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Vaginal innate immune mediators are modulated by a water extract of Houttuynia cordata Thunb

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, June 2015
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Title
Vaginal innate immune mediators are modulated by a water extract of Houttuynia cordata Thunb
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, June 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12906-015-0701-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Surada Satthakarn, Florian Hladik, Aornrutai Promsong, Wipawee Nittayananta

Abstract

Vaginal epithelial cells (VECs) produce antimicrobial peptides including human β-defensin 2 (hBD2) and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), as well as cytokines and chemokines that play vital roles in mucosal innate immunity of the female reproductive tract. Houttuynia cordata Thunb (H. cordata), a herbal plant found in Asia, possesses various activities including antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammation. As inflammation and infection are commonly found in female reproductive tract, we aimed to investigate the effects of H. cordata water extract in modulating innate immune factors produced by VECs. Primary human VECs were cultured and treated with H. cordata at a concentration ranging from 25-200 μg/ml for 6 or 18 h. After treatment, the cells and culture supernatants were harvested. The expression of hBD2 and SLPI mRNA was evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR. Levels of secreted hBD2 and SLPI as well as cytokines and chemokines in the supernatants were measured by ELISA and Luminex assay, respectively. Cytotoxicity of the extract on VECs was assessed by CellTiter-Blue Cell Viability Assay. H. cordata did not cause measurable toxicity on VECs after exposure for 18 h. The expression of hBD2 and SLPI mRNA as well as the secreted hBD2 protein were increased in response to H. cordata exposure for 18 h when compared to the untreated controls. However, treatment with the extract for 6 h had only slight effects on the mRNA expression of hBD2 and SLPI. The secretion of IL-2 and IL-6 proteins by VECs was also increased, while the secretion of CCL5 was decreased after treatment with the extract for 18 h. Treatment with H. cordata extract had some effects on the secretion of IL-4, IL-8, CCL2, and TNF-α, but not statistically significant. H. cordata water extract modulates the expression of antimicrobial peptides and cytokines produced by VECs, which play an important role in the mucosal innate immunity in the female reproductive tract. Our findings suggest that H. cordata may have immunomodulatory effects on the vaginal mucosa. Further studies should be performed in vivo to determine if it can enhance mucosal immune defenses against microbial pathogens.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 19 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 19 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 3 16%
Unspecified 2 11%
Researcher 2 11%
Student > Ph. D. Student 2 11%
Student > Bachelor 2 11%
Other 3 16%
Unknown 5 26%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 3 16%
Unspecified 2 11%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 11%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 2 11%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 1 5%
Other 2 11%
Unknown 7 37%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 June 2015.
All research outputs
#20,280,315
of 22,813,792 outputs
Outputs from BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
#2,978
of 3,630 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#199,503
of 239,955 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
#68
of 88 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,813,792 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,630 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.5. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 239,955 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 88 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.