). Inhibitor-treated macrophages were then incubated with the opsonized P. gingivalis and the phagocytosed cells determined microscopically. The results showed the percentage of the phagocytosed organisms decreased when the cells were preincubated with protein tyrosine kinase, protein kinase C, protein phosphatase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors. Of interest, preincubation with phorbol myristic acetate for 30 min increased the ability of RAW264.7 cells to phagocytose the opsonized organisms. Phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C inhibitors only slightly reduced the number of phagocytosed organisms. The results indicated that opsonophagocytosis of P. gingivalis by RAW264.7 cells might be determined by the activation of protein tyrosine kinase, protein kinase C, protein phosphatases, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor. Both phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C would appear to be involved to a lesser extent. The opsonophagocytosis of this periodontopathogen would also appear to be dependent upon actin and microtubule polymerization.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results from the destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta islet cells, probably via the influence of cytokines. However, direct correlation between the expression of selected cytokines by various immune cells at different time points during the progression of the disease has not yet been clearly demonstrated. In this study, we showed that the mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and GM-CSF, were increased while the anti-inflammatory cytokine, TGF-beta, decreased in the peritoneal macrophages of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. IL-6 expression however decreased when the mice became diabetic. Surprisingly the expression of IFN-gamma and IL-2 by splenic CD4+ cells were lower in 5-week-old NOD mice as compared to the nonobese diabetic resistant (NOR) control mice, but their expression was higher in older NOD mice. The expression of IL-4 and IL-10 decreased in splenic CD4-positive lymphocytes. Splenic CD8-positive lymphocytes expressed increased levels of IFN-gamma and IL-10 but the latter decreased sharply when diabetes occurred. The relevance of these findings to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes is discussed.
The aim of this study was to determine nitric oxide (NO) production of a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7 cells) when stimulated with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharides (Pg-LPS). RAW 264.7 cells were incubated with i) various concentrations of Pg-LPS or Salmonella typhosa LPS (St-LPS), ii) Pg-LPS with or without L-arginine and/or NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), an arginine analog or iii) Pg-LPS and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) with or without anti-IFN-gamma antibodies or interleukin-10 (IL-10). Tissue culture supernatants were assayed for NO levels after 24 h in culture. NO was not observed in tissue culture supernatants of RAW 264.7 cells following stimulation with Pg-LPS, but was observed after stimulation with St-LPS. Exogenous L-arginine restored the ability of Pg-LPS to induce NO production; however, the increase in NO levels of cells stimulated with Pg-LPS with exogenous L-arginine was abolished by NMMA. IFN-gamma induced independent NO production by Pg-LPS-stimulated macrophages and this stimulatory effect of IFN-gamma could be completely suppressed by anti-IFN-gamma antibodies and IL-10. These results suggest that Pg-LPS is able to stimulate NO production in the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell model in an L-arginine-dependent mechanism which is itself independent of the action of IFN-gamma.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of L-arginine on Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced phagocytosis by RAW264.7 cells. The cells were pretreated with L-arginine or D-arginine prior to incubation with either unopsonized or opsonized P. gingivalis. In other experiments, the cells were pretreated with L-arginine and various concentrations of NMLA (N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine) prior to incubation with the bacteria. The phagocytosis was microscopically assessed and determined by the phagocytic index. The results showed that L-arginine, but not D-arginine enhances the ability of RAW264.7 cells to engulf the bacteria. The upregulatory effect of L-arginine on P. gingivalis-induced phagocytosis was abolished by NMLA. The results of the present study suggest that L-arginine may upregulate the P. gingivalis-induced phagocytic activity of RAW264.7 cells, perhaps, via modulation of nitric oxide synthase.
Methanol extracts of seven Malaysian medicinal plants were screened for antioxidant and nitric oxide inhibitory activities. Antioxidant activity was measured by using FTC, TBA and DPPH free radical scavenging methods and Griess assay was used for the measurement of nitric oxide inhibition in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. All the extracts showed strong antioxidant activity comparable to or higher than that of alpha-tocopherol, BHT and quercetin in FTC and TBA methods. The extracts from Leea indica and Spermacoce articularis showed strong DPPH free radical scavenging activity comparable with quercetin, BHT and Vit C. Spermacoce exilis showed only moderate activity but other species were weak as compared to the standards. In the Griess assay Lasianthus oblongus, Chasalia chartacea, Hedyotis verticillata, Spermacoce articularis and Leea indica showed strong inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production in LPS and IFN-gamma-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Extracts from Psychotria rostrata and Spermacoce exilis also inhibited NO production but this was due to their cytotoxic effects upon cells during culture.
The oxidative response of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Escherichia coli infected macrophages from normal and melioidosis subjects was determined by measuring the production of nitric oxide which is one of the reactive nitrogen intermediates, and the activation state of these macrophages was determined by measuring the generation of 8-iso-PGF(2alpha), a bioactive product of free radical induced lipid peroxidation. Macrophages obtained from the melioidosis patients generated significantly lower levels of nitric oxide and 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) compared to macrophages obtained from the normal subjects (P<0.001). The reduced efficiency of the oxygen dependent microbicidal mechanism in macrophages of melioidosis patients may be one of the survival strategies developed by B. pseudomallei to remain viable intracellularly.