IRM - Immune Response Modulator

Clinically proven immunomodulator and anti-inflammatory for help with Asthma, Allergies and autoimmune problems

IRM Immune response modulator is an extract of Proline rich polypeptide 3's PRP3s from bovine colostrum. These peptides have shown an amazing ability to downregulate immune responses that are responsible for the symptoms related to asthma, food and airborne allergies and autoimmune disease. Clinical trials have shown that within 1 to 3 days of regular use a majority of symptoms related to inflammation and pain are nearly eliminated. Taken with Colostrum-LD to heal leaky gut sydrome (the primary cause of auto and improper or over immune response associated with allergies, asthma and autoimmune problems)  they can help stop the progression body tissue and help provide the means for the body to help rebuild and restore injured and damaged conective tissue etc. For more information of leak gut see related articles on this site for Gastrointestinal health and Leaky Gut.

Colostrum, nature’s first food, contains an amazing variety of immune factors, growth factors and nutrients that help the newborn get a healthy start in life. What science has also discovered is that the ingredients in colostrum are also good for grownups (including children). It can help heal stomach and intestinal linings damaged by pain medication, alcohol and soft drink consumption, poor diet, stress or environmental toxins. It can help keep our immune system running at optimal levels, which is especially important in today’s stressful world with new drug-resistant diseases appearing and a worsening environment.

 Now there is a product called IRM that concentrates the essence of colostrum’s immune factors into an easy-to-take spray that will help balance your immune system so that it functions at optimal levels to protect you and your loved ones. The essence of IRM is PRP (Proline-Rich Polypeptides). PRP are peptides – short strings of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) – that function as intercellular signaling molecules. The PRP in colostrum are specifically designed to modulate the activity of the immune system, stimulating its activity when need to fight off an infection or quelling its activity to prevent tissue damage once the infection has been defeated.

PRP in colostrum consist of a number of different peptides which can be separated by gel chromatography into three distinct classes. One of these, PRP3, is the most immunologically active. Modern protein fractionation methods allow this fraction to be isolated as the main ingredient in IRM, providing the maximum immunologic punch at a fraction of the cost of whole colostrum.

PRP acts as a hormone in the thymus gland by stimulating thymocytes (lymphocytes that originate in the thymus gland) to differentiate and become activated as either helper or suppressor T cells^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}. What is unique about the action of PRP is that this effect is reversible^8,9,10. Helper T cells present foreign antigen (such as a protein from a virus or bacteria) to B cells, lymphocytes which originate in the bone marrow and which produce antibodies that are specific to the antigens presented to them by the helper T cells. Helper T cells also help produce memory T cells, lymphocytes that retain the memory of the antigen to shorten response time in case of reinfection.

Suppressor T cells, on the other hand, deactivate other lymphocytes to “turn off” the immune response after an infection is under control. This is important because if the response is not turned off, normal tissue can be damaged. Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or diabetes type 1, are characterized by overactive immune systems that attack the tissues of the body. PRP has shown promise against autoimmune diseases in preliminary trials^11,12,.

PRP is also a potent stimulator of other immune cells in response to an infection. It induces the growth and differentiation of B cells¹³, increases the permeability of the blood vessels in the skin to allow hunter/killer cells to move into the tissues, induces leukocyte (white blood cell) proliferation^14,15, and stimulates Natural Killer (NK) cell activity. It also induces the differentiation and maturation of monocytes and macrophages, cells which penetrate the connective tissue outside the blood vessels in search of pathogens¹⁶.

The mechanism through which PRP acts includes the stimulation of immune cells to produce various pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are also small peptides and proteins that control the immune response. PRP can stimulate the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which is the cytokine that controls the entire inflammatory cascade of cytokines that are secreted when the immune system is mobilized to fight infection, and gamma interferon (INF-γ), another major cytokine that interferes with the ability of pathogens, especially viruses, to replicate. PRP has been shown to stimulate the production of INF-γ in white blood cells¹⁷, peritoneal cells¹⁸, and cells of the placenta and amniotic membrane¹⁹. The so-called immune cascade is a complex series of chemical events that mobilize immune cells to move to the site of the infection (such as a wound) and attack any pathogens they find. PRP also has the ability to stimulate the production of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood cells – the very cells that would be actively engaged in fighting an infection. Again, this reflects the ability of PRP to respond to the immunological needs of the body by modulating the immune response. An example of how fine it can tune the system was demonstrated in an experiment where mice were exposed to Herpes simplex virus (HSV). When exposed, the mice produced large quantities of INF-γ, IL-2, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is produced in response to an infection, and small amounts of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine. However, if the mice were first exposed to transfer factor (another name for PRP), they mice responded to HSV by producing large amounts of INF-γ but no IL-2²⁰. In blood cultures, PRP stimulates the production of INF-α, INF-γ, IL-6 (a pro-inflammatory cytokine) and IL- 10²¹.

PRP provides immunity to a number of viruses, including HSV^22,23,24, Epstein-Barr virus (a type of herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis)²⁵, HIV²⁶, measles²⁷, and others^28,29. It also has antiviral activity against several viruses, Epstein-Barr and Human Herpes Virus-6 (HHV-6) known to be associated with autoimmune diseases^30,31.

The use of PRP in clinical situations to treat dangerous infectious diseases is just being explored. PRP has been used with AIDS patients in various African countries. Through its immunomodulatory effect, PRP oral spray products boosted T cells (CD4+) levels to normal or near-normal levels in nearly all patients studied associated with a complete remission of AIDS symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and so forth. Weight gains of up to 5% were also noted. In fact, those taking PRP performed much better in terms of quality of life than those on antiretroviral drugs³².

The potential for clinical use of PRP is exciting. Bird flu, for example, kills patients by eliciting a so-called “cytokine storm” caused by dysregulation of normal cytokine regulation by the virus that actually kills the victim by drowning in their own fluids³³. PRP could help restore cytokine regulation and restore homeostasis.

PRP may also prove useful in the treatment of allergies and asthma. In a recent
Russian study, guinea pigs were given an injection of ovalbumin which causes them to develop bronchial spasms which often prove fatal. When PRP was also given to the guinea pigs, fewer died, and the bronchial spasms in the others was less severe and of significantly shorter duration³⁴.

PRP is not species specific, meaning that PRP from cow’s colostrum is just as effective in humans as PRP from human colostrum³⁵. The PRP in IRM is concentrated out of the highest quality organically produced bovine colostrum that is collected fresh year-round from cows living in the Southwest United State and processed in the only processing plant built from the ground up to process colostrum using state-of-the-art equipment. It is safe for all ages, including children. IRM comes as a convenient, easy to use spray. 3 sprays 3 times a day is the normal dose.

Stay healthy the natural way with IRM from Sovereign Laboratories.

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18. Blach-Olszewska, Z, Janusz, M. Stimulatory effect of ovine colostrinine (a proline-rich polypeptide) on interferons and tumor necrosis factor production by murine resident peritoneal cells. Archivum immunologiae et therapiae experimentalis (Warszava) 45(1):43-47 (1997).

19. Domaraczenko, B, Janusz, M, Orzechowska, B, Jarosz, W, Blach-Olszewska, Z. Effect of proline rich polypeptide from ovine colostrum on virus replication in human placenta and amniotic membrane at term; possible role of endogenous tumor necrosis factor alpha. Placenta 20(8):695- 701 (1999).

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22. Pizza, G, Meduri, R, De Vinci, C, Scorolli, L, Viza, D. Transfer factor prevents relapses in herpes keratitis patients: a pilot study. Biotherapy 8(1):63-68 (1994).

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30. Ablashi, DV, Levine, PH, De Vinci, C, Whitman, JE, Jr, Pizza, G, Viza, D. Use of anti HHV-6 transfer factor for the treatment of two patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Two case reports. Biotherapy 9(1-3):81-86 (1996).

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32. Keech, A. Unpublished data. (2006).

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34. Krylov, A, Bogdanenko, E., Bogush, T, Zhdanov, R. The effects of Proline Rich Polypeptide Colostrum Extract treatment on wound healing in a murine skin injury model and assessment of its anti-allergic properties on system anaphylaxis in guinea pigs. Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow.

35. Khan, A. Non-specificity of transfer factor. Annals of Allergy 38(5):320-322 (1977).