title: A boswellic acid-containing extract attenuates hepatic granuloma in C57BL/6 mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum.
abstract: Granuloma formation has been shown to be induced and elicited by schistosome egg antigens, and it finally develops into fibrosis in intestine and the liver. Hepatic fibrosis is the main cause of increased morbidity and mortality in humans infected with schistosomes. Boswellic acid (BA)-containing extracts such as extracts of the oleogum resin from Boswellia serrata (BSE) have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity. However, little is known about the role of such extracts in schistosome egg-induced granulomatous inflammation. In order to investigate the effect of a watersoluble cyclodextrin complex preparation of BSE (BSE-CD) on Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) egg-induced liver granuloma, mice infected with S. japonicum cercariae were injected with BSE-CD during egg granuloma formation. The data showed that BSE-CD significantly reduced the size of liver granuloma and levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST); however, BSE-CD treatment had no effect on worm load and egg burden. The data also showed that BSE-CD significantly decreased the expression of leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), as well as the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) in liver both on the mRNA and protein level. Thus, BSE-CD can significantly attenuate S. japonicum egg-induced hepatic granuloma, which may be partly dependent on the downregulation of some biochemical mediators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Anhui Medical University, No. 81, Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Büchele
authors.forename: Shengjian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Dake
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Cuiping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Yuxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Simmet
authors.forename: Jijia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D029743:Boswellia / Q000737:chemistry; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D059208:Parasite Load; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000187:drug effects*; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014315:Triterpenes; C054625:boswellic acid; D000410:Alanine Transaminase