Biomedical subjects

E R Abril

Publications and source records attributed to E R Abril.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Ethanol and diet-induced alterations in Kupffer cell function.

The effects of 6 weeks of alcohol feeding on phagocytic, metabolic and secretory functions as well as gene expression of hepatic Kupffer cells were evaluated in vitro using cultured Kupffer cells isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were fed either Teklad pelleted rat chow or the 1982 Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet containing 6% ethanol (36% calories) or the same liquid diet with maltose-dextrin isocalorically substituted for the alcohol. Weight gain was greatest in the chow-fed animals and least in those receiving ethanol. The alcohol-containing diet stimulated Kupffer cell phagocytosis, mitochondrial reduction of MTT, secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and expression of TNF mRNA. However, each of these cell functions was also enhanced by the control Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet alone and the stimulating effect of the control diet often exceeded that induced by ethanol. The results suggest that early in chronic alcohol consumption, the immune system may be stimulated by ethanol, and that during studies of ethanol-induced changes in immune system function, close attention must be given to potentially confounding effects of the diet.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1989

Beta-carotene stimulates human leukocytes to secrete a novel cytokine.

The effect of beta-carotene on cytokine production by human peripheral blood leukocytes was tested. Beta-carotene stimulated the secretion of a novel cytotoxic cytokine when peripheral blood cells were exposed to carotenoid concentrations between 10(-6) and 10(-10) M. Beta-carotene-treated supernatants caused the cytolysis of four out of the six human tumor cell lines tested. Low level toxicity was also observed when normal diploid fibroblast lines were exposed to beta-carotene-treated leukocyte supernatants. The cytotoxic activity elicited by beta-carotene was found to be distinct from characterized cytokines based on both antisera neutralization and target cell specificity studies. This study demonstrates that beta-carotene can induce human leukocytes to secrete one or more cytokines that can manifest cytotoxic activity against human tumor cells in vitro.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ethanol and cytokine secretion.

Cytokines are regulatory polypeptides secreted during the generation of an immune or inflammatory response by lymphocytes, cells of the monocyte/macrophage series, and a variety of other cell types. Alterations in the production, site of action, or metabolism of cytokines by exogenous factors, such as ethanol (EtOH), may have deleterious effects on the immune system as a whole. EtOH has been implicated in the onset of a variety of immune defects in vivo including effects on the production of cytokines critically involved in inflammatory responses (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1 and interleukin 6). In this review, we examine current knowledge regarding the effects of EtOH on the release of cytokines in humans and in animal models, in vitro and in vivo, which may help to elucidate the adverse actions of EtOH on mammalian immune systems.

Animals↗