Changes in the immunological parameters after a single dose of forphenicinol, a new small molecular immunomodifier.

Abstract

] is a derivative of forphenicine, an inhibitor of alkaline phosphatase discovered by Umezawa. In order to find an optimal dose, a single dose of the drug ranging from 10 to 600 mg per body was orally administered to a total of 55 patients (36 cancer, 13 tuberculosis, and 6 others). The possible changes in the percentages of the peripheral T and B lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) activity, and the proliferative response to phytohemaglutinin (PHA) were studied as Immunological parameters. A significant effect of forphenicinol was demonstrated in restoring the normal proportion of T and B cells, especially in those who had `low'-T and/or `high'-B before administration of the drug. No difference was found between cancer and tuberculosis. The mean percentage of T cells increased from the low initial level of 68.0 to 75.6 in cancer (n =12, p <0.05) or from 63.1 to 78.5 in tuberculosis (n=7, p <0.05), while that of B cells decreased from the high initial level of 34.6 to 26.9 in cancer (n = 7) or from 34.9 to 14.3 in tuberculosis (n =6, p <0.025). The effect of a single dose of the drug tended to disappear by day 8, a peak response being found on day 3 in most cases. With respect to this parameter, an optimal dose was found in a range from 60 to 100 mg. Forphenicinol was rather inhibitory on the NK activity, while it exerted diverse effect on the lymphocyte proliferation. No evidence of adverse effect was observed.-forphenicinol ; small molecular BRM ; T and B cells ; NK activity et al. 1982) is a derivative of forphenicine, an inhibitor of chicken intestine alkaline phosphatase (IC50 : 0.03 jig/ml) discovered by Umezawa and

Living in mixed species groups promotes predator learning in degraded habitats

“…We used an established protocol to test for learned recognition of predators 18 , 27 . Predator-naïve P. amboinensis juveniles were conditioned to recognize a predatory dottyback by exposing them to conspecific alarm cues (positive control), heterospecific alarm cues or seawater (negative control) paired with dottyback odour in tanks containing water from either healthy or degraded corals.…”

“…The bioassay followed established protocols 12 , 18 . In summary, the behaviours of each fish (number of feeding strikes and lines crossed, as measures of feeding and active swimming) were observed for 3 min before and after the introduction of a stimulus (20 ml of predator odour, of matching coral environment).…”

“…In summary, the behaviours of each fish (number of feeding strikes and lines crossed, as measures of feeding and active swimming) were observed for 3 min before and after the introduction of a stimulus (20 ml of predator odour, of matching coral environment). Reductions in feeding and activity are both well-established antipredator responses 18 , 28 . All fish were tested for their responses to predator odours that were generated by different individuals from the ones used during the conditioning trials.…”

“…Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems, granting them considerable redundancy and impact reduction when facing change. For example, normally, juvenile damselfishes learn to identity novel predators when they detect conspecific alarm cues paired with the sight or smell of a novel predator 18 . This is a powerful learning mechanism, with a single conditioning trial facilitating predator learning.…”