CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in controlling the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, despite an increased number of Tregs, the persistence of inflammation in the rheumatoid joints suggests that Tregs are unable to suppress ongoing disease, perhaps due to an inhibition of their functions by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Treatment of RA patients with anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibodies such as infliximab and adalimumab has been found to induce and restore the functions of Tregs. Thus, manipulation of the pro-inflammatory environment in the inflamed synovia via neutralization of inflammatory cytokines by monoclonal antibodies could represent a novel therapeutic strategy for restoring the suppressive functions of Tregs and induction and/or expansion of Tregs in order to reinforce tolerance mechanisms. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jagadeesh Bayry

Biological Sciences and Engineering

S. Sibéril

F. Triebel

D.F. Tough

S.V. Kaveri

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

Drug Discovery Today

Viscum album (VA) preparations are extensively used as complementary therapy in cancer and are shown to exert anti-tumor activities which involve the cytotoxic properties, induction of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis and several other immunomodulatory mechanisms. In addition to their application in cancer therapy, VA preparations have also been successfully utilized in the treatment of several inflammatory pathologies. Owing to the intricate association of inflammation and cancer and in view of the fact that several anti-tumor phytotherapeutics also exert a potent anti-inflammatory effect, we hypothesized that VA exerts an anti-inflammatory effect that is responsible for its therapeutic benefit. Since, inflammatory cytokine-induced cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of VA on regulation of cyclo-oxygenase expression and PGE2 biosynthesis by using human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549 cells) as a model. A549 cells were stimulated with IL-1β and treated with VA preparation (VA Qu Spez) for 18 hours. PGE2 was analysed in the culture supernatants by enzyme immunoassay. Expression of COX-2 and COX-1 proteins was analyzed by immunoblotting and the expression of COX-2 mRNA was assessed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. We found that VA Qu Spez inhibit the secretion of IL-1β-induced PGE2 in a dose-dependent manner. Further, we also show that this inhibitory action was associated with a reduced expression of COX-2 without modulating the COX-1 expression. Together these results demonstrate a novel anti-inflammatory mechanism of action of VA preparations wherein VA exerts an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting cytokine-induced PGE2 via selective inhibition of COX-2. © 2011 Hegde et al.

Fulltext

PLoS ONE

Viscum album exerts anti-inflammatory effect by selectively inhibiting cytokine-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2

Rescuing CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cell functions in rheumatoid arthritis by cytokine-targeted monoclonal antibody therapy

Journal	Data powered by TypesetDrug Discovery Today
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetElsevier Ltd
ISSN	13596446
Open Access	No