ABSTRACT
Paeoniflorin (PF), a Chinese herbal medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice in China because of its dual immunoregulatory effects. A previous study found that PF inhibited the biofilm formation of Candida albicans (C. albicans) in vitro; however, whether PF plays an antifungal role in vivo is still unexplored. In this study, we sought to examine the effect of PF alone or in combination with an antifungal agent, fluconazole (FCZ), using a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. The results showed that the survival time of mice treated with PF alone or PFâ¯+â¯FCZ decreased compared with the Infected alone and FCZ treated groups, respectively (8.20⯱â¯1.75 vs 10.40⯱â¯2.50â¯days, Pâ¯<â¯0.05; 24.60⯱â¯6.55 vs 29.00⯱â¯3.16â¯days, Pâ¯<â¯0.05). The fungal burden in the kidney of mice increased in the PF alone and PFâ¯+â¯FCZ treated groups compared with the Infected alone or FCZ treated group. Furthermore, it was found that the PF and PFâ¯+â¯FCZ treated groups showed significantly decreased levels of serum interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-17, and IL-22, and an increased level of serum IL-4; PF had no effect on the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). PF alone or in combination with FCZ decreased the proliferation of Th1 (IFN-γ+CD4+) and Th17 cells (IL-17+CD4+) and increased the expression of Th2 cells (IL-4+CD4+). These results suggested that PF treatment could be detrimental to the host response to systemic C. albicans infection in mice. Thus, caution might be required for clinical use of PF in patients with fungal infection.
Subject(s)
Candidiasis/immunology , Glucosides/pharmacology , Monoterpenes/pharmacology , Th1 Cells/drug effects , Th17 Cells/drug effects , Animals , Candida albicans , Candidiasis/blood , Candidiasis/microbiology , Candidiasis/pathology , Cytokines/blood , Disease Models, Animal , Kidney/drug effects , Kidney/microbiology , Kidney/pathology , Liver/drug effects , Liver/pathology , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Spleen/anatomy & histology , Spleen/drug effects , Th1 Cells/immunology , Th17 Cells/immunologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of primary Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in the spermatic cord. METHODS: A case of BL of the spermatic cord was studied by histopathology and immunohistochemical techniques. The clinical data and the related literature were reviewed. RESULTS: The patient was a 4-year-old boy, who was accidentally found with a bump in the scrotum. Surgery showed it to be a tumor located in the left spermatic cord and 5 cm x 3 cm x 2 cm in size, gray and fish-like on cross-sectional imaging. Histologically, it was characterized by monotonous infiltration of medium-sized cells with round nuclei, coarse chromatin, 2-5 basophilic nucleoli, and an appreciable rim of basophilic cytoplasm, in a typically starry-sky pattern imparted by interspersed tangible-body macrophages. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were diffused, positive for CD20 and CD79, some for CD10 and about 95% with the nuclear expression of Ki-67, but negative for CD3, CD43, bcl-2 and TdT as well as for EBER in situ hybridization. CONCLUSION: Primary spermatic cord BL is extremely rare, highly aggressive and with poor prognosis. Diagnosis of the tumor relies on its pathological characteristics and immunohistochemical staining. It is essential to differentiate BL from other types of lymphomas and malignant small-cell tumors of the non-lymphatic system.
Subject(s)
Burkitt Lymphoma/pathology , Genital Neoplasms, Male/pathology , Antigens, CD20/analysis , Burkitt Lymphoma/metabolism , CD79 Antigens/analysis , Child, Preschool , Genital Neoplasms, Male/metabolism , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Ki-67 Antigen/analysis , Male , Neprilysin/analysis , Spermatic CordSubject(s)
Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology , Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/pathology , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , CD56 Antigen/metabolism , Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use , Doxorubicin/therapeutic use , Esophageal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Esophageal Neoplasms/metabolism , Esophageal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Leukocyte Common Antigens/metabolism , Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/drug therapy , Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/metabolism , Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/radiotherapy , Male , Middle Aged , Poly(A)-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Prednisone/therapeutic use , T-Cell Intracellular Antigen-1 , Treatment Outcome , Vincristine/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Effects of endomorphin-1 (EM-1) and endomorphin-2 (EM-2) on synaptic trans-mission were investigated on neurons in substantia gelatinosa (SG) of the spinal dorsal horn. Both EM-1 (1 microM) and EM-2 (1 microM) remarkably reduced the frequency but not the amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs). These effects were antagonized by beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA, 10 microM), a selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist. Noticeably, EM-1 showed higher potency in decreasing the frequency of mEPSCs and mIPSCs than that of EM-2. These results indicate that EMs suppress both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission by activating presynaptic mu-opioid receptors in the SG and EM-1, compared with EM-2, might be a more potent endogenous analgesic at the spinal cord level.
