Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024312 (lymphopenia)
 4,859 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acemannan, a complex carbohydrate shown to stimulate interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha and prostaglandin E2 production by macrophages, has also demonstrated antiviral activity in vitro against human immunodeficiency virus, Newcastle disease virus and influenza virus. A pilot study was undertaken to determine acemannan's effect in 49 feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected cats with clinical signs of disease (Stage 3, 4 or 5), 23 of which had severe lymphopenia. Cats received acemannan either by intravenous (Group 1) or subcutaneous (Group 2) injection once weekly for 12 weeks, or by daily oral (Group 3) administration for 12 weeks. Upon entry into the study, cats were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Laboratory analyses were performed at the beginning of the study and at Weeks 6 and 12. Cats were allowed to continue with a predetermined maintenance regimen of acemannan after completing the 12-week study. Thirteen cats died during the course of treatment. Upon necropsy, the most frequent histopathologic findings were neoplastic, kidney and pancreatic disease. Friedman's two-way ANOVA test showed no significant differences in efficacy among groups administered acemannan by the different routes. Therefore, groups were combined and a signed-ranks test was used to determine changes over time. A significant increase was seen in lymphocyte counts (P < 0.001). Neutrophil counts decreased significantly (P = 0.007), as did incidence of sepsis (P = 0.008). When cats entering with lymphopenia were analyzed separately, a much greater increase in lymphocyte counts was noted (235%) compared with non-lymphopenic cats (42%). A survival rate of 75% was found for all three groups. Thirty-six of 49 animals are alive 5-19 months post-entry. These results suggest that acemannan therapy may be of significant benefit in FIV-infected cats exhibiting clinical signs of disease.
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PMID:Pilot study of the effect of acemannan in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus. 133 96

This study was designed to investigate acute effects of various doses of the cytokines IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, Interleukin 2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha on white blood cell differential counts. Before initiation of phase II trials, a dose-determination phase was performed, where three different dose levels of each cytokine were applied as a single dose. White blood cell differential counts were assessed immediately before and 2, 12, 24, 48 and 168 h after injection. Patients enrolled suffered from metastatic cancer or chronic active hepatitis. In addition, IFN-alpha was administered to five healthy volunteers. Results indicate that cytokines cause rapid and transient changes in the numbers of leukocyte subsets. Hematologic changes were cell-type- and cytokine-specific: transient lymphopenia was observed after administration of all four cytokines, reaching a nadir 12 to 24 h after subcutaneous injection. Administration of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma also caused transient monocytopenia. Neutrophilia developed after administration of Interleukin 2, IFN-alpha and TNF-alpha. We conclude that cytokines play a key role in the regulation of peripheral blood cell traffic by their capacity to influence homing patterns of peripheral blood leukocytes.
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PMID:Acute hematologic effects of interferon alpha, interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 2. 190 9

Subtoxic doses of endotoxin (salmonella abortus equi lipopolysaccharide, LPS) (5 micrograms/kg i.p.) or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) (15 micrograms/kg i.v.) induced fulminant hepatitis within 8 hr, when mice had been sensitized by a subtoxic dose of D-galactosamine (700 mg/kg i.p.). LPS-treatment led to the release of TNF into the circulation, independently of the presence of D-galactosamine. The TNF-dependent development of hepatitis was accompanied by a severe lymphopenia and neutrophilia as assessed by leukocyte differential count. The total leukocyte count was not significantly affected. Lymphopenia and neutrophilia were induced by LPS or TNF alpha alone; however, the differential count was not influenced by D-galactosamine. A quantity of 260 micrograms/kg phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) i.p. or 5 micrograms/kg platelet activating factor (PAF) i.v. or 3.3 mg/kg N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine methylester (FMLP) i.v. or 167 mg/kg zymosan i.v. also caused lymphopenia and neutrophilia in mice. However, none of these agents induced the production of systemic TNF and therefore failed to induce hepatitis in D-galactosamine-sensitized mice. In LPS-insensitive C3H/HeJ mice administration of LPS produced neither differential count changes nor hepatitis while both events were observed when TNF alpha was given. This shows that TNF alpha alone gives rise to lymphopenia/neutrophilia as well as hepatitis independent of LPS. When the action of TNF alpha was blocked by anti TNF alpha antiserum pretreatment of LPS-sensitive mice, the animals were protected against LPS-induced hepatitis. However, lymphopenia and neutrophilia still occurred to a similar extent. The involvement of a putative additional mediator of LPS-induced leukocyte alterations was checked. The findings suggest that this mediator, if present, is different from IL-1, IL-2, eicosanoids or superoxide. We conclude from our findings that changes in leukocyte numbers and composition following D-galactosamine LPS or D-galactosamine/TNF alpha administration is an epiphenomenon rather than a causal event of leukocyte stimulation in the process of inducing a fulminant hepatitis in mice.
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PMID:Leukocyte alterations do not account for hepatitis induced by endotoxin or TNF alpha in galactosamine-sensitized mice. 240 85

We investigated changes in the immunoendocrine system during fasting. Ten hospitalized patients aged 14-46 y with psychosomatic disorders fasted for 7 or 10 d. Blood samples were collected before and on days 3 and 7 of the 7-d fasts. When fasting continued to 10 d, an additional sample was taken on day 10. We measured blood cellularity (white blood cells and total lymphocytes), the total number and percentage of lymphocyte subsets (CD2, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD19), natural killer (NK) cell activity, cytokines (interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 2, interleukin 6, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interferon gamma), and soluble interleukin 2 receptors. Corticotropin, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentrations were also determined. Although the total number of lymphocytes decreased during fasting, NK cell activity increased significantly. Plasma cortisol and DHEAS concentrations also increased significantly whereas changes in corticotropin concentrations were not significant. The total number and percentage of CD4 cells decreased significantly during fasting but no other lymphocyte subsets changed significantly. The percentage of CD4 cells was negatively correlated with cortisol concentrations during fasting. No detectable changes occurred in cytokines or soluble interleukin 2 receptors during the study. All measured immunoendocrine values that changed during fasting returned to prefasting values during the refeeding period. These findings indicate that fasting affects immune variables such as T cell subsets and NK cell activity at least in part through changes in adrenal gland-related hormones.
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PMID:Alterations in lymphocyte subsets and pituitary-adrenal gland-related hormones during fasting. 920 83

Lymphopenia and increasing viral load in the first 10 days of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suggested immune evasion by SARS-coronavirus (CoV). In this study, we focused on dendritic cells (DCs) which play important roles in linking the innate and adaptive immunity. SARS-CoV was shown to infect both immature and mature human monocyte-derived DCs by electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. The detection of negative strands of SARS-CoV RNA in DCs suggested viral replication. However, no increase in viral RNA was observed. Using cytopathic assays, no increase in virus titer was detected in infected DCs and cell-culture supernatant, confirming that virus replication was incomplete. No induction of apoptosis or maturation was detected in SARS-CoV-infected DCs. The SARS-CoV-infected DCs showed low expression of antiviral cytokines (interferon alpha [IFN-alpha], IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, and interleukin 12p40 [IL-12p40]), moderate up-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-alpha] and IL-6) but significant up-regulation of inflammatory chemokines (macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha [MIP-1alpha], regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted [RANTES]), interferon-inducible protein of 10 kDa [IP-10], and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 [MCP-1]). The lack of antiviral cytokine response against a background of intense chemokine up-regulation could represent a mechanism of immune evasion by SARS-CoV.
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PMID:Chemokine up-regulation in SARS-coronavirus-infected, monocyte-derived human dendritic cells. 1586 Jun 69

We describe the effects of polyethylene glycol-conjugated adenosine deaminase (ADA) replacement therapy on lymphocyte counts, activation, apoptosis, proliferation, and cytokine secretion in a 14-month-old girl with "delayed-onset" ADA deficiency and marked immunodysregulation. Pretreatment lymphopenia affected T cells (CD4, 150/microl; CD8, 459/microl), B cells (16/microl), and NK cells (55/microl). T cells were uniformly activated and largely apoptotic (CD4, 59%; CD8, 82%); and T-cell-dependent cytokine levels in plasma were elevated, including the levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2; 26 pg/ml), IL-4 (81 pg/ml), IL-5 (46 pg/ml), gamma interferon (1,430 pg/ml), tumor necrosis factor alpha (210 pg/ml), and IL-10 (168 pg/ml). Mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells show reduced IL-2 secretion and proliferation. During the first 5 months of therapy there was clinical improvement and partial immune reconstitution, with nearly normal lymphocyte subset numbers, reduced T-cell activation and CD4-cell apoptosis, and decreased plasma cytokine levels. In parallel, IL-2 secretion and the lymphocyte mitogenic response improved. Between 4 and 7 months, immunoglobulin G antibodies to bovine ADA developed and resulted in the complete reversal of immune recovery.
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PMID:polyethylene glycol-conjugated adenosine deaminase (ADA) therapy provides temporary immune reconstitution to a child with delayed-onset ADA deficiency. 1652 90

Thirty-two Large White x Landrace pigs, 4 months old, were inoculated with the classical swine fever (CSF) or hog cholera virus strain "Alfort" in order to identify the mechanism responsible for the lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia observed in the spleen during the experimental induction of disease, by immunohistochemical and ultrastructural techniques. Results showed a progressive depletion of splenic lymphoid structures and evidence of platelet aggregation processes. Lymphoid depletion was due to lymphocyte apoptosis, which could not be ascribed to the direct action of the virus on these cells; direct virus action could play only a secondary role in the death of these cells. Absence of severe tissue and endothelial damage, together with moderate procoagulant cytokine levels in the serum, suggest that these pathologies can be ruled out as the cause of platelet aggregation and thrombocytopenia in CSF. Monocyte/macrophages were the main target cells for the CSF virus, and they exhibited phagocytic and secretory activation leading to the synthesis and release of tumor necrosis factor alpha, which proved to be the chief mediator, followed by IL-6, IL-1alpha, and C1q complement component. In view of their characteristics, TNF-alpha and, to a lesser extent, IL-1alpha and IL-6 appear to be the major cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of lymphocytopenia and thrombocytopenia; a clear spatial and temporal relationship was observed between these two phenomena.
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PMID:Lymphocyte apoptosis and thrombocytopenia in spleen during classical swine fever: role of macrophages and cytokines. 1600 7

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is characterized by an uncontrolled and poorly understood activation of T-helper 1 (Th-1) lymphocytes and macrophages. We studied 20 patients with HPS secondary to infections, autoimmune disease, lymphoma, or cancer and observed that the concentrations of serum interleukin 18 (IL-18), a strong inducer of Th-1 responses, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production, and stimulation of macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells were highly increased in HPS but not in control patients. In contrast, concentrations of its natural inhibitor, the IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), were only moderately elevated, resulting in a high level of biologically active free IL-18 in HPS (4.6-fold increase compared with controls; P < .001). Free IL-18 but not IL-12 concentrations significantly correlated with clinical status and the biologic markers of HPS such as anemia (P < .001), hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperferritinemia (P < .01) and also with markers of Th-1 lymphocyte or macrophage activation, such as elevated concentrations of IFN-gamma and soluble IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) receptor concentrations. Despite high IL-18 elevation, in vitro NK-cell cytotoxicity was severely impaired in HPS patients, in part due to NK-cell lymphopenia that was observed in a majority of patients but also secondary to an intrinsic NK-cell functional deficiency. We concluded that a severe IL-18/IL-18BP imbalance results in Th-1 lymphocyte and macrophage activation, which escapes control by NK-cell cytotoxicity and may allow for secondary HPS in patients with underlying diseases.
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PMID:Severe imbalance of IL-18/IL-18BP in patients with secondary hemophagocytic syndrome. 1602 May 3

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an invariably fatal disease of cats caused by systemic infection with a feline coronavirus (FCoV) termed feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). The lethal pathology associated with FIP (granulomatous inflammation and T-cell lymphopenia) is thought to be mediated by aberrant modulation of the immune system due to infection of cells such as monocytes and macrophages. Overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines occurs in cats with FIP, and has been suggested to play a significant role in the disease process. However, the mechanism underlying this process remains unknown. Here we show that infection of primary blood-derived feline mononuclear cells by FIPV WSU 79-1146 and FIPV-DF2 leads to rapid activation of the p38 MAPK pathway and that this activation regulates production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta). FIPV-induced p38 MAPK activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production was inhibited by the pyridinyl imidazole inhibitors SB 203580 and SC 409 in a dose-dependent manner. FIPV-induced p38 MAPK activation was observed in primary feline blood-derived mononuclear cells individually purified from multiple SPF cats, as was the inhibition of TNF-alpha production by pyridinyl imidazole inhibitors.
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PMID:Activation of p38 MAPK by feline infectious peritonitis virus regulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production in primary blood-derived feline mononuclear cells. 1905 29

A great diversity of infectious agents can affect patients that use steroids at immunosuppressive doses or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists. The list of participating microorganisms is more restricted in the case of anti TNF-alpha blockers. Overlapping agents include intracellular bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, geographic fungal agents that have the ability to establish granulamotous infections, herpes zoster, and reactivation of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. An important conceptual issue for these infections is the existence of a threshold prednisone daily dose for the emergence of opportunistic infections but higher levels of immunosuppression and cofactors are required in the case of Pneumocystis jiroveci and cytomegalovirus infections. In order to prevent these threats, a detailed medical evaluation is needed before prescription to detect potential risks and manage them properly. Prevention rules must be prescribed in every case, that include common sense behaviors, vaccines, and in selected cases, chemoprophylaxis for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection, P. jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) or other specific requirements. Latent TB infection is probable and requires chemoprophylaxis in the case of remote or recent exposure to a patient with lung TB, a positive tuberculin or interferon-gamma release assay result or residual lung scars in a chest x-ray exam. PCP prevention is suggested when the patient reaches a daily dose of prednisone of 30 mg but might be needed at lower doses in case of other concomitant immunosuppressive drugs or when lymphopenia arises shortly after prednisone initiation.
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PMID:[Infections in patients affected by rheumatologic diseases associated to glucocorticoid use or tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors]. 2487 7


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