ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effect of a treatment with glycophosphopeptide on Olympic high platform divers during training and competition by measuring lymphocytes and cortisol in peripheral blood, and secretory immunoglobin A in saliva (sIgA). METHODS: Two groups of 8 divers were given a 14-day treatment of capsules (Gp or placebo) three times per day. Measurements of the peripheral blood lymphocytes (TCD3+, TCD4+ and T CD8+), plasma cortisol and IgA levels in saliva were made on day 0, 21 and 150. RESULTS: There was no significant difference found between the Gp- and placebo-treated groups regarding the increase in IgA between basal and first, or first and second measurements. The fact that there was a significant increase in S-IgA (9.89 ± 0.44 to 10.59±0.55, P=0.001) and B CD19+ (345.13±108.24 to 484.75±120.54, P=0.025) in the Gp- and not in the placebo-treated group between the basal and first measurement was due to the variation among the athletes of the latter group, and not the increase itself, indicating that Gp acted as an immunomodulator. It was apparently the exercise and not the Gp treatment that caused the increase in S-IgA and B CD19+ at the first and second measurements. CONCLUSION: The current study reports that with athletes who practiced moderately intense exercise, which stimulated the immune response, a Gp treatment of two weeks seems to have acted only as an immunomodulator that reduced the variation in the increased levels of IgA and B CD19+.
Subject(s)
Adjuvants, Immunologic/pharmacology , Diving/physiology , Exercise/physiology , Immunity, Innate/drug effects , Immunoglobulin A, Secretory/metabolism , Saliva/metabolism , T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , Adolescent , Double-Blind Method , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Lymphocyte Count , Male , Prospective Studies , Respiratory Tract Infections/immunology , Respiratory Tract Infections/metabolism , Respiratory Tract Infections/prevention & controlABSTRACT
Brucellosis is still a critical public health problem in many countries around the world. In humans, the infection is mainly acquired through the ingestion of milk-derived products from infected cattle. After the penetration of the bacteria in the body, several serum components are activated, and the immediate consequence is the attraction of phagocytic cells. The evolution of the disease often courses to a long lasting form, with frequent relapses. This appears to be due to the capability of Brucella's of surviving and, even more, multiplying within the mononuclear phagocytic cells. First, the intracellular location protects the bacteria from the effect of antibiotics. On the other hand, several studies have shown alterations in the phagocytic function. In some cases, the defects in phagocytosis are intrinsic to the host. However, Brucella organisms also display many mechanisms to evade the intracellular killing, which appears to be the reason for the success of the bacterium in dwelling within macrophages.
Subject(s)
Brucella/pathogenicity , Brucellosis/microbiology , Brucella/physiology , Humans , Macrophages/microbiology , Neutrophils/microbiologyABSTRACT
We compared the immunological responses of leukocytes taken from healthy negative controls, laboratory workers immunized with the phenol-insoluble French vaccine against brucellosis, patients acutely ill with brucellosis, and patients chronically infected with Brucella melitensis. A salt-extractable antigen (protein-rich but with traces of lipopolysaccharide) and a sonicated suspension from B. melitensis 16M were used as antigens for in vitro lymphocyte proliferation test. Quantitation of T cells showed that the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ cells decreased as the condition of the patient deteriorated. An assay to quantitate the cell-mediated immunity showed that the activities of mononuclear cells stimulated with concanavalin A increased as the disease progressed as well.
