ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the immunopotentiating effects of cultivated Cistanche deser-ticola (C.deserticola) crude polysaccharides (CCDCP) as an adjuvant on the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA). Methods Low,medium and high doses of CCDCP in combination with OVA were intramuscularly injected twice into ICR mice at an interval of two weeks,respectively. Aluminum adjuvant was used to set up positive control group. Levels of IgG,IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies were detected by ELISA. Splenocyte prolif-eration was detected by MTT assay. Growth conditions of the immunized mice were observed. Results IgG level was significantly increased in the high dose group 7 days after the first immunization(P<0.05),espe-cially on the 21st and 28th days (P<0.01) as compared with that of the aluminum adjuvant group. High dose of CCDCP in combination with OVA significantly up-regulated the levels of IgG1 and IgG2a in mice as compared with immunization with OVA alone (P<0.05). Moreover, IgG2a level in mice immunized with high dose of CCDCP and OVA was higher than that of the aluminum adjuvant group(P<0.05). Splenocyte proliferation was significantly enhanced in the medium and low dose groups in comparison with that of the OVA group (P<0.05) and the aluminum adjuvant group (P<0.01). No significant difference in mouse body weight was observed in different groups(P>0.05). Conclusion CCDCP as an adjuvant of OVA pro-tein vaccine can enhance Th1 and Th2 immune responses,especially the early antibody production and Th1 immune response. These results will provide some information for further studies of CCDCP as a vaccine ad-juvant.