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Aim: To determine the differences in efficacy between therapy using IFN-β and ribavirin, and using IFN-α and ribavirin. Methods: We studied the effect of combination therapy consisting of IFN-β and ribavirin on mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) infection in mice. Results: Combination treatment of ribavirin and IFN-α was more effective than IFN-α mono-treatment in the MHV-mouse system, and combination treatment with ribavirin and IFN-β was more effective than IFN-β mono-treatment in the MHV-mouse system. Furthermore, administering IFN-β once or twice one day before combination treatment using ribavirin and IFN-α was more effective than administering IFN-α once or twice one day before the combination treatment using ribavirin and IFN-α. Conclusion: These data indicate that this MHV-infection system is a good animal model to assess anti-HCV activity for therapy using IFN and ribavirin, and suggest that administering IFN-β before the start of combination therapy with ribavirin and IFN-α promotes the therapeutic effects of combination treatment with ribavirin and IFN-α ?in chronic hepatitis C patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Administration of oligomannose-coated liposomes (OMLs) in mice can induce Th1 immune responses against antigens entrapped in the OMLs. In the present study, we investigated the anti-allergic effect of treatment with oligomannose-coated liposomes (OMLs) with entrapped Cry j 1, a major allergen of Japanese cedar pollen (Cry j 1/OMLs), in Balb/c mice sensitized with Cry j 1. Pretreatment of unsensitized mice with Cry j 1/OMLs repressed the elevation of total and allergen-specific IgE levels in sera elicited in response to subsequent sensitization with Cry j 1. Cry j 1-specific IgG1 in sera also decreased in Cry j 1/OML-treated mice, while the levels of Cry j 1-specific IgG2a in these mice significantly increased after sensitization with Cry j 1. In addition, Cry j 1/OML-treated mice showed high IFN-γ production from spleen cells and low IL-4/IFN-γ and IL-5/IFN-γ ratios in response to in vitro stimulation with Cry j 1. These results indicate that allergen-specific Th1 immune responses predominate over Th2 responses and control IgE elevation in Cry j 1/OML-treated mice. The anti-allergic effect of Cry j 1/OML determined by suppression of serum IgE levels was also observed in Cry j 1-presensitized mice after challenge with antigen. Thus, Cry j 1/OMLs may be useful for immunotherapeutic control of allergic reactions to Japanese cedar pollinosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]