<p>A component in red wine and grapes can help control inflammation induced by a bacterial pathogen linked to diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and middle ear infection, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at Georgia State University in the US identified a novel mechanism that resveratrol, a compound found naturally in some plant foods such as grapes, uses to alleviate inflammation in airway disease.<br /><br />The results suggest this compound could offer health benefits and be used to develop new, effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents.<br /><br />"We showed that an important component in red wine and also grapes called resveratrol can suppress inflammation," said Dr Jian-Dong Li, director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.<br /><br />"We found that resveratrol suppresses a major bacterial pathogen causing otitis media and COPD by upregulating or increasing the production of a negative regulator called MyD88 short," said Li.<br /><br />Resveratrol belongs to a group of compounds called polyphenols that are thought to act like antioxidants and protect the body against damage.<br /><br />It has long been considered a therapeutic agent for various diseases, including inflammatory diseases.<br /><br />In the study, resveratrol was effective against inflammation caused by nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), a major respiratory pathogen.<br /><br />An appropriate amount of inflammation in the body is beneficial for defence against bacterial infection, but uncontrolled inflammation leads to inflammatory diseases.<br /><br />Upper respiratory tract inflammatory diseases such as asthma and COPD affect more than half a billion people worldwide and are characterised by chronic inflammation that is aggravated by respiratory pathogens such as NTHi.<br /><br />Antibiotics are routinely used to treat NTHi infections, but the increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and the limited success of currently available pharmaceuticals used to manage the symptoms of these diseases present an urgent need for the development of non-antibiotic therapeutics.<br /><br />This study found for the first time that resveratrol decreases NTHi-induced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in airway epithelial cells and in the lungs of mice by enhancing MyD88 short, a negative regulator of inflammatory signalling pathways.<br /><br />MyD88 short is considered a "brake pedal protein" because it can tightly control inflammation induced by this respiratory pathogen.<br /><br />It could be a critical target with significant therapeutic potential for suppressing inflammation associated with chronic airway disease.<br /><br />The researchers also found that resveratrol has anti-inflammatory effects after NTHi infection, which demonstrates its therapeutic potential.<br /><br />The finding was published in the journal Scientific Reports.</p>
<p>A component in red wine and grapes can help control inflammation induced by a bacterial pathogen linked to diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and middle ear infection, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at Georgia State University in the US identified a novel mechanism that resveratrol, a compound found naturally in some plant foods such as grapes, uses to alleviate inflammation in airway disease.<br /><br />The results suggest this compound could offer health benefits and be used to develop new, effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents.<br /><br />"We showed that an important component in red wine and also grapes called resveratrol can suppress inflammation," said Dr Jian-Dong Li, director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.<br /><br />"We found that resveratrol suppresses a major bacterial pathogen causing otitis media and COPD by upregulating or increasing the production of a negative regulator called MyD88 short," said Li.<br /><br />Resveratrol belongs to a group of compounds called polyphenols that are thought to act like antioxidants and protect the body against damage.<br /><br />It has long been considered a therapeutic agent for various diseases, including inflammatory diseases.<br /><br />In the study, resveratrol was effective against inflammation caused by nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), a major respiratory pathogen.<br /><br />An appropriate amount of inflammation in the body is beneficial for defence against bacterial infection, but uncontrolled inflammation leads to inflammatory diseases.<br /><br />Upper respiratory tract inflammatory diseases such as asthma and COPD affect more than half a billion people worldwide and are characterised by chronic inflammation that is aggravated by respiratory pathogens such as NTHi.<br /><br />Antibiotics are routinely used to treat NTHi infections, but the increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and the limited success of currently available pharmaceuticals used to manage the symptoms of these diseases present an urgent need for the development of non-antibiotic therapeutics.<br /><br />This study found for the first time that resveratrol decreases NTHi-induced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in airway epithelial cells and in the lungs of mice by enhancing MyD88 short, a negative regulator of inflammatory signalling pathways.<br /><br />MyD88 short is considered a "brake pedal protein" because it can tightly control inflammation induced by this respiratory pathogen.<br /><br />It could be a critical target with significant therapeutic potential for suppressing inflammation associated with chronic airway disease.<br /><br />The researchers also found that resveratrol has anti-inflammatory effects after NTHi infection, which demonstrates its therapeutic potential.<br /><br />The finding was published in the journal Scientific Reports.</p>