Neuroprotective Effects of Water Extract from Brown Algae Petalonia binghamiae in an Experimental Model of Focal Cerebral Ischemia In Vitro and In Vivo.

Focal cerebral ischemia (fCI) can result in brain injury and sensorimotor deficits. Brown algae are currently garnering scientific attention as potential therapeutic candidates for fCI. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of the hot water extract of Petalonia binghamiae (wPB), a brown alga, in in vitro and in vivo models of fCI. The neuroprotective efficacy of wPB was evaluated in an in vitro excitotoxicity model established using HT-22 cells challenged with glutamate. Afterward, C57/BL6 mice were administered wPB for 7 days (10 or 100 mg/kg, intragastric) and subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) operation, which was used as an in vivo fCI model. wPB co-incubation significantly inhibited cell death, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, as well as stimulated the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an antioxidant enzyme, and the nuclear translocation of its upstream regulator, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in HT-22 cells challenged with glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. Pretreatment with either dose of wPB significantly attenuated infarction volume, neuronal death, and sensorimotor deficits in an in vivo fCI model. Furthermore, the attenuation of oxidative stress and apoptosis in the ischemic lesion accompanied the wPB-associated protection. This study suggests that wPB can counteract fCI via an antioxidative effect, upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

CysA2: A candidate serodiagnostic marker for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is important to identify and test serologically active antigens in order to devise a mixture of antigens or peptides that is most useful for serodiagnosis. This study evaluated the serodiagnostic potential of CysA2, which has not previously been described as a serological antigen, together with those of PstS1, HspX, antigen 85 complex and CFP-10 proteins. METHODS: Serum IgG antibody titres against each antigen and a mixture of the antigens were measured by ELISA, in subjects with pulmonary tuberculosis and in healthy control subjects. RESULTS: CysA2 showed diagnostic value comparable to that of PstS1 and HspX. Mixtures of these three proteins provided the highest diagnostic sensitivity. CysA2 was useful for identifying patients who did not react to HspX or PstS1, and was most valuable in increasing the sensitivity of testing. Furthermore, CysA2 efficiently overcame the limitation associated with use of PstS1, that is, significantly lower sensitivity for subjects who are negative for acid-fast bacilli. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that CysA2 can be used in combination with HspX and/or PstS1 to increase the accuracy of tuberculosis diagnoses.

Preventive effects of mycobacteria and their culture supernatants against asthma development in BALB/c mice.

PURPOSE: Live Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has a suppressive effect on asthma, but its use in clinical practice may be limited due to adverse reactions. To develop a product that is effective for suppressing asthma with minimal adverse reactions, we investigated whether the heat-killed body or culture supernatants of mycobacteria could also prevent asthma development. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were treated with live BCG, the heat-killed body, or culture supernatants of BCG or Mycobacterium tuberculosis intraperitoneally, while sensitizing and provoking with ovalbumin. Then they underwent a methacholine bronchoprovocation test, and the peribronchial inflammatory cell numbers and cytokine levels in splenocyte culture supernatants were assessed. RESULTS: The airway sensitivity to methacholine decreased significantly after treatment with not only live BCG (30.8 versus 10.0 mg/mL, P<0.001) but also with the culture supernatant (BCG, 23.0 mg/mL, P<0.05; M. tuberculosis, 20.5 mg/mL, P<0.05). In contrast, heat-killed mycobacteria did not effectively decrease airway sensitivity. The peribronchial eosinophil counts and the goblet cell proportions in total epithelial cells decreased significantly in most of the groups. The interferon-gamma/interleukin-5 ratios increased significantly in most of the treatment groups except for the heat-killed groups, and were significantly related to airway sensitivity (r=0.312, P<0.01) and peribronchial eosinophil counts (r=-0.416, P<0.001). Interleukin-17A level was inversely related to airway sensitivity (r=-0.212, P<0.05) and was significantly lower in the live BCG group than in the control (137+/-20 versus 308+/-57 pg/mL, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BCG and mycobacteria culture supernatants may effectively prevent the development of asthma associated with altered Th1/Th2 cytokines and interleukin-17A levels.

Improved sensitivity of diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients in Korea via a cocktail enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay containing the abundantly expressed antigens of the K strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent in Korea. In this study, we compared the proteins present in culture filtrates from Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain K, which is the dominant clinical isolate in Korea, with those present in culture filtrates from M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Several differences in expression were detected between the two strains for those proteins with a molecular mass of <20 kDa. ESAT-6, HSP-X, and CFP-10 were found to be abundantly expressed in the strain K culture filtrates by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. The serodiagnostic potentials of recombinant antigens rESAT-6, rHSP-X, and rCFP-10 and two native antigens (Ag85 and PstS1) were evaluated by Western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using sera collected from 46 TB patients with active disease and 46 healthy controls. As for our ELISA results, HSP-X was superior to the other antigens in terms of sensitivity when a single antigen was employed. The results of a receiver operator characteristic analysis revealed that a cocktail ELISA using all five antigens was significantly more sensitive (77.8%) than the use of a single antigen and offered equivalent specificity; moreover, it produced the largest area under the curve (0.91 versus 0.55 to 0.87). Therefore, a cocktail ELISA containing abundantly expressed antigens enhances the sensitivity of a single antigen and can be a useful diagnostic tool for the detection of active TB.