Author
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Hunt, Curtiss |
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Submitted to: Trace Elements in Man and Animals (TEMA)
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 5/2/1999 Publication Date: 5/1/2000 Citation: Hunt, C.D. 2000. Dietary boron as a physiological regulator of the normal inflammatory response. In: Roussel, A.M., Anderson, R.A., Favier, A.E., editors. Trace Elements in Man and Animals-10. Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Trace Elements in Man and Animals. May 2-7, 1999. Evian, France. New York, NY:Kluwer Academic. p.1071-1076. Interpretive Summary: Boron is an element found in nature. We typically consume about one milligram of boron every day when we eat fruits, nuts, vegetables, and legumes. Plants require boron for their own growth and reproduction. Normal amounts of boron in the diet change the way in which the body uses other nutrients. There is evidence that boron may help fight some kinds of infections because of its observed role in immune function and the normal inflammatory process. Boron also changes the numbers of specific types of cells in the blood that help the body to fight an infection. Future research will address how boron changes the number of these cells in blood because these findings may help to develop a new way of treating and perhaps of preventing rheumatoid arthritis in people. The literature summarized in this review can be of use in planning experiments designed to examine further the relation between dietary boron and certain diseases. . Technical Abstract: Accumulating evidence supports the hypothesis that dietary boron acts to control the normal inflammatory process by serving as a suppressive signal that down-regulates specific enzymatic activities at the inflammation site that are typically elevated during inflammation. This paper reviews literature on the apparent beneficial effect of boron on some aspects of the inflammatory process including joint swelling, antibody production, and leukotriene metabolism. The beneficial immunomodulatory effects of physiologic amounts of dietary boron fed to an arthritic animal model are emphasized. Possible biochemical mechanisms for the effects of boron on the inflammatory response are discussed with emphasis on putative roles of boron in the inhibition of activities of leukocyte 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, cyclooxygenase, and serine proteases (elastase, chymase, cathepsin G, thrombin, and coagulation factors IXa, Xa, XIa) activities involved in the respiratory burst mechanism, reactive oxygen species metabolism, and eicosanoid metabolism. |