Antimicrobial activity of Davilla elliptica St. Hill (Dilleniaceae)

Davilla elliptica St. Hill ("lixinha"), family Dilleniaceae, is commonly used in the Brazilian folk medicine as purgative and stimulant. This work evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the methanol and chloroform extracts of the leaves and barks of D. elliptica using the disc-diffusion method. The results obtained showed that the methanolic extracts of the leaves and barks presented antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms.

Oxygen-dependent inhibition of neutrophil respiratory burst by nitric oxide.

Effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the respiratory burst of neutrophils was examined under different oxygen tensions. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulated oxygen consumption and superoxide (O2) generation in neutrophils by a mechanism which was inhibited reversibly by NO. The inhibitory effect of NO increased significantly with a decrease in oxygen tension in the medium. The inhibitory effect of NO was suppressed in medium containing oxyhemoglobin (HbO2), a NO scavenging agent. In contrast, 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), a compound that rapidly generates peroxynitrite (ONOO-) from the released NO and O2-, slightly stimulated the PMA-induced respiratory burst. These results suggested that NO, but not ONOO-, might reversibly inhibit superoxide generation by neutrophils especially at physiologically low oxygen tensions thereby decreasing oxygen toxicity particularly in and around hypoxic tissues.

Dependency of antibody titer on provirus load in human T lymphotropic virus type I carriers: an interpretation for the minor population of seronegative carriers.

To evaluate the prevalence of seronegative carriers of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), buffy coat samples from 1015 Okinawan high school students were tested by immunoassays and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among 17 HTLV-I carriers, 1 person who was seronegative and 1 who was PCR-negative were identified. gag and tax/rex PCR titers correlated with each other (r = .92; P < .001). Of the 17 carriers, 14 (82%) had high virus loads (geometric averages, 522 gag and 703 tax/rex copies/micrograms of DNA; 95% confidence intervals, 38-7260 and 75-6594, respectively). Carriers with low virus loads had < or = 2.2 gag copies. In the high-virus-load group, the gag PCR titers correlated with the antibody titers (r = 0.88; P < .001). The regression line intersected the minimum antibody detection level at 35 gag copies/micrograms of DNA. These results suggest that a small percentage of carriers may be seronegative.

Antigenic variations of retrovirus in Japanese cancer patients.

Previously we demonstrated the prevalence of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTVL-I) infection among cancer patients in Japan. This study was carried out to examine antigenic properties of retroviruses prevalent among Japanese cancer patients. Sera of 126 Japanese patients with cancer of different organs and with no history of blood transfusion, 94 in adult T cell leukemia (ATL)-endemic area and 32 in ATL-nonendemic area, were surveyed for antibodies to HTLV-I and HTLV-II by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot analysis, and indirect immunogold electron microscopy. Among patients who were seropositive to HTLV-I, 39 of 56 (69.6%) in ATL-endemic area and 9 of 9 (100%) in ATL-nonendemic area were seropositive also to HTLV-II. Of 48 sera positive to both HTLV-I and HTLV-II, 34 (70.8%) showed stronger reactivities to HTLV-I than to HTLV-II. Among patients who were seronegative to HTLV-I, 3 of 38 (7.9%) in ATL-endemic area and 5 of 23 (21.7%) in ATL-nonendemic area were seropositive to HTLV-II. Antibodies appearing and disappearing in sera of patients examined during the clinical course reacted with peptide species of HTLV-I and/or HTLV-II not always consistent with peptide species cross-reactive between HTLV-I and HTLV-II. These results indicate the antigenic diversity of retroviruses prevalent among Japanese cancer patients.