Immunomodulation of phloretin by impairing dendritic cell activation and function

Dietary compounds in fruits and vegetables have been shown to exert many biological activities. In addition to antioxidant effects, a number of flavonoids are able to modulate inflammatory responses. Here, we demonstrated that phloretin (PT), a natural dihydrochalcone found in many fruits, suppressed the activation and function of mouse dendritic cells (DCs). Phloretin disturbed the multiple intracellular signaling pathways in DCs induced by the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist lipopolysaccharide (LPS), including ROS, MAPKs (ERK, JNK, p38 MAPK), and NF-κB, and thereby reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Phloretin also effectively suppressed the activation of DCs treated with different dosages of LPS or various TLR agonists. The LPS-induced DC maturation was attenuated by phloretin because the expression levels of the MHC class II and the co-stimulatory molecules were down-regulated, which then inhibited the LPS-stimulating DCs and the subsequent naïve T cell activation in a mixed lymphocyte reaction. Moreover, in vivo administration of phloretin suppressed the phenotypic maturation of the LPS-challenged splenic DCs and decreased the IFN-γ production from the activated CD4 T cells. Thus, we suggest that phloretin may potentially be an immunomodulator by impairing the activation and function of DCs and phloretin-contained fruits may be helpful in the improvement of inflammation and autoimmune diseases

Production of Clostridium bifermentans Spores as Inoculum for Bioremediation of Nitroaromatic Contaminants

Spores of Clostridium bifermentans KMR-1 were produced for use as a microbial inoculum for bioremediation and were preserved in both liquid and dry forms. All spore formulations showed good viability and ability to biodegrade the target compound, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), after 4 months of storage. For low-cost bulk spore production, several medium compositions, based on soy peptone, corn steep liquor, and meat peptone, were tested and yielded 10(sup7) spores per ml. A medium pH above 7.0, a low glucose concentration, and a sufficient concentration of protein favored the sporulation of C. bifermentans KMR-1.</jats:p