In vitro and in vivo immunostimulatory activity of wild Artemisia rupestris L. ethanol extract / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo immunostimulatory activity and the safety of ethanol extract of wild Artemisia rupestris L. (EEWAR). Methods:Bone marrow dendritic cells (BMDCs) from C57BL/6 mice were treated with different concentrations of EEWAR in vitro and the expression of CD40 and CD80 on BMDCs was detected by flow cytometry. ICR mice were subcutaneously immunized with different concentrations of EEWAR in combination with ovalbumin (OVA) or OVA alone. Aluminum adjuvant was used as the positive control. OVA-specific IgG antibodies in mouse serum samples were measured by ELISA following immunization. T cell proliferation in spleen tissues was detected by MTT method. Acute toxicity test was conducted in ICR mice to analyze the safety of EEWAR. Results:In vitro experiment showed that EEWAR at the concentrations of 10-20 μg/ml increased the expression of CD40 and CD80 on BMDCs ( P<0.05), and had no significant effect on the morphology of BMDCs; EEWAR at the concentrations of 100-200 μg/ml significantly promoted the expression of CD40 and CD80 on BMDCs ( P<0.01), but had a certain influence on the morphology of BMDCs. In vivo experiment showed that EEWAR enhanced the production of IgG, IgG 1 and IgG 2a antibodies against OVA and the proliferation of splenocytes ( P<0.05). In the acute toxicity test, EEWAR at the concentrations of 50-5 000 μg/ml had no side effects on mouse body weight and was relatively safe. Conclusions:EEWAR could promote the maturation of DCs and enhance the humoral and cellular immune responses when used as an adjuvant to OVA. It was safe in a certain dose range. This study provided reference for further research on EEWAR as a new-generation adjuvant.