title: Immunoregulating effects of peptidoglycan monomer linked with zinc in adult mice.
abstract: Since it is well known that both zinc ions and bacterial immunostimulants influence the function of the immune system, in the present study we investigated the immunomodulating activity of a new analog of peptidoglycan monomer (PGM), in which the basic molecule was linked to zinc (PGM-Zn). Its effects in BALB/c mice, aged 10-12 months, were compared with the effects of equimolar doses of PGM and ZnCl2. The treatment lasted 26 days (one i.p. injection every fifth day). The results showed that PGM-Zn may markedly enhance antibody production to sheep red blood cells, as well as spontaneous and concanavalin A (ConA)-induced blastogenesis. The generation of plaque-forming cells in individual mouse was positively correlated with the expression of class II antigens in the liver and negatively correlated with the total quantity of hepatic proteins. PGM-Zn also induced the appearance of peritoneal macrophages, which in cocultures with syngeneic splenocytes were less able to enhance the spontaneous, and particularly the ConA-induced blastic transformation. The enhancing activities of PGM-Zn were in some respects more closely correlated with the action of PGM, whereas the induction of suppressive macrophages resembled more the activity of ZnCl2. The data emphasize that PGM-Zn may both stimulate and inhibit immunoregulative pathways by mechanisms which are not identical to those of PGM or ZnCl2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Immunology, Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Radoŝević-Staŝić
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Trobonjaĉa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petković
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Milin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muhvić
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravlić-Gulan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marić
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rukavina
mesh_terms: D000119:Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D002712:Chlorides; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D003208:Concanavalin A; D000119:Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine; C032972:peptidoglycan pentapeptide-mDap3; C016837:zinc chloride