RainyCloud said...
Hey Garzie,
In regards to neutrophils, I'm not sure if this is of interest but found these:
"Thymosin a 1, a peptide produced by thymic epithelial cells, is reported to induce maturation of T-helper lymphocytes and enhance neutrophil (PMN) function in mice (Birr, 1984; Bistoni et al., 1985 ). "
From (click on full text): https://europepmc.org/article/med/2705295
"Treatment with T alpha 1 or fluconazole as single agents promoted a recovery of normal NK cell activity and intracellular killing of C. albicans by PMN, while the combination significantly increased both of these responses, probably through the modulation of lymphokine production. Our data suggest that the additive effect of T alpha 1 and fluconazole is due to a direct antifungal action and activation of the immunocompetence."
From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc1534857/
"To evaluate whether thymosin α 1 would activate protective IFN-γ-producing Th1 cells in mice that received BM transplants with IA,7,8,10 we assessed cell recovery by FACS analysis together with the antigen-specific lymphoproliferation, pattern of local cytokine production, and antifungal activity of effector phagocytes. Although the absolute number of circulating lymphocytes and neutrophils significantly increased after thymosin treatment (data not shown), a cytofluorimetric analysis was performed on lung cells, as blood neutrophil levels do not predict susceptibility to aspergillosis.4 The numbers of CD4+ cells, CD8+ cells, and neutrophils were significantly increased in mice that receive BM transplants on treatment with thymosin α 1 (Figure 6A). Recovered lung CD4+ T lymphocytes were functionally active as indicated by the antigen-specific proliferation (Figure 6B) and the IFN-γ production. The frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells was higher and that producing IL-4 lower in mice treated with thymosin α 1 as compared with untreated mice (Figure 6C). On assessing the level of antifungal activity of effector phagocytes it was found that the conidiocidal activity of both macrophages and neutrophils was higher in thymosin-treated than untreated mice (data not shown). The finding that the phagocytosis and killing of conidia by alveolar macrophages and circulating neutrophils from uninfected mice were also significantly potentiated in vitro in the presence of thymosin α 1 (Figure 6D) suggests that thymosin α 1 not only promotes DC maturation but will also activate local effector cells for prompt phagocytosis and killing of the fungus."
From: https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/103/11/4232/17900/thymosin-1-activates-dendritic-cells-for
"On the other hand, the activity against Pseudomonas infection was not affected by anti-thymocyte serum or carrageenan. It is probable that thymosin alpha 1 also exerts its effect on neutrophils without participation of T cells and macrophages."
From: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6404549/
this is some interesting stuff Rainy.
i would have to read into it deeper to fully understand - but what i gathered from the first article i posted - was that the drop in neutrophils after antibiotics is a major cause of treatment failure - because the neutrophils are a key white blood cell needed to deal with bacterial infections - and the drop in their numbers allows remaining bacterial populations or persisters to bounce back - rather than get mopped up as they should if the host is to clear the infection.
if thymosin alpha or fluconazole is able to prevent this dip in neutrophil numbers from antibiotics - then you can see how this could well work as a adjunct therapy.
i have to say i do not fully understand the drop in neutrophils when a person is on antibiotics and would need to dig into that a bit further
are they simply dropping in numbers relative to the high numbers in infection, because the infection is largely gone - or does abx therapy in general lower them - for instance lower than they would be normally - i don't know at this stage
the mention of fluconazole is very interesting here also - as we discussed a study recently showing that in chronic lyme patients a 25 day courses of fluconazole has cured the majority who failed prior antibiotic therapy - even though fluconazole shows no direct action against lyme in the lab - so perhaps the neutrophil stimulating effect is the explanation - intriguing