Glutathione,
Whey protein and Immune Response
The
immunoenhancing property of dietary whey protein concentrate
Bounous G, Kongshavn PA, Gold P Montreal General Hospital
Research Institute, Quebec, Canada."Mixing lactalbumin with
either casein or soy protein in a 20 g protein/100 g diet formula
significantly enhanced the immune response in comparison to that
of mice fed diets containing 20% soy protein or casein."
Immunoenhancing
property of dietary whey protein in mice: role of glutathione
Bounous G, Batist G, Gold P Montreal General Hospital, Quebec.
"This is further evidence of the important role of glutathione
in the immunoenhancing effect of dietary whey protein."
Influence
Of Dietary Lactalbumin Hydrolysate On The Immune System Of Mice
And Resistance To Salmonellosis
G. Bounous, M.M. Stevenson, P.A.L. Kongshavn [The Journal
of Infectious Diseases, 144: 281, 1981] Our data indicate that
it was possible to increase the level of this type of protein
in the diet above the minimum requirement and thus produce augmented
humoral immune responsiveness and resistance to salmonellosis.
Lactalbumin = Whey Protein Concentrate
Functions
of glutathione and glutathione disulfide in immunology and immunopathology
Droge W, Schulze-Osthoff K, Mihm S, Galter D, Schenk H, Eck
HP, Roth S, Gmunder H. [FASEB J. 1994 Nov;8(14):1131-8.]
Even a moderate increase in the cellular cysteine supply elevates
the intracellular glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide
(GSSG) levels and potentiates immunological functions of lymphocytes
in vitro. At low GSSG levels, T cells cannot optimally activate
the immunologically important transcription factor NF kappa B,
whereas high GSSG levels inhibit the DNA binding activity of NF
kappa B. The effector phase of cytotoxic T cell responses and
IL-2-dependent functions are inhibited even by a partial depletion
of the intracellular GSH pool. As signal transduction is facilitated
by prooxidant conditions, we propose that the well-known immunological
consequences of GSH depletion ultimately may be results of the
accompanying GSSG deficiency. As HIV-infected patients and SIV-infected
rhesus macaques have, on the average, significantly decreased
plasma cyst(e)ine and intracellular GSH levels, we also hypothesize
that AIDS may be the consequence of a GSSG deficiency as well.
Effects
of purified bovine whey factors on cellular immune functions in
ruminants
Wong CW, Seow HF, Husband AJ, Regester GO, Watson DL.
[Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 1997 May;56(1-2):85-96.] Alpha-lactalbumin
(alpha LA) exhibited an enhancing effect on IL-1 beta production.
As bovine whey fractions become progressively more purified, their
modulatory effects on the immune response also become more clear-cut.
Glutathione
protects mice from lethal sepsis by limiting inflammation and
potentiating host defense
Villa P, Saccani A, Sica A, Ghezzi P. [J Infect Dis 2002 Apr
15;185(8):1115-20] Because glutathione (GSH) is lower in sepsis,
the hypothesis that GSH depletion might impair the migratory response
of neutrophils to infection was tested....GSH depletion inhibited
peritoneal neutrophil infiltration, increased bacterial colonies,
augmented pulmonary neutrophil infiltrate, and worsened survival.
Conversely, the GSH precursor N-acetyl-l-cysteine augmented neutrophil
infiltration in the peritoneum but not in the lung, decreased
bacterial colonies, and improved survival. Thus, migration of
neutrophils to a site of infection and to a distant site is differently
regulated, and optimal GSH levels are important for an efficient
response to sepsis.
Glutathione-induced
enhancement of neutrophil locomotion
Elferink JG, de Koster BM. [Immunobiology 1991 Dec;184(1):25-36]
Both reduced glutathione (GSH) and and its oxidized form, glutathione
disulfide (GSSG), enhance neutrophil locomotion. The enhancement
is mainly due to a chemokinetic effect, and partly due to a chemotactic
effect. GSH enhances the intracellular concentration of cGMP,
which might indicate that the effect on neutrophil locomotion
is mediated by an effect on cGMP.
See
also: Glutathione (GSH)
& the Immune System - Your Lifeline to Health
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