Bifidobacteria DNA Induces Murine Macrophages Activation in vitro

Previous studies have shown that oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG motifs were used as adjuvants for immunoregulation and immune response. This study was to explore the activation effects of Bifidobacteria DNA containing unmethylated CpG motifs （CpG DNA） on murine macrophage J774A.1 cells. The genomic DNA of Bifidobacteria was extracted and purified, and the methylation degree of CpG motifs was tested. The phagocytic ability of the macrophages was detected by flow cytometry. The cytokines （IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12p40 and TNF-α） levels in the culture supernatants of Bifidobacteria DNA treated J774A.1 cells were assayed by ELISA. The content of nitric oxide （NO） was detected by Griess reagent. After treated with Bifidobacteria DNA for 24h, Nile Red stain increased in J774A.1 macrophage, which suggested that the lipid metabolism increased in the macrophages. The phagocytic ability and levels of NO and cytokines of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12p40 and TNF-α were significantly higher than PBS group and CT DNA group. The results indicated that Bifidobacteria DNA could activate murine macrophages J774A.1, which could provide scientific basis for the research and application of microorganism DNA preparation. Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology. 2005;2（6）：473-478.

Essential Gene(s) Targeted by Peptide Nucleic Acids Kills <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i>in Culture and in Infected Macrophages

Background: Antisense peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) exhibit growth inhibitory effects on bacteria by inhibiting the expression of essential genes and could be promising therapeutic agents for treating bacterial infections. A study was carried out to determine the efficacy of several antisense PNAs in inhibiting extracellular and intracellular growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Methods: Six PNAs obtained from a commercial supplier were tested to evaluate the inhibitory effect on bacterial growth by inhibiting the expression of the following essential genes: inhA (a fatty acid elongase), rpsL (ribosomal S12 protein), gyrA (DNA gyrase), pncA (pyrazinamidase), polA (DNA polymerase I) and rpoC (RNA polymerase β subunit) of M. smegmatis. Each PNA was tested at 20 μM, 10 μM, 5 μM and 2.5 μM concentrations to determine whether they caused a dose dependent killing of M. smegmatis cultured in Middlebrook 7H9 broth or in a J774A.1 murine macrophage cell line. Results: In Middlebrook broth, the strong growth inhibitory effect against M. smegmatis was observed by PNAs targeting the inhA and rpsL genes at all four concentrations. The PNAs targeting the pncA, polA and rpoC genes were found to exhibit strong growth inhibition against M. smegmatis but only at 20 μM concentration. No growth inhibition of M. smegmatis was seen in pure culture when treated with PNAs targeting gyrA and a mismatch PNA targeting dnaG (DNA primase). All six PNAs showed killing of M. smegmatis in J774A.1 macrophage cell line that were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It may be concluded from this study that PNAs could be potential therapeutics for mycobacterial infections.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Esculetin(6,7-Dihydroxycoumarin)on Murine Lymphocytes and Peritoneal Macrophages

Coumarins belong to a diverse group of naturally occurring non-nutrient phytochemicals known as benzo-α- pyrones. In this study, esculetin, a 6,7-dihydroxy derivative of coumarin with pleiotropic biological activities, was found to have no significant cytotoxic effect on normal murine macrophages, but it could increase the in vivo migration of the thioglycollate-elicited macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, esculetin significantly increased the endocytic activity, and augmented the nitric oxide production and iNOS gene expression in LPS-treated macrophages. In addition, in vivo administration of esculetin into mice was shown to increase the mitogenesis of splenic lymphocytes towards Con A and LPS stimulations, and induced the LAK activity of splenic lymphocytes. Collectively, our results indicate that esculetin could exert immunomodulatory effects on murine macrophages and lymphocytes, both in vitro and in vivo, and this might be one of the possible mechanisms by which coumarins can exert their chemopreventive and anti-tumor activities in vivo. Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology. 2005;2（3）： 181-188.

Immunomodulated signaling in macrophages: Studies on activation of Raf-1, MAPK, cPLA_2 and secretion of IL-12

Little is known about the mechanism and signal transduction by LPS-mediated immunomodulation of murine peritoneal macrophages. It is found that the signal molecules of the down-stream of Ras, Raf-1, MAPK p44, and MAPK p42 are phosphorylated, and cPLA2 is activated with a significant increase of the release of [ H3 ] AA by macrophages in response to LPS and PMA. Compared with the very recent finding that LPS and PMA trigger the activation and translocation of PKC-α and PKC-ε, these findings suggest that there is a connection between PKC signaling pathway and the Raf-1/MAPK pathway and that the activation of these main signaling events may be closely related to the secretion of IL-12 during LPS-induced modulation of macrophages.