Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva received reports on the efficacy of AZT in reducing HIV transmission between mother and infant, as well as other risk factors for transmission. Two studies revealed that a short-course of AZT treatment can reduce perinatal transmission. Two other large studies showed that incorporation of prenatal AZT into clinical practice has dramatic benefits in reducing HIV transmission. Most publicized was the data from several studies which show that a Cesarean section performed before the onset of labor or rupture of membranes, further reduces the risk of perinatal transmission. Researchers also provided information indicating that breastfeeding should be avoided when the mother is HIV-infected, that the presence of HIV may reduce a pregnant woman's ability to control the perinatal transmission of malaria, and that bacterial vaginosis was associated with HIV seroconversion during pregnancy and increased perinatal transmission. Finally, Geneva produced several studies reporting gender differences in viral load that have implications for when to begin antiretroviral therapy, that the genital tract represents a distinct reservoir of HIV infection, and that HIV-infected women were showing increased rates of lower genital tract neoplasia, which correlated with evolving immunosuppression.
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PMID:Report from Geneva: women and HIV. 1136 76

The detection of free, i.e. not cell-bound, circulating nucleic acids was described only recently. The second international symposium dealing with this research subject presented the progress made in this field. The topics included in the meeting report are: microsatellite alterations in circulating fetal DNA and DNA isolated from tumor patients; detection and quantification of viral DNA associated with malignant diseases; detection and quantification of mRNA associated with benign and malignant diseases; and application of these methods in areas like tumor detection, detection of women pregnant with a fetus carrying a genetic disorder, transplantation medicine, the care for trauma patients and the detection of circulating foreign DNA (like Plasmodium in people at risk for malaria).
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PMID:The 2nd International Symposium on Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum (CNAPS-2), Hong Kong, February 20-21, 2001. 1154 19

Being a unique Chinese diagnostic measure, this method focussing its observation on the ventral vessels of the tongue, is first recorded in Neijing, saying that it is indicated when the vessels are varicose by puncturing for bloodletting in malaria, mad, and sadness. Ge Hong and Cao Yuanfan applied it for juandice, also for prognosis. Yimenfang predicts by this method the diagnosis for prognosis of the mother and foetus in difficult delivery, while Chen Zhiming popularized it in his Chan Nan sheng Si Jue. Inherited from the theory of Collateral Vessel Diagnosis, this approach pays attention to the observation of the forms and colors of collateral vessel, claiming that dark green color and congestion have bad diagnosis. Though not well developed, it was applied as extra-acupoints for swelling tongue, sore throat and jaundice. While Zhou Xuehai elaborated Liu Shouzhen's idea and put forward a theory of minute-vessel-stasis which is wonderfully conincided with modern microciroulation theory. In 1964, Zhang Zanchen again advocated its diagnostic value in tumor, hepatopathy and cor pulmonale.
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PMID:[Textual research on diagnosis by lingual vessels]. 1161 75

The important role played by CD8(+) T lymphocytes in the control of parasitic and viral infections, as well as tumor development, has raised the need for the development of adjuvants capable of enhancing cell-mediated immunity. It is well established that protective immunity against liver stages of malaria parasites is primarily mediated by CD8(+) T cells in mice. Activation of natural killer T (NKT) cells by the glycolipid ligand, alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer), causes bystander activation of NK, B, CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells. Our study shows that coadministration of alpha-GalCer with suboptimal doses of irradiated sporozoites or recombinant viruses expressing a malaria antigen greatly enhances the level of protective anti-malaria immunity in mice. We also show that coadministration of alpha-GalCer with various different immunogens strongly enhances antigen-specific CD8(+) T cell responses, and to a lesser degree, Th1-type responses. The adjuvant effects of alpha-GalCer require CD1d molecules, Valpha14 NKT cells, and interferon gamma. As alpha-GalCer stimulates both human and murine NKT cells, these findings should contribute to the design of more effective vaccines against malaria and other intracellular pathogens, as well as tumors.
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PMID:Natural killer T cell ligand alpha-galactosylceramide enhances protective immunity induced by malaria vaccines. 1187 90

Burkitt's lymphoma is the commonest childhood malignancy in tropical Africa and the predisposing factors include malaria and infection with the Epstein-Barr virus. Recent studies suggest that the prevalence of this neoplasm is declining in this environment. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether there is a real decrease in the occurrence of Burkitt's lymphoma. We analysed 665 cases of childhood malignancies reported in the Ibadan Cancer Registry between 1991 and 1999. Burkitt's lymphoma and retinoblastoma remained the two commonest specific childhood malignancies, accounting for 19.4% and 17.9% of all childhood cancers, respectively. However, this represents a significant decline in the relative frequency of Burkitt's lymphoma when compared with similar surveys for the periods 1960 to 1972 and 1973 to 1990 when Burkitt's lymphoma accounted for 51.5% and 37.1%, respectively, of all childhood malignancies. In Ibadan, it seems that what appeared to be minor changes might actually be a real decline in the incidence of Burkitt's lymphoma and that it might be partly ascribed to improved living conditions and greater control of malaria.
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PMID:Decline in the frequency of Burkitt's lymphoma relative to other childhood malignancies in Ibadan, Nigeria. 1207 Sep 51

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in the United States. African American men have a 60% greater incidence of prostate cancer and a twofold higher mortality rate than Caucasian men. The Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines (DARC) is a receptor expressed on erythrocytes and vascular endothelial cells that binds to and clears angiogenic chemokines. The DARC also functions as the erythrocyte receptor for invasion by malarial parasites. Approximately 70% of African Americans lack erythrocyte expression of the DARC as a genetic mechanism of protection against malaria infection. Given the importance of angiogenic chemokines in the development of tumor vascular networks and the chemokine binding properties of the DARC, the possibility that a lack of DARC expression on erythrocytes may represent an epigenetic factor that predisposes African American men to a greater incidence and mortality of prostate cancer should be considered.
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PMID:The Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines (DARC) and prostate cancer. A role as clear as black and white? 1208 71

People in Asia often use a medicinal plant, bitter melon (Mamordica charantia), to treat various diseases (e.g., malaria). It has anti-viral, anti-tumor, and immune system boosting properties. Some Asians, especially Filipinos, eat bitter melon. They believe that bitter melon cleanses the blood and boosts the immune system. Rural Filipino midwives place a strong bitter melon extract in a newborn's mouth to activate the immune system. An HIV-infected man in California uses bitter melon therapy. Bitter melon therapy can be prepared by extracting juices from fresh leaves and fruits and adding purified water to the extract to control the potency. Another preparation involves bringing two pounds of leaves and fruits in a gallon of purified water to a boil, allowing it to simmer for five minutes, filtering the decoction in a sterile strainer, and storing it in the refrigerator. The therapy can be administered either orally or via the rectum. The HIV-infected California man drank 10 ounces of the juices or a combination of juices and decoction each day for five days a week during the first year. He then switched to rectal retention enema due to the bad taste. He increased the dosage to 16 ounces/day and the duration to seven days a week. He held an inserted enema bag or rectal syringe until the juices/decoction had been absorbed. Sometimes he would infuse most of the therapy two times a day. Within seven days of rectal retention enema delivery of the bitter melon therapy, his energy level increased rapidly and his physical stamina and appetite improved. One year after therapy began, his CD4 count increased greatly. Later, his CD4/CD8 ratios had returned to normal. He no longer experiences acute sinusitis or recurrent respiratory infections. He has had no serious side effects.
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PMID:Bitter melon therapy: an experimental treatment of HIV infection. 1234 31

gammadelta T cells help contribute to innate immunity and are activated by the natural phosphoantigens produced by the organisms responsible for causing, for example, tuberculosis, malaria, tularemia, and plague. They are also activated by synthetic phosphoantigens and are cytotoxic to tumor cells. Here, we show that it is now possible to accurately predict gammadelta T cell activation by both natural and synthetic phosphoantigens by using the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) techniques commonly used in drug design. This approach should be of use in developing novel immunotherapeutic agents as well as contributing to a better understanding of the immune system's response to infectious agents.
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PMID:Quantitative structure--activity relations for gammadelta T cell activation by phosphoantigens. 1238 12

beta Androstenes steroid up-regulates immunity to increase resistance against lethal infection and lethal radiation, and mediates a rapid recovery of hematopoietic precursor cells after radiation injury. beta Androstenetriol increases the levels of the TH(1) cytokines, IL-2, IL-3, IFN gamma and counteracts hydrocortisone mediated immune suppression. In contrast, 17 alpha androstenediol inhibits proliferation and mediates apoptosis in tumor cells of murine and human origin. Its epimer 17beta androstenediol does not. The antiproliferative functions of 17 alpha androstenediol are not dependent on either the estrogen or androgen receptors. Our findings show that beta androstenes and analogs protect the host from lethal infection by DNA or RNA viruses such as, herpesvirus type 2, coxsackievirus B4, influenza, and arthropod borne viruses. These androstenes also protected the host from lethal bacterial infections by Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonia and from parasites infections, i.e. Cryptosporidium parvum, and malaria. In vivo, the level of potency follows the order: dehydroepiandrosterone<<<androstenediol<androstenetriol with the latter being up to one hundred thousand times more potent in protecting the host from infections than the first. In vitro, their effects are also dramatically different from one another with only beta androstenetriol potentiating the cellular response by increasing lymphocyte activation and counteracting hydrocortisone immune-suppressive activity. Conceptually, the androstenes form a new and different subclass of steroid hormones with unique physiological properties. Following host injury, the balance between the epimers and isomers is a determining factor in the overall regulation of hematopoiesis, TH(l)/TH(2) balance, and host resistance to infections and tumor growth.
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PMID:Immune up-regulation and tumor apoptosis by androstene steroids. 1239 92

The elucidation of the molecular details of drug resistance phenomena is a very active area of research that crosses many disciplinary boundaries. Drug resistance is due to altered drug-target interaction, and/or dysregulated signaling related to cell growth and death. Since many drugs need to rapidly diffuse into and within cells in order to find their targets, and since transmembrane ion transport is an important facet of cellular signaling, it is not surprising that membrane transport phenomena have been implicated in the evolution of drug resistance in tumor cells, bacteria, and intracellular parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the most lethal form of human malaria. The most infamous membrane transport protein involved in drug resistance is "MDR protein" or "P-glycoprotein" (Pgp),1 which was found to be overexpressed in drug-resistant tumor cells over 15 years ago, and which is representative of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily that also includes the important cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and sulfonyl urea receptor (SUR) ion channels. Availability of mouse and human Pgp cDNA rather quickly led to the identification of homologues in many species, including P. falciparum, and these were de facto assumed to be the ultimate determinants of drug resistance in these systems as well. However, research over the past 10 years has taught us that this assumption likely is wrong and that the situation is more complex. We now know that human Pgp plays a relatively minor role in clinically relevant tumor drug resistance, and that an integral membrane protein with no homology to the ABC superfamily, Pfcrt, ultimately confers chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum. Thus, the general hypothesis that membrane transport and membrane transport proteins are important in drug resistance phenomena remains correct, but at a genetic, biochemical, and physiological level we have recently witnessed a few very interesting surprises.
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PMID:A novel transporter, Pfcrt, confers antimalarial drug resistance. 1242 67


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