ISSN:
1432-1440
Keywords:
Mistletoe extracts
;
Specific lymphocyte proliferation
;
Lectin-induced cytotoxicity
;
Anti-ML antibodies
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary Lymphocytes of 25 patients treated with an aqueous mistletoe extract (Viscum album L.) for up to 6 months (group 1), up to 2 years (group 2), and more than 2 years (group 3) were examined in 3- and 7-day cultures for specifically sensitized lymphocytes. The whole extract (HM), the lectin-polysaccharide fraction (HM-LP), and the ‘viscotoxin’ fraction (HM-V) were added at concentrations ranging from 0.5 μg to 12.5 mg extract/ml. Lymphocytes from four of the nine group 2 patients and five of the ten group 3 patients reacted specifically with HM and HM-LP at an optimal dose of 5.0 mg/ml, but did not react with HM-V. Stimulation indices varied between 1.6 and 16. In the patients of group 3 this effect was observed only when their lymphocytes were costimulated in the 3-day cultures with phytohem-agglutinin (PHA), in contrast to the four patients of group 2 who reacted only in the 7-day cultures with HM-LP without PHA co-stimulation. Patients' lymphocytes had to be protected from mistletoe lectin-induced cytotoxicity by the addition of their own sera containing anti-mistletoe lectin antibodies. Lymphocytes from tumor patients (n=18) never treated with mistletoe extracts and healthy individuals (n=18) showed no specific proliferative response when tested in 3- and 7-day cultures. The production of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) was measured in the supernatants of lymphocyte cultures from all 25 patients and 36 controls exposed to HM, HM-LP, and HM-V in 3- and 7-day cultures. An increase of GM-CSF (up to 140%) was found only in those patients who responded specifically to the extract, while none of them produced increasing amounts of IFN-γ. These findings imply that a sub-population of T-helper cells may have been stimulated in the course of mistletoe therapy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01647413
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