Highly diluted medication reduces tissue parasitism and inflammation in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of Kalium causticum, Conium maculatum, and Lycopodium clavatum 13cH in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a blind, controlled, randomized study, 102 male Swiss mice, 8 weeks old, were inoculated with 1400 trypomastigotes of the Y strain of T. cruzi and distributed into the following groups: CI (treated with 7% hydroalcoholic solution), Ca (treated with Kalium causticum 13cH), Co (treated with Conium maculatum 13cH), and Ly (treated with Lycopodium clavatum 13cH). The treatments were performed 48 h before and 48, 96, and 144 h after infection. The medication was repertorized and prepared in 13cH, according to Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. The following parameters were evaluated: infectivity, prepatent period, parasitemia peak, total parasitemia, tissue tropism, inflammatory infiltrate, and survival. Statistical analysis was conduced considering 5% of significance. RESULTS: The prepatent period was greater in the Ly group than in the CI group (p = 0.02). The number of trypomastigotes on the 8th day after infection was lower in the Ca group than in the CI group (p < 0.05). Total parasitemia was significantly lower in the Ca, Co, and Ly groups than in the CI group. On the 12th day after infection, the Ca, Co, and Ly groups had fewer nests and amastigotes/nest in the heart than the CI group (p < 0.05). Decreases in the number of nests and amastigotes in the intestine were observed in the Ly group compared with the CI group (p < 0.05). In the liver (day 12), Ly significantly prevented the formation of inflammatory foci compared with the other groups. In skeletal muscle, Co and Ly decreased the formation of inflammatory foci compared with CI (p < 0.05). Ly afforded greater animal survival compared with CI, Ca, and Co (p < 0.05). The animals in the Co group died prematurely compared with the CI group (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Ly with 13cH potency had significantly more benefits in the treatment of mice infected with T. cruzi, reducing the number of blood parasites, amastigote nests in tissue, and the number of amastigotes per nest and increasing animal survival.

[A technique for investigating the component of cantharidin blisters by flow cytometry].

OBJECTIVE: Cantharidimide cause blister. The effect of blister on immunoregulation was investigated. METHODS: Cantharidimide was placed on the skin, 48h later, the blister was analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The blister contained 1 x 10(6) - 1 x 10(7) cells per ml, most of which were neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells (DC), and IL-12 secreted by Thl cells. CONCLUSION: There are high concent of DC in the blister, which is differential and induce the secretion of Th1, the activation of T cell. The blister modulate the biological response of patients and is helpful for treatment with infective disease.

In vivo treatment of melanoma (B16F10) with a homeopathic agent and with a cytokine (IFN-alpha).

Among the numerous agents tested on melanoma, cytokines have attracted much attention over recent decades, in particular interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). However, in a small number of experimental assays, homeopathic products have also been used. This study aimed to analyze the effects of INF-alpha and Lymphomyosot, administered individually or in combination, on the growth of B16F10 melanoma transplanted in C57BL/6J mice. Two experiments were performed using 72 young male mice, treated with 1 x 10(6) B16F10 cells and treated with phosphate-buffered saline (I), INF-alpha (II), Lymphomyosot (III), and both INF-alpha and Lymphomyosot (IV). Subsequent morphological and immunohistochemical studies were performed. All treatments produced a reduction in tumor weight with significant differences in those treated with INF-alpha and Lymphomyosot. INF-alpha reduced the cell proliferation index and the spread of inflammatory infiltrates and produced an increase in the extent of intratumoral necrosis. An antitumour effect was displayed by both agents, as was the cytotoxicity of INF-alpha and the immune response-stimulating effect of Lymphomyosot.

Investigation of the anti-glioma activity of Oviductus ranae protein hydrolysate.

Oviductus Ranae is the dry oviducts of Rana temporaria chensinensis, and it has been reported to have a range of biological activities. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Oviductus Ranae protein hydrolysate (ORPH) on human glioma C6 cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Following in vitro treatment, cell viability and colony formation assays showed that ORPH inhibited C6 cell proliferation. In addition, the results of western blotting also demonstrated that ORPH effectively regulated the expression of the apoptosis related proteins, cleaved caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2, DNA staining and flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that ORPH significantly promoted apoptosis in this cell line, a finding that was confirmed in vivo using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling. Further investigation demonstrated that ORPH increased apoptosis by modulating the release of inflammatory cytokines and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway; this was demonstrated using a PI3K/AKT inhibitor (NVP-BEZ235). In summary, the present study suggested that ORPH promoted apoptosis and inhibited glioma cell proliferation by influencing the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.