• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.255-261
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• 1999

The effect of biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate (PMC) on the cellular and nonspecific immunosuppressions by ketoconazole (KCZ) was investigated in ICR mice. PMC at a dose of 6 mg/kg was administered orally to mice daily for 14 consecutive days. KCZ was suspended in RPMI 1640 medium and orally administered at 160 mg/kg/day 2 hrs after the administration of PMC. Immune responses of the delayed-type hypersensitively (DTH) reaction to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), phagocytic activity and natural killer (NK) cell activity were evaluated. DTH reaction to SRBC was enhanced to normal level by the combination of PMC and KCZ, as compared with treatment of KCZ alone. In the combination of PMC and KCZ, as compared with treatment of KCZ alone, there were also significant increases in activities of natural killer (NK) cells and phagocytes along with circulating leukocytes. These findings indicate that PMC shows a significant restoration from the immunotoixc status induced by KCZ.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 1997

It is generally accepted that parasite-specific IgE plays a crucial role in host defense against helminthic parasites. However, the role of high levels of nonspecific IgE in helminthic infections is still controversial. To investigate the role of nonspecific IgE in primary infections with P. westemani the effect of anti-lgE mAb treatment on serum IgE, $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ expression and worm burden in Parcgonimus-infected mice were examined. In mice treated with anti-lgE antibody, the total IgE levels were not detectable ($1{\;}{\mu\textrm{g}/ml}$) throughout the experiment compared with untreated infected mice. The mean percentages of $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ positive splenic B cells in anti-lgE treated mice (ridge: 20.3 - 30.5) were also decreased throughout the experiment compared with untreated infected mice (range: 35.7-44.4). Reduction of the total IgE and expression of $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ on splenic B cells resulted in decreased worm burden six weeks post infection. These results suggest that high levels of nonspecific IgE in mice with primary infections of P. westemnni play a harmful, rather than beneficial, role for the host, perhaps by interfering with CD23-dependent cellular pathways.