Critical Aspects of Health

It is the composite of the parts that allow the trillions of cells within our body to exist in harmony and also to enjoy a heightened level of existence that manifests in true wellness. Consequently, over the coming months, we are going to explore in detail various bodily systems, starting with the immune system.

In so much as the readership of this newsletter is international and is comprised of various degreed practitioners with various levels of functional medicine training, this overview and the ones to come in the following months will serve as review for some, will be expansive for others, and regardless will be enlightening relative to new advances in clinical tools.

Understanding the individual parts of the immune system is essential to appreciate the immune system’s fully comprehensive conferred protection and how natural supplements modulate this intricate and finally balanced system. The primary function of the immune system is to protect the body from foreign agents. Maintaining a balance in immune function is imperative to maintain homeostasis without over- or under-activation.

Innate Immunity

The immune system is composed of both innate and acquired immunity. Innate immunity is a non-specific immune response and includes components such as skin and mucous membranes, fever, stomach acid and chemical mediators that induce inflammation and activate the acquired immune response. Innate immunity includes leukocytes (white blood cells) such as natural killer (NK) cells, mast cells, eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells that function to identify and eliminate pathogens.

Innate immunity also includes the complement system, which are pathways that induce a cascade of protein activation and result in several immune responses. These pathways may cause opsinization, in which a pathogen is marked and targeted for ingestion and destruction by a phagocyte (that engulf foreign substances); chemotaxis in which macrophages and neutrophils are recruited and mobilized like an army; lysis (rupture) of cell membranes of infected or foreign cells; and modulation of viral molecular structures.

Acquired Immunity

A companion to defensive (innate) immunity is called acquired immunity, fundamental to adapting to a world of microbes and potentially hostile entities that left unchecked would compromise the integrity of the body as a whole. It is the acquired or adaptive immune response that is highly specialized and functions to recognize specific pathogens.

The acquired response generates a form of immunological memory that allows for a more rapid response upon repeated exposure to a particular pathogen. This system has specialized cells that respond to antigens (often foreign proteins on microbes or other invading substances including food and environmental food allergens). Antigens are any molecule or substance that elicits an immune response and antibody production, although the majority of antigens are proteins or polysaccharides. The two primary types of adaptive immune response are humoral and cell-mediated.

The humoral immune response is mediated by antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig). There are five types of immunoglobulins including IgA, IgD, IgE, IgM and IgG. Antibodies are proteins made by B-lymphocytes that recognize and bind antigens.

The cell-mediated immune response utilizes leukocytes known as T-lymphocytes or T-cells. Like B-cells, T-cells respond to specific antigens. Upon antigen binding to a T-lymphocyte receptor, the lymphocyte releases chemical mediators known as lymphokines or cytokines. These chemical messengers have several functions including activation of other white blood cells, inducing inflammation, cytotoxic destruction of infected cells, and regulatory activity of the immune response. Yet, when over-activated, excess inflammation in the body can be generated.

The surface of T-cells has receptors for binding antigens that can be compared to a lock and key system as well as molecules that bind to antigen presenting cells. Antigen presenting cells (APCs) are cells that process antigens and present them to the T-cells. APCs have major histocompatability complex (MHC) molecules on their surface, which bind to molecules on the T-cell surface such as CD4 (helper cells) and CD8 (suppressor cells). The latter are powerful examples of how the body looks to keep immunological balance since CD8 suppressor cells within the body help curtail an over response.

A Closer Look at Immune Defenses

Now that we have named some of the supporting cast in the immunological performance, let’s look a little closer at specific function. Helper T-cells secrete cytokines that stimulate B-cells and cytotoxic T-cells. T-helper cells become activated upon presentation of an antigen. Once activated, a T-helper cell migrates to lymphoid tissue and divides into both memory cells and killer T-cells. T-helper cells further differentiate into subtypes with specific functions, Th1, Th2, Th17, follicular helper T-cells and regulatory T-cells, which are characterized by the type of cytokines secreted.

It is at this level of understanding that many nutritional and botanical tools begin to have specific targeted roles. Th1 cells predominate in viral and bacterial infections, stimulate cytotoxic T-cells and macrophages, and primarily secrete interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-gamma (ILg), and tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNFb). Th2 cells secrete IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10 and IL-13, which predominate in allergic and parasitic infections, and stimulate B-lymphocyte IgE production and eosinophil recruitment. We all hear about interleukin, (TNFb) and (ILg), yet appreciating at which level these highly specialized supporting actors play in immune function is crucial for fine tuning an individual patient’s immune goals.

Th17 is a more recently identified type of T-helper cell and is associated with inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Th17 cells selectively produce the cytokines IL-17A and IL-17F, which induce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-1-beta, IL-6, and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor.¹ Recent research has also uncovered the role of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in the balance between Th17 cells and T-regulatory (T-suppressor) cells. T-regulatory cells function to restrain excessive T-cell responses. IL-6 induces the differentiation of Th17 cells and suppresses the production of T-regulatory cells, and has been associated with several autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.²

What is most interesting and clinically significant when working with complex patient cases is that not only can Th1 cytokines inhibit the differentiation of Th2 cells and vice versa,¹ but some viruses also can modulate T-helper cell differentiation thereby circumventing the immune response. For example, the Epstein Barr virus synthesizes a protein similar to IL-10, thus inhibiting Th1 cells, which are most active against viral infections.³ In addition, some researchers suggest that the eradication of many infectious diseases had led to an immunological imbalance and a predominately Th2 pro-allergy state.⁴

Other types of T-cells include cytotoxic T-cells, also known as killer T-cells. These cells recognize and directly kill damaged or infected cells by creating pores in the cell membrane, releasing digestive enzymes and inducing apoptosis. Memory T-cells are long-living cells that have been previously exposed to some type of immune triggering antigen and allow for a stronger and more rapid response upon re-exposure.

The Gastrointestinal Tract and Immunity

A discussion of the immune system is not complete without also addressing the role of the gastrointestinal tract. In the mucosal lining of the intestinal tract reside gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), which represents approximately 70 percent of the entire immune system. This is not surprising since our most intimate and significant contact with the external world is when we invite it into our body via ingestion of food and other oral substances. Furthermore, approximately 80 percent of plasma cells, primarily IgA, reside in the GALT.⁵ The function of GALT is to determine if protein antigens in the gut require an immune response and what type of response is indicated. Dysregulation of the immune response in the gut can induce increased intestinal permeability and is associated with several inflammatory diseases throughout the entire body.⁶ Indeed a Healthier Gut equates to a Healthier Body.

Immune Support

Now that the simplified and yet complex overview of the immune system has been discussed, let’s look at how the immune system can be modulated for an enhanced performance by a few natural substances. The key to supporting the immune response is activating the various pathways without disrupting the delicate balance of immune function. Several natural supplements have been shown to support optimal immune functioning.

EpiCor® is a potent immune system modulator made from fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. EpiCor has been shown to modulate the number and activity of T-lymphocytes, NK cells and antibody production.⁷ Furthermore, EpiCor increases the level of CD4 T-helper lymphocytes while decreasing the levels of CD8 T-suppressor lymphocytes. It also has been shown to increase the killing efficiency by NK cells of pathogen-infected and abnormal cells. Additionally, studies indicate that EpiCor increases secretory IgA, which is an immunoglobulin found in mucosal secretions.⁸ Clinical trials support these findings, as one study demonstrated that EpiCor significantly decreased the duration and number of reported symptoms in subjects with colds and flu.⁹ EpiCor may also be supplemented as a liquid (Immunotropin™) with the added immune support of colostrum.

Medicinal mushrooms and the green tea constituent epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), as found in ImmunoMax 24/7™, also support both innate and acquired immune function. Agaricus blazei supports the induction of antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cells and significantly increases T-helper cells.^10-11 Lentinula edodes (Shitake) also stimulates the activation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cells and macrophages, T-helper cells and NK cells, as well as promotes T-cell differentiation and inhibits T-suppressor cell activity.^12-14 Research indicates that Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) also activates T-cells, macrophages and NK cells.^15-16 Similarly, Grifola frondosa (Maitake) enhances the activities of NK cells, macrophages, cytotoxic T-cells and the antibody response.^17-18 Cordyceps sinensis significantly increases the number of T-helper cells and the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cells,¹⁹ and Coriolus versicolor has been shown to increase suppressed killer T-cell activity.²⁰

ImmunoMax 24/7 combines six mushrooms hybridized to bring out the most potent aspects of their immune enhancement properties. This allows the mushrooms to possess greater potential than any other mushrooms grown elsewhere today, including wild crafted varieties. This formula has emerged as one of the most important ways to support immunity.

Green tea has been shown to increase T-cell proliferation and function and may support the formation of immunological memory. Clinically, trials have shown that green tea supplementation decreases the number of subjects with cold and flu symptoms and the duration of symptoms compared to subjects receiving a placebo.²¹ A recent study also found that EGCG can increase the number and functionality of regulatory T-cells in obese individuals, which have been shown to have lower levels of these lymphocytes, which is believed to play a role in the pro-inflammatory state seen with obesity.²² A purified form of EGCG is used within the formula ImmunoMax 24/7. The EGCG is suspended in a time-released matrix so that it doesn’t break down in stomach acid, allowing much more of this virus-blocking compound into the blood stream than can be obtained by drinking green tea.

Conclusion

The immune system is highly complex and a thorough understanding of immunological function is imperative to assessing immunological disorders and therapeutics. The use of a yeast fermentate such as EpiCor as well as medicinal mushrooms and green tea can help modulate immune function and enhance this critical aspect of health.

References

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20. Ng TB. A review of research on the protein-bound polysaccharide (polysaccharopeptide, PSP) from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor (Basidiomycetes: Polyporaceae). Gen Pharmacol. 1998;30:1-4.

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