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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2002, p. 470-476, Vol. 9, No. 2
1071-412X/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.9.2.470-476.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Grape Seed Extract Activates Th1 Cells In Vitro

Narayanan Nair,1 Supriya Mahajan,1 Ram Chawda,1 Chithan Kandaswami,2 Thomas C. Shanahan,1 and Stanley A. Schwartz1*

Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo and Kaleida Health,1 Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York2

Received 8 August 2001/ Returned for modification 4 October 2001/ Accepted 7 November 2001

Although flavonoids manifest a diverse range of biological activities, including antitumor and antiviral effects, the molecular mechanisms underlying these activities await elucidation. We hypothesize that the flavonoid constituents of a proprietary grape seed extract (GSE) that contains procyandins exert significant antiviral and antitumor effects, by inducing production of the Th1-derived cytokine gamma interferon (IFN-{gamma}) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells) from healthy donors. Our results show that GSE significantly induced the transcription of IFN-{gamma} mRNA as demonstrated by reverse transcription-PCR but had no effect on the Th2-derived cytokine interleukin-6. The enhancing effect of GSE on IFN-{gamma} expression was further supported by a concomitant increase in the number of cells with intracytoplasmic IFN-{gamma} as well as the synthesis and secretion of IFN-{gamma}. Our results demonstrate that the potentially beneficial immunostimulatory effects of GSE may be mediated through the induction of IFN-{gamma}.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, State University of New York at Buffalo and Kaleida Health, 100 High St., Buffalo, NY 14203. Phone: (716) 859-2985. Fax: (716) 859-2999. E-mail: sasimmun{at}buffalo.edu.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2002, p. 470-476, Vol. 9, No. 2
1071-412X/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.9.2.470-476.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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