| 1. |
- Lienhardt, C, et al.
(författare)
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Active tuberculosis in Africa is associated with reduced Th1 and increased Th2 activity in vivo
- 2002
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Ingår i: European Journal of Immunology. - 1521-4141. ; 32:6, s. 1605-1613
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Activation of Th1 lymphocytes, IFN-gamma production and macrophage activation are crucial in defense against Mycobacteria. In developing countries, Th2 activation and IL-4 production have been associated in vitro with tuberculosis and with poor clinical outcome after treatment. Serological markers of Th1 [soluble lymphocyte activation gene (LAG)-3] and Th2 (IgE, soluble CD30, and CCL22/macrophage-derived chemokine) activity were measured in 414 HIV-negative tuberculosis patients from The Gambia and Guinee and in 414 healthy household and community controls. Measurements were repeated during treatment to assess the effect of therapy on Th1/Th2 ratio. At diagnosis, sLAG-3 levels were lower in patients than in community controls (p<0.0001), but were higher in household controls exposed to contact with patients than in community controls (p<0.0001). In comparison with community controls, patients had consistently higher levels of IgE, sCD30, and CCL22 (p<0.0001), whereas household controls had lower levels of indicators of Th2 activity (P<0.0001). After treatment, cured patients had higher levels of Th1 (p<0.0001) and lower levels of Th2 (p<0.0001) activity than patients who were not successfully treated or interrupted therapy. In Africa, tuberculosis is associated with low Th1 and high Th2 activity in vivo, whereas close exposure to tuberculosis is associated with a high Th1/Th2 ratio. Patients with favorable outcome after treatment exhibit a higher Th1/Th2 ratio compared to patients with poor clinical outcome.
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| 2. |
- Wadenberg, Marie-Louise, et al.
(författare)
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Significance of the nicotinic alpha7 receptor in cognition and antipsychotic-like behavior in the rat
- 2017
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Ingår i: Behavioural Brain Research. - : Elsevier. - 0166-4328 .- 1872-7549. ; 333, s. 129-134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Schizophrenic (SCH) patients show cognitive impairment in attentional performance. Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) such as the Alzheimer's drug galantamine (GAL) and PAM-2 are documented to have pro-cognitive properties. However, it is not well established if these properties would be lost, or may hamper antipsychotic efficacy, when given as an adjunct to an antipsychotic which is needed for managing psychotic symptoms. Using adult male Wistar rats, we here investigated the effects of: a) GAL, alone or co-administered with the antipsychotic risperidone (RISP), on acute phencyclidine (PCP) induced deficits in the attentional set-shifting (ASST) test; b) PAM-2, alone and co-administered with RISP, in the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) test for antipsychotic activity. Acute PCP produced selective and significant SCH-like impairment in extra dimensional shift (EDS) performance, which was completely reversed by GAL. The ability of GAL to reverse PCP-induced EDS impairment was not prevented when co-administered with RISP, suggesting that the combination of GAL and low doses of RISP may be used to improve the cognitive impairment in SCH. Pretreatment with methyllycaconitine (MLA), a selective alpha 7 nAChR antagonist, completely prevented the reversal elicited by GAL, supporting the concept that alpha 7 nAChRs are involved in this process. On the other hand, PAM-2 alone had no effects on CAR, but enhanced, although not significantly, the antipsychotic-like effect of RISP when administered together. In conclusion, alpha 7 PAMs, in addition to alleviate the cognitive impairments observed in SCH patients, may enhance the anti psychotic efficacy of atypical antipsychotics.
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