Morrison, H., Frye, J., Davis-Gorman, G., Funk, J., McDonagh, P., Stahl, G., & Ritter, L. (2011). The contribution of mannose binding lectin to reperfusion injury after ischemic stroke. Current neurovascular research, 8(1), 52-63.
After complement system (CS) activation, the sequential production of complement products increases cell injury and death through opsonophagocytosis, cytolysis, adaptive, and inflammatory cell responses. These responses potentiate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury after ischemic stroke and reperfusion. Activation of the CS via mannose binding lectin (MBL)-initiated lectin pathway is known to increase tissue damage in response to IR in muscle, myocardium and intestine tissue. In contrast, the contribution of this pathway to cerebral IR injury, a neutrophil-mediated event, is less clear. Therefore, we investigated the potential protective role of MBL deficiency in neutrophil-mediated cerebral injury after IR. Using an intraluminal filament method, neutrophil activation and cerebral injury were compared between MBL-deficient and wild type C57Bl/6 mice subjected to 60 minutes of MCA ischemia and reperfusion. Systemic neutrophil activation was not decreased in MBL-deficient animals after IR. In MBL-deficient animals, cerebral injury was significantly decreased only in the striatum (p 0.05). Despite MBL deficiency, C3 depositions were evident in the injured hemisphere during reperfusion. These results indicate that while MBL deficiency results in a modest protection of a sub-cortical brain region during IR, redundant complement pathway activation may overwhelm further beneficial effects of MBL deficiency during reperfusion.
Funk, J. L., Frye, J. B., Oyarzo, J. N., & Timmermann, B. N. (2009). Comparative effects of two gingerol-containing Zingiber officinale extracts on experimental rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of natural products, 72(3), 403-7.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplements are being promoted for arthritis treatment in western societies on the basis of ginger's traditional use as an anti-inflammatory in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. However, scientific evidence of ginger's antiarthritic effects is sparse, and its bioactive joint-protective components have not been identified. Therefore, the ability of a well-characterized crude ginger extract to inhibit joint swelling in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis, was compared to that of a fraction containing only gingerols and their derivatives. Both extracts were efficacious in preventing joint inflammation. However, the crude dichloromethane extract, which also contained essential oils and more polar compounds, was more efficacious (when normalized to gingerol content) in preventing both joint inflammation and destruction. In conclusion, these data document a very significant joint-protective effect of these ginger samples and suggest that nongingerol components are bioactive and can enhance the antiarthritic effects of the more widely studied gingerols.
Hopkins, A. L., Lamm, M. G., Funk, J. L., & Ritenbaugh, C. (2013). Hibiscus sabdariffa L. in the treatment of hypertension and hyperlipidemia: A comprehensive review of animal and human studies. FITOTERAPIA, 85, 84-94.
Funk, J. L., Frye, J. B., Oyarzo, J. N., Zhang, H., & Timmermann, B. N. (2010). Anti-Arthritic Effects and Toxicity of the Essential Oils of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY, 58(2), 842-849.
Vassallo, D., Thomson, C., Funk, J., Jacobs, E., Blew, R., Lee, V., & Going, S. (2015). Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Adiposity Independent of Diet Quality in Adolescent Girls. FASEB JOURNAL, 29.