1. Stimulation of macrophages by Bacillus firmus: production of nitric oxide and cytokines.
- Author
-
Zidek Z, Tucková L, Mára M, Barot-Ciorbaru R, Prokesová L, and Tlaskalová-Hogenová H
- Subjects
- Animals, Antibodies, Monoclonal immunology, Antibodies, Monoclonal pharmacology, Female, Interferon-gamma analysis, Interferon-gamma pharmacology, Interleukin-10 antagonists & inhibitors, Interleukin-10 immunology, Interleukin-2 analysis, Lipopolysaccharides pharmacology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Nitric Oxide Synthase metabolism, Nocardia immunology, Recombinant Proteins, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha antagonists & inhibitors, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha immunology, Bacillus immunology, Interleukin-10 metabolism, Macrophage Activation, Macrophages, Peritoneal metabolism, Nitric Oxide biosynthesis, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha metabolism
- Abstract
Immunostimulatory properties of gram-positive Bacillus firmus were investigated under in vitro conditions using murine peritoneal macrophages. B. firmus stimulated in a concentration and time dependent manner the secretion of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10), but it had no influence upon interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. It also substantially augmented production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by exogenous IFN-gamma. Inhibitory experiments using neutralizing antibodies against TNF-alpha and/or IL-10 have demonstrated that these cytokines are responsible for triggering the underlying mechanism(s) leading to enhanced NO production. The cytokine-stimulatory and NO-costimulatory properties could participate in the antiinfectious and anticancer effects of B. firmus, detected previously in the in vivo experiments.
- Published
- 1998
- Full Text
- View/download PDF