Disease relevance of Urtica dioica

• AIM: Investigation of possible effects of aqueous extract of Urtica dioica leaves on adenosine deaminase activity in prostate tissue from patients with prostate cancer [1].

High impact information on Urtica dioica

• The gene for stinging nettle lectin (Urtica dioica agglutinin) encodes both a lectin and a chitinase [2].
• The vacuolar chitinases of class I possess an N-terminal cysteine-rich domain homologous to hevein and chitin-binding lectins such as wheat germ agglutinin and Urtica dioica lectin [3].
• Major histocompatibility class I molecules present Urtica dioica agglutinin, a superantigen of vegetal origin, to T lymphocytes [4].
• The V beta 8.3-specific superantigenic lectin Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) was used to delete the V beta 8.3+ T cells in MRL lpr/lpr mice [5].
• METHODS: Preparations of beta-sitosterol and extracts of stinging nettle, medicinal pumpkin, and saw palmetto were obtained from several pharmaceutical companies [6].

Biological context of Urtica dioica

• In plants (Urtica dioica), acetylcholine is involved in the regulation of water resorption and photosynthesis [7].

Anatomical context of Urtica dioica

• Antiproliferative effect of a polysaccharide fraction of a 20% methanolic extract of stinging nettle roots upon epithelial cells of the human prostate (LNCaP) [8].

Associations of Urtica dioica with chemical compounds

• It focuses on a series of N-acetylglucosamine-binding plant lectins of increasing structural complexity (hevein, pseudohevein, Urtica dioica agglutinin and wheat germ agglutinin and its domain B), for which structural NMR- or X-ray crystallographic data permit a decision of the validity of the CIDNP method-derived conclusions [9].
• The induced growth could be reduced by the polysaccharide fraction (POLY-M) of the 20% methanolic extract of stinging nettle roots by 33.8% [10].
• Steroidal components in stinging nettle roots, such as stigmast-4-en-3-one, stigmasterol, and campesterol inhibited the enzyme activity by 23.0-67.0% at concentrations ranging from 10(-3)-10(-6) M [11].
• Polar extracts of the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) roots contain the ligans (+)-neoolivil, (-)-secoisolariciresinol, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, isolariciresinol, pinoresinol, and 3,4-divanillyltetrahydrofuran [12].
• BACKGROUND: Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA), a monomeric lectin extracted from stinging nettle rhizomes, is specific for saccharides containing N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) [13].

Gene context of Urtica dioica

• The potential of Hox alpha and 13-HOTrE to suppress the expression of matrix metalloproteinases may explain the clinical efficacy of stinging nettle leaf extracts in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis [14].
• Lignans from the roots of Urtica dioica and their metabolites bind to human sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) [12].
• Genomic fragments encoding precursors for UDA-isolectins have been amplified by five independent polymerase chain reactions on genomic DNA from stinging nettle ecotype Weerselo [15].
• Plant extracts from stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), an antirheumatic remedy, inhibit the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB [16].
• Ninety-eight individuals took part in a double-blind randomized study comparing the effects of a freeze-dried preparation of Urtica dioica (stinging nettles) with placebo on allergic rhinitis [17].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Urtica dioica

• Randomized, double-blind study of freeze-dried Urtica dioica in the treatment of allergic rhinitis [17].
• The plant chitinases Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) and Arabidopsis thaliana Chia4 (ATCHIT4) proteins were over-expressed in bacteria and the interaction between these proteins and P. françai surface was analyzed by immunocytochemistry [18].
• The hearts were then perfused with a medium containing a low concentration of microspheres: either pollen grains [Urtica dioica (15.4 microns), Betula (23.5 microns), or Phleum pratense (36.5 microns)] or polystyrene microspheres (15 microns) [19].

References