Search

Giuseppina Frasca1, Venera Cardile1, Carmelo Puglia2, Claudia Bonina2, Francesco Bonina21Department of Biomedical Sciences, (Physiology), 2Department of Drug Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, ItalyBackground: Gelatin tannate is a mixture of tannic acid and gelatin. Tannic acid has astringent properties, due to its capacity to form protein–macromolecular complexes, as well as antibacterial and antioxidant properties. However, little is known about its anti-inflammatory properties. Purpose: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of gelatin tannate by quantifying the suppression of key molecules produced during inflammatory events in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human intestinal cells. Methods: Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression was determined by Western blot analysis; interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in Caco-2 cells 24 hours after treatment with LPS (1 μg/mL) in presence of different concentrations of gelatin tannate. Results: ICAM-1 is induced on a wide variety of cells by inflammatory stimuli such as LPS. Our results have shown gelatin tannate as a potent inhibitor of ICAM-1 expression in LPS-stimulated Caco-2 cells. IL-8 and TNF-α are important inflammatory mediators, recruiting neutrophils and T-lymphocytes. Together with LPS, adding gelatin tannate at different concentrations induced a dose-dependent inhibition of IL-8 and TNF-α released by Caco-2 cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that gelatin tannate exerts anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the specific cytokines and adhesion molecules involved in several inflammatory disorders.Keywords: Caco-2, ICAM-1, IL-8, TNF-α

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) are common human pathogens that in particular cases can also cause severe problems especially in immunodeficient patients. The present paper reports the antiviral and immunomodulatory properties of a methanolic extract of C. spinosa buds (CAP), rich in flavonoids, including several quercetin and kaempferol glycosides. In particular we have investigated whether the in vitro exposure of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to CAP might inhibit the replication of HSV-2 and modulate the induction kinetics of IL-12, TNF- α IFN- γ. Our findings have shown that CAP treatment interferes with HSV-2 replication in PBMCs inhibiting the extracellular virus release upregulating their production of IL-12, IFN- γ and TNF- α. One could speculate that CAP may contribute in improving immune surveillance of PBMCs toward virus infection by up-regulating expression of peculiar proinflammatory cytokines; it should thus be successfully employed for treatment of HSV-2 infections in immunocompromised hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present work was aimed at evaluating the in vitro effects of a lyophilized extract of wine (JW-E) obtained from Jacquez grapes (Vitis aestivalis-cinerea×Vitis vinifera grapes) on the production of key molecules released in inflammatory disease utilising interleukin-1β (IL-1β) activated chondrocytes. The extract contains large amounts of phenolic components, in particular some flavonoids (flavan-3-ols, also known as catechins) and proanthocyanidins, as hydroxycinnamic acids and anthocyanins, that possess several biological features such as antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects and a “radical scavenger” activity too. In this study, we assayed the effect of JW-E on the production of key molecules released during chronic inflammatory events as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human chondrocytes culture, stimulated with proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β. The JW-E proved to possess good ability against the harmfull effects of IL-1β. Our data showed the protective effects of JW-E in cartilage alteration, that appears greater than that elicited by indomethacin, a not steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), commonly employed in joint diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]