Immune function (annotated)

Immune Function (Annotated)
2012
Xin, J., D. L. Feinstein, et al. (2012). "Beneficial Effects of Blueberries in
Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis." J Agric Food Chem.
Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an animal model of autoimmune disease that presents with pathological and clinical features similar to those of multiple sclerosis (MS) including inflammation and neurodegeneration. This study investigated whether blueberries, which possess immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, could provide protection in EAE. Dietary supplementation with 1% whole, freeze-dried blueberries reduced disease incidence by >50% in a chronic EAE model (p < 0.01). When blueberry-fed mice with EAE were compared with control-fed mice with EAE, blueberry-fed mice had significantly lower motor disability scores (p = 0.03) as well as significantly greater myelin preservation in the lumbar spinal cord (p = 0.04). In a relapsing-remitting EAE model, blueberry-supplemented mice showed improved cumulative and final motor scores compared to control diet-fed mice (p = 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). These data demonstrate that blueberry supplementation is beneficial in multiple EAE models, suggesting that blueberries, which are easily administered orally and well-tolerated, may provide benefit to MS patients.
2010
Sun-Yup, S., S. Hyeon-Jin, et al. (2010). "Inhibitory effects of blueberry root
methanolic extract on degranulation in KU812F cells." Food Science and
Biotechnology 19(5): 1185-1189.
Effects of blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) root methanolic extract (BRM) on A23187 + phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced degranulation of human basophilic KU812F cells were investigated. Total phenolic content (TPC) of the extract was 170 ± 1.9 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g. BRM reduced levels of histamine and β-hexosaminidase released from stimulated KU812F cells. Intracellular Ca concn. ((Ca²⁺)i), determined by spectrofluorometric analysis using Fura 2-AM, was found to be reduced by BRM in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, Western blot analysis revealed that protein kinase C (PKC) translocation was inhibited by BRM, also in a dose-dependent manner. Results indicate that BRM inhibited histamine and β-hexosaminidase through suppression of Ca²⁺ influx and PKC translocation. Therefore, it is suggested that BRM is a potent inhibitor of degranulation in mast cells and basophils, and may be useful in preventing the allergic reactions. Drozd, J. and E. Anuszewska (2009). "Effects of bilberry fruit aqueous extract and
selected antibiotics on immune response in mice." Acta Pol Pharm 66(2):
181-185.
It was demonstrated that an extract from the pharmacopoeial raw material bilberry fruit (Fructus Myrtilli) co-administered with selected antibiotics: cefuroxime, cefoperazone and doxycycline, positively affects the survival of mouse thymocytes in cultures with hydrocortisone (cytotoxicity test), increases the count of splenocytes forming spontaneous rosettes (E-rosette test) and increases the agglutination titre of mouse serum (active hemagglutination test). In the cytotoxicity test, the best protective effect has been obtained with the combination of doxycycline with bilberry fruit aqueous extract. The increased count of splenocytes capable of binding sheep red blood cells has been observed for cultures with cephalosporins (cefuroxime and cefoperazone). The highest agglutination titre has been demonstrated for mouse serum treated with the extract in combination with doxycycline and cefuroxime.

Gebhardt, C., S. Vieths, et al. (2009). "10 kDa lipid transfer protein: the main
allergenic structure in a German patient with anaphylaxis to blueberry."
Allergy 64(3): 498-499.

Wu, D., Z. Ren, et al. (2009). "Effect of blueberries on the immune response of
obese mice induced by high fat diet." FASEB J. 23(1_MeetingAbstracts):
908.905-.
Both high fat diet and obesity have been linked to impaired cell-mediated immune response. Blueberry, rich in antioxidant phytochemicals, has been shown to impact biologic functions in several tissues. However, no information is available on immune cells. We investigated whether blueberry consumption affects immune response in obese mice induced by high fat diet. C57BL/6 mice were fed one of the 3 diets: low fat (LF), high fat (HF), or high fat plus 2% (w/w) blueberry (HF+B), for 8 or 12 wk. After 8 and 12 wk, both HF groups had higher body weight than the LF group and at 12 wk HF+B group had a higher body weight than the HF group. Lymphocyte proliferation responding to T cell mitogen Con A or PHA, or anti-CD3/CD28 was not different at 8 wk but significantly lower at 12 wk in both HF groups compared to the LF group (HF>HF+B>LF). At 8 wk, the LF group had a lower IL-4 and higher prostaglandin (PG)E2 production compared to both HF groups. At 12 wk, compared to LF group, HF but not HF+B group had lower IL-4 and interferon- production and contrary to reports in other tissues, both HF groups had lower production of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF- indicating that obesity-induced inflammation is tissue specific. While PGE2 production was similar between LF and HF groups, it tended to be lower in HF+B group. No difference in IL-2 and IL-10 production was found at either time points. In summary, HF impairs T cell proliferative response and addition of blueberries does not intervene in this effect. The high fat-induced T cell-suppressive effect may be related to the lower production of inflammatory cytokines. Supported by USDA #58-1950-7-707 and the US Highbush Blueberry Council.
2007
Sakagami, H., K. Asano, et al. (2007). "Anti-stress, anti-HIV and vitamin C-
synergized radical scavenging activity of mulberry juice fractions." In Vivo
21(3): 499-505.
Anti-stress and anti-HIV activity of mulberry juice were separated by centrifugation. The anti-stress activity was enriched in the supernatant fraction whereas the anti-HIV activity in the precipitate fraction. Oral administration of the supernatant fraction significantly reduced the elevated plasma level of lipid peroxide in mice loaded with water immersion restraint stress. The kinetic study revealed that the anti-stress activity was maintained for 4 hours after cessation of the administration of mulberry juice. The lignin fraction in the precipitate fraction scavenged superoxide and hydroxyl radicals more efficiently than other fractions, in a synergistic fashion with sodium ascorbate. Anti-HIV activity of mulberry juice was concentrated in the lignin fraction, whereas blueberry juice, which has no precipitating fibrous materials, did not show anti-HIV activity. The present study suggests the functionality of mulberry juice as an alternative medicine.
2006
Bickford, P. C., J. Tan, et al. (2006). "Nutraceuticals synergistically promote
proliferation of human stem cells." Stem Cells Dev 15(1): 118-123.
A viable alternative to stem cell transplantation is to design approaches that stimulate endogenous stem cells to promote healing and regenerative medicine. Many natural compounds have been shown to promote healing; however, the effects of these compounds on stem cells have not been investigated. We report here the effects of several natural compounds on the proliferation of human bone marrow and human CD34(+) and CD133(+) cells. A dose-related effect of blueberry, green tea, catechin, carnosine, and vitamin D(3) was observed on proliferation with human bone marrow as compared with human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF). We further show that combinations of nutrients produce a synergistic effect to promote proliferation of human hematopoietic progenitors. This demonstrates that nutrients can act to promote healing via an interaction with stem cell populations. Kallas, A., J. H. Connolly, et al. (2005). "The effect of Vaccinium angustifolium
extracts on lymphocyte cell proliferation: blueberries as mitogenic agents."
Ecology of Food and Nutrition 44(2): 97-104.
Plant lectins such as phytohaemagglutinin, concanavalin A and pokeweed mitogen have been shown to stimulate lymphocytes into mitogenesis and differentiation. In this study, the mitogenic potential of crude lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) extracts was investigated using an in vitro lymphocyte-cell proliferation assay. Peripheral blood cultures were used to examine the potential mitogenic activity of blueberry extracts on lymphocytes. Extracts from the stems, fruits and roots of lowbush blueberry were obtained and added to lymphocyte blood cultures at a 1/400 dilution. After 72 h of incubation, the cells were harvested and mounted, and an analysis of mitotic index using the Poisson distribution was conducted. Mitotic figures revealed a significant mitogenic effect for blueberry fruit and blueberry roots. The mitotic index for cultures containing blueberry fruit extract were 5.6% compared to 2.5% for the berry controls and 2.9% for root extracts compared to 1.7% for root controls. These results suggest that an active principle produced in the Vaccinium angustifolium may have the capacity to increase adaptive immune cell populations.

Marzban, G., A. Mansfeld, et al. (2005). "Fruit cross-reactive allergens: a theme of
uprising interest for consumers' health." Biofactors 23(4): 235-241.
Regular consumption of fruits has a positive influence on human health by disease prevention. However parallel to dietetic benefits, IgE-mediated fruit allergies have been shown to be an increasing health risk for children and adults in the Northern hemisphere. The spectrum of food allergies ranges from chronic symptoms to more acute problems and even anaphylaxis. Fruit proteins with high primary sequence similarity display also homologous tertiary structures, resulting in similar epitopes to IgEs and consequently in cross-reactivity. In this review we present the major allergens of stone and pome fruits and discuss the presence of homologous proteins in small fruits. Interestingly these proteins, which might pose an allergenic potential for pre-sensitised individuals are expressed also in strawberry, raspberry and blueberry, otherwise rich in beneficial biofactors.

Source: http://www.blueberry.org/research1/immune/Immune_Annotated_06_01_12.pdf