Posted by raybakes on November 20, 2004, at 13:28:14
In reply to Re: More on Tryptophan- does illness affect efficacy?, posted by jasmineneroli on November 19, 2004, at 17:10:25
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> *Thanks Ray, that makes HUGE sense, considering how I was feeling.
> I don't know whether or not to increase the dosage if I become ill again at some point, to try to maintain a stable level. What do you think?
> JasI'm not sure what would be best, but this is what one abstract said..
'Relationship between interferon-gamma, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, and tryptophan catabolism.'
".....and the enzyme (IDO) is induced in rodents after administration of interferon inducers, or influenza virus"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1907934Just wonder if it might be like trying to fill a bucket with holes in it, during a flu infection. Autoimmune people tend to overproduce interferon gamma, and so may break down too much tryptophan - niacinamide can help stop this pathway, as can glutathione, methyl donors and other antioxidants. But also bear in mind that tryptophan may prolong a viral illness...
"since the presence of excess amounts of l-tryptophan abrogates the antiviral effect induced by IFN-gamma and the combination of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha."
'Inhibition of human herpes simplex virus type 2 by interferon gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha is mediated by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase.'
Institut fur Virologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universitat, Universitatsstrasse 1, D-40225 Dusseldorf, Germany.Genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a significant clinical problem. Infection in pregnancy may result in disseminated infection of the newborn with encephalitis. We analyzed the antiviral effects induced by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in cervix carcinoma cells (HeLa) and astrocytoma cells (86HG39). We found that replication of HSV-2 in HeLa cells and in 86HG39 cells is inhibited after stimulation of the cells by IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. The antiviral effect of IFN-gamma is enhanced in the presence of TNF-alpha, while stimulation by TNF-alpha alone did not induce antiviral activity. We found that IFN-gamma induces a strong activation of the tryptophan-degrading enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and in addition, that the IFN-gamma-induced IDO activity was enhanced in the presence of TNF-alpha. Furthermore, we found that the induction of IDO activity is responsible for the inhibition of herpes simplex virus replication, since the presence of excess amounts of l-tryptophan abrogates the antiviral effect induced by IFN-gamma and the combination of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. We therefore conclude that the antiviral effect against HSV-2 mediated by type II interferon and TNF-alpha are dependent on IDO activation
Hope it's not too confusing!
Ray
poster:raybakes
thread:417678
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20041108/msgs/418285.html