Vitamin E supplementation modulates cytokine production by thymocytes during murine AIDS

Selective Intratumoral Drug Release and Simultaneous Inhibition of Oxidative Stress by a Highly Reductive Nanosystem and Its Application as an Anti-tumor Agent

Excessive oxidative stress is always associated with the serious side effects of chemotherapy. In the current study, we developed a vitamin E based strongly reductive nanosystem to increase the loading efficiency of docetaxel (DTX, DTX-VNS), reduce its side toxicity and enhance the antitumor effect.

Methods: We used Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to reveal the in vivo and in vitro fate of DTX-VNS over time. All FRET images were observed using the Maestro imaging system (CRI, Inc., Woburn, MA) and Fluo-View software (Olympus LX83-FV3000).

Results: Through FRET analyzing, we found that our nanosystem showed a selective rapider release of drugs in tumors compared to normal organs due to the higher levels of ROS in tumor cells than normal cells, and the accumulation of DTX at tumor sites in the DTX-VNS group was also notably more than that in the Taxotere group after 24 h injection. Meanwhile, DTX-VNS had a prominently stronger anti-tumor effect in various models than Taxotere, and had a synergistic effect of immunotherapy.

Conclusions: Our work presented a useful reference for clinical exploration of the in vivo behavior of nanocarriers (DTX-VNS), inhibition oxidative stress and selective release of drugs at tumor sites, thus reducing the side effects and enhancing the anti-tumor effects.

The Comparative Impact of Iron, the B-Complex Vitamins, Vitamins C and E, and Selenium on Diarrheal Pathogen Outcomes Relative to the Impact Produced by Vitamin A and Zinc

Micronutrient supplementation offers one of the most cost-effective means of improving the health and survival of children in developing countries. However, the effects of supplementation with single micronutrients on diarrhea are not always consistent, and supplementation with multi-micronutrient supplements can have negative effects. These inconsistencies may result from the failure to consider the diverse etiological agents that cause diarrhea and the unique effects each micronutrient has on the immune response to each of these agents. This review examines the separate effects that supplementation with the B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and iron have on diarrheal disease-related outcomes. Supplementation with iron may increase the risk of infection by invasive diarrheal pathogens, while supplementation with the remaining micronutrients may reduce this risk. These differences may be due to distinct regulatory effects each micronutrient has on the pathogen-specific immune response, as well as on the virulence of specific pathogens. The findings of these studies suggest that micronutrient supplementation of children must take into account the pathogens prevalent within communities as reflected by their diarrheal disease burdens. The effectiveness of combining multiple micronutrients into one supplement must also be reconsidered.

Profile of chicken cytokines induced by lipopolysaccharide is modulated by dietary alpha-tocopheryl acetate

Previously, we found that 25 to 50 IU/kg of dietary vitamin E (VE) had very different immunoregulatory effects than high VE levels (200 IU/kg), and we hypothesized that this difference was due to different cytokine profiles. Chicks were fed 0, 30, or 200 IU/kg supplemental VE and percentages of CD4+CD8-, CD4-CD8+, CD4+CD8+, and CD4-CD8- lymphocytes, and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ lymphocytes was determined. The expression of chicken splenic interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), myelomonocytic growth factor (MGF), interferon (IFN-gamma), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) mRNA was determined by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR after intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Due to a tendency for increased CD4-CD8+ lymphocytes at 30 IU/kg VE (P=0.072), the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was significantly lower for 30 IU/kg VE compared with 0 IU/kg VE (P=0.041). The VE dose of 200 IU/kg decreased the constitutive (prior to LPS) expression of TGFbeta. The LPS caused an increase in IL-1beta, MGF, and IFNgamma expression at all VE concentrations and had no effect on IL-2 and TGFbeta mRNA expression. Dietary VE decreased MGF mRNA (P=0.049) in a dose-dependent manner but had no effect on the expression of other cytokines. The decreased expression of MGF could explain the immunomodulatory effect of VE in inflammation.

Kinetics of cytokine production by thymocytes during murine AIDS caused by LP-BM5 retrovirus infection

C57BL 6 mice inoculated with the murine leukemia retrovirus mixture, LP-BM5, rapidly produce murine AIDS with many functional similarities to human AIDS. Human HIV infection has recently been shown to inhibit thymocyte maturation. Therefore, the kinetics of the proliferation of thymocytes induced by Con-canavalin A (ConA) and levels of cytokines produced by in vitro ConA-stimulated thymocytes were examined during the progression of murine AIDS. The proliferation of thymocytes induced by ConA was significantly enhanced by retrovirus infection at 4 weeks post-infection compared to control, but significantly inhibited during 8-12 weeks post-infection. Release of IL-2 by ConA-stimulated thymocytes was significantly increased by retrovirus infection during 2-5 weeks post-infection and 11-18 weeks post-infection compared to control, but significantly decreased during 7-9 weeks post-infection. Secretion of IL-4 by ConA-stimulated thymocytes was significantly enhanced by retrovirus infection from 5 to 18 weeks post-infection compared to control. The level of IL-6 produced by ConA-stimulated thymocytes was significantly inhibited by retrovirus infection at the beginning of retrovirus infection (2-9 weeks), but significantly elevated after 11 weeks post-infection compared to control. Release of IFNgamma by ConA-stimulated thymocytes, however, was significantly enhanced during the whole period of retrovirus infection compared to control, while it surged at 13 weeks post-infection. We conclude that retrovirus infection affects the thymus, producing altered T-cell differentiation via the dysregulation of thymocyte cytokine secretion.