Background The lack of effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) stems mainly from the incomplete understanding of AD causes. Neuroinflammation has emerged as an important component of AD pathology, and a vast number of experimental and clinical data indicated a crucial role for the activation of the innate immune system in disease promotion and symptom progression. Methods Clinical examinations of AD patients in a different stage of disease severity in correlation with the measurement of two innate immune reactions, i.e., peripheral blood leukocyte (PBLs) resistance to viral infection (vesicular stomatitis virus, VSV) ex vivo, and cytokines: TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-10, production with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), have been investigated during this preliminary study before and after 4 weeks of oral treatment with dietary supplement proline-rich polypeptide complex (PRP) (120 μg of PRP/day). The potential effect of PRP on the distribution of PBLs’ subpopulations has been specified. Results We have found a deficiency in innate immune response in AD patients. It was demonstrated for the first time that the degree of PBLs resistance to VSV infection was closely related to the stage of clinical severity of AD. Our study showed significant differences in cytokine production which pointed that in AD patients innate immune mechanisms are impaired. Administration of PRP to our patients increased innate immune response of PBLs and declined pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production, thus subduing the excessively developed inflammatory response, especially among patients with high severity of AD. PRP did not exhibit a pro-proliferative activity. It was showed, however, significant influence of PRP on the distribution of PBLs’ subpopulations. Conclusion The findings mentioned above might be crucial in the context of potential application of immunomodulatory therapy in AD patients and indicated PRP as a potential target for future treatments in neuroinflammatory diseases like AD. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12974-019-1520-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
The human immune system’s response to infection is closely related with the type of pathogen. First, a rapid, metabolically inexpensive and non-specific innate immunity is induced, then a specific acquired immunity is activated. In bacterial infections caused by intracellular pathogens, the main role is played by cellular response. In infections caused by bacterial extracellular pathogens, a crucial role is played by antibodies. The clinical symptoms of bacterial and viral infections very often are similar, which is why diagnosing them based only on medical history and physical examination is insufficient. To identify the etiological factors of infections differentiating media, biochemical tests, molecular methods and serological tests are used. The detection of microorganisms or their genetic material can be performed within a short time after the occurrence of an infection. The detection of antibodies is possible only in the appropriate time called the serological window. In a serological diagnostic of infections there are problems with an appropriate interpretation of obtained results. Cross-reactivity can give false positive results for the diagnosis of Chlamydophila pneumonia infection. The problem with the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi infection can be caused by a simultaneous coinfection with different spirochetes, syphilis, mononucleosis or HIV. In serological diagnostics of bacterial infections, the administration of antibiotics to patients before taking serum samples can be responsible for false negative results. Another reason for such results can be a weak humoral response in infected patients. In viral infections, false positive results can be caused by a coinfection of different viruses, especially from the same family or by bacterial or protozoal coinfections or by autoimmune diseases. False-negative results in viral infections often are caused by the early phase of an infection. To properly recognize an etiological factor of infection it is necessary to use an appropriate method, precision of test and collect samples at the appropriate time.
Background: One of the main features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is failure in innate immune response and chronic inflammation. Lack of effective AD treatment means that more attention is paid to alternative therapy and drugs of natural origin, such as extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of EGb on the mechanisms of innate immune response of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) in AD patients. Methods: In AD patients and healthy-age matched controls, the effect of EGb on two of innate immune reactions, i.e., PBLs resistance to viral infection ex vivo and production of cytokines, namely TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-15, and IFN-α, were investigated. The influence of EGb on inflammatory-associated genes expression that regulate innate immune response to viral infection and cytokine production, namely IRF-3, IRF-7, tetherin, SOCS1, SOCS3, NFKB1, p65, and MxA was also examined. Results: A beneficial effect of EGb especially in AD women was observed. EGb decreased production of TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-10 and increased IL-15 and IL-1β. The effect was more pronouncement in AD group. EGb also downregulated expression of investigated genes. Conclusions: EGb may have an advantageous properties for health management in elderly and AD sufferers but especially in women with AD. Improving peripheral innate immune cells’ activity by adding EGb as accompanying treatment in AD may be, in the long term, a good course to modify the disease progression.
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