Impact of apitherapy on canine, equine, and chicken lymphocytes, in vitro.

Apitherapy is a form of alternative medicine that utilizes products from the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), including honey, propolis, and honeybee venom, to improve the health status of human patients by altering host immunity. An added benefit of these products is that they are nutraceuticals and relatively inexpensive to aquire. Currently, little is known about the use of honeybee products in veterinary species, as well as their impact on host immunity. In the present in vitro study, honey, propolis, and honeybee venom were co-cultured with enriched canine, equine, and chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) with cell proliferation, cell viability/apoptosis, and cellular morphology evaluated. Concanavalin A (Con A) and dexamethasone were used as stimulatory and suppressive controls, respectively. Honeybee products' effects on the three veterinary species varied by product and the species. Honey stimulated the PBLs proliferation in all three species but also displayed some increased cytotoxicity. Propolis stimulated proliferation in canine and equine PBLs, however, it suppressed proliferation in the chicken PBLs. Honeybee venom was the strongest PBL stimulant for all three species and in the equine, surpassed the stimulant response of Con A and yet, enhanced PBL cell viability post culture. In summary, the results of this preliminary in vitro study show that these three honeybee products do impact lymphocyte proliferation and viability in dogs, horses, and chickens, and that more research both in vitro and in vivo will be necessary to draw conclusions regarding their future use as immune stimulants or inhibitors.

Immunomodulatory effects of dietary IMUNO-2865 in mice, pre-and post-vaccine challenge with parainfluenza virus 5.

Herbal remedies and nutraceuticals continue to be used as treatments for a variety of maladies ranging from joint disease to obesity. IMUNO-2865 is a natural nutraceutical supplement that has been advertised to modulate inflammation, boost cytokine activity promoting a robust immunity, but has yet to be evaluated as an adjuvant. In the present study, 4-week-old C57BL/6 female mice (n = 45) were fed 0, 5 or 50 mg/5 g tablet IMUNO-2865 (I-2865) in a tablet formulated feed. One group of mice (n = 15, 5 mice/diet) were placed on a feed diet for 14 days, while the other group of 30 mice (10 mice/diet) were placed on the diet for 28 days. Five mice from each diet group in the 28-day feeding trial were vaccinated on day 7 with a mouse recombinant parainfluenza virus to mimic viral challenge. On days 0, 14 and 28 blood samples were collected. Mice were humanely euthanized on days 14 and 28. Spleens were collected to analyze organ weight/body weight ratios, cell recovery, T cell and B cell phenotype, cell proliferation, antibody titers and cytokine production. Administration of dietary I-2865 for 14 days had no effect on murine immunity. In the 28-day dietary vaccine trial, I-2865 supplementation did not enhance vaccine response, based on vaccine antigen-specific IgG titers, nor did it alter T cell and B cell phenotype, function or cytokine response, but it did decrease splenocyte numbers in the vaccinated mice.

Gross and histologic evaluation of effects of photobiomodulation, silver sulfadiazine, and a topical antimicrobial product on experimentally induced full-thickness skin wounds in green iguanas (Iguana iguana).

OBJECTIVE To assess effects of photobiomodulation, silver sulfadiazine, and a topical antimicrobial product for the treatment of experimentally induced full-thickness skin wounds in green iguanas (Iguana iguana). ANIMALS 16 healthy subadult green iguanas. PROCEDURES Iguanas were anesthetized, and three 5-mm cutaneous biopsy specimens were obtained from each iguana (day 0). Iguanas were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups, each of which had a control treatment. Wounds in the topical treatment group received silver sulfadiazine, a topical antimicrobial product, or no treatment. Wounds in the laser treatment group received treatment with a class 4 laser at 5 or 10 J/cm2 or no treatment. Wound measurements were obtained daily for 14 days. Iguanas were euthanized, and treatment sites were evaluated microscopically to detect ulceration, bacterial contamination, reepithelialization, necrosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and collagen maturity. RESULTS On day 14, wounds treated with a laser at 10 J/cm2 were significantly smaller than those treated with silver sulfadiazine, but there were no other significant differences among treatments. Histologically, there were no significant differences in ulceration, bacterial infection, reepithelialization, necrosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and collagen maturity among treatments. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Photobiomodulation at 10 J/cm2 appeared to be a safe treatment that was tolerated well by green iguanas, but it did not result in substantial improvement in histologic evidence of wound healing, compared with results for other treatments or no treatment.