The effects of chitosan have been investigated on eighty patients with renal failure undergoing long-term stable haemodialysis treatment. The patients were tested after a control treatment period of 1 week. Half were fed 30 chitosan tablets (45 mg chitosan/tablet) three times a day. Ingestion of chitosan effectively reduced total serum cholesterol levels (from 10.14 +/- 4.40 to 5.82 +/- 2.19 mM) and increased serum haemoglobin levels (from 58.2 +/- 12.1 to 68 +/- 9.0 g L-1). Significant reductions in urea and creatinine levels in serum were observed after 4 weeks of chitosan ingestion. The feeling of physical strength, the appetite and the sleep of patients in the treatment group had improved significantly after 12 weeks of ingestion, compared with those of patients in the control group. During the treatment period, no clinically problematic symptoms were observed. These data suggest that chitosan might be effective treatment for renal failure patients, although the mechanism of the effect should be investigated further.
Fulvic acid (FA) was extracted and purified from Canadian Sphagnum peat (CP-FA) and characterized by using an element analysis meter, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, and (13)C-nuclear magnetic resonance ((13)C-NMR) spectroscopy. To investigate the antiallergic effect of CP-FA, we incubated rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells with 0.001-10.0 microg/ml of CP-FA and determined the beta-hexosaminidase release inhibition at different response stages. The intracellular calcium [Ca(2+)](i) level was also determined by using Fluo 3-AM, a calcium-specific fluorescent probe, and the cytotoxicity of CP-FA was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results revealed that RBL-2H3 cells incubated for 48 h with 0.001-10.0 microg/ml of CP-FA did not show any decreased viability. CP-FA inhibited the beta-hexosaminidase release by IgE-sensitized, antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells at the antigen-antibody binding stage and the antibody-receptor binding stage. CP-FA also inhibited histamine release from A23187 plus PMA- or compound 48/80-stimulated KU812 cells. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the intracellular [Ca(2+)](i) level in IgE-sensitized cells incubated with CP-FA and stimulated with antigen. Our results show that CP-FA may be useful for the treatment or prevention of allergic diseases.
Circular dichroism spectra indicated the predominance of "-sheet structure in Bacteroides gingivalis finibriae regardless of the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. By using a computer program, the a-helix, P-sheet, and ,B-turn contents and the remainder were estimated to be 0, 55, 18, and 27%, respectively, judging from the circular dichroism spectra of the fimbriae. Heating for 5 min at 100°C in sodium dodecyl sulfate was necessary to denature the fimbriae into their constituent protein (fimbrilin) monomers with a reduced content of 13-sheet structure. The amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the fimbrilin was different from partial or complete amino acid sequences of fimbrilins so far determined from Bacteroides nodosus, which fails into the same nonfermentative species of the genus Bacteroides as B. gingivalis, and from various other bacteria. Fimbrilin monomers had an isoelectric point of 6.0. Examination of antibodies against fimbriae and sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured fimbrilin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay reinforced a previous notion (F. Yoshimura, K. Takahashi, Y. Nodasaka, and T. Suzuki, J. Bacteriol. 160:949-957, 1984) that different sets of antigenic determinants seemed to be exposed on their surfaces.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.