MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine electronic databases and manual search were applied to detect available publications. A meta-analysis using a fixed- or random-effect model was performed to measure standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The National Institute of Health (NIH) tools for observational cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies were used to examine the risk of bias. The protocol was recorded in PROSPERO with CRD42017060230.
RESULTS: A total of 38 articles were found including 19 case-control, 11 cross-sectional and 8 prospective cohort studies. We indicated that Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8) and Th17 cytokine (IL-17) in dengue patients were notably higher than in a healthy control group in acute phase (SMD = 1.59, 95% CI [0.68, 2.51], p = 0.001; SMD = 1.24, 95% CI [0.41, 2.06], p = 0.003; SMD = 1.13, 95% CI [0.61, 1.66], p<0.0001; SMD = 1.74, 95% CI [0.87, 2.61], p<0.0001), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of the significant roles of IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-17 in the pathogenesis of developing a severe reaction in dengue fever. However, to fully determine the association of Th cytokines with dengue, it is necessary to perform further studies to assess kinetic levels during the duration of the illness.
METHODS: Acute inflammation was produced by subplantar injection of 0.1 mL of 0.1% histamine into the right hind paw of each rat in the control and treatment groups. The degree of edema was measured before injection and at the time points of 30, 60, 120, 180, 240 and 300 min after injection. Changes of peritoneal vascular permeability were studied using Evans blue dye as a detector. Vascular permeability was evaluated by the amount of dye leakage into the peritoneal cavity in rats. To evaluate the inhibitory effect of AEBO on biochemical mediators of vascular permeability, the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined in histamine-treated paw tissues. The major constituents of AEBO were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.
RESULTS: AEBO produced a significant inhibition of histamine-induced paw edema starting at 60 min time point, with maximal percentage of inhibition (60.25%) achieved with a dose of 150 mg/kg of AEBO at 60 min time point. Up to 99% of increased peritoneal vascular permeability produced by histamine was successfully suppressed by AEBO. The expression of biochemical mediators of vascular permeability, NO and VEGF, was also found to be downregulated in the AEBO treated group. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the major constituent in AEBO was acetic acid.
CONCLUSIONS: The experimental findings demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory activity of AEBO was due to its inhibitory effect on vascular permeability, which was suppressed as a result of the reduced expression of biochemical mediators (NO and VEGF) in tissues. Our results contribute towards the validation of the traditional use of Bixa orellana in the treatment of inflammatory disorders.