Targeting the Immune System with Plant Lectins to Combat Microbial Infections.

ABSTRACT: The arsenal of drugs available to treat infections caused by eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes has been declining exponentially due to antimicrobial resistance phenomenon, leading to an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies. Host-directed immunotherapy has been reported as an attractive option to treat microbial infections. It consists in the improvement of host defenses by increasing the expression of inflammatory mediators and/or controlling of inflammation-induced tissue injury. Although the in vitro antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities of lectins have been extensively demonstrated, few studies have evaluated their in vivo effects on experimental models of infections. This review aims to highlight the experimental use of immunomodulatory plant lectin

SUBMITTER: Jandu JJB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5632806 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature