Modulation of antigen-specific immune responses by the oral administration of a traditional medicine, bo-yang-hwan-o-tang.
Bo-yang-hwan-o-tang (BHT) has long been used to treat cancer in traditional Korean medicine and is believed to have immune-modulating activity. This study investigated the effect of BHT on the induction of antigen-specific immune responses using hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL) as a model antigen system. Oral administration of BHT enhanced both HEL-specific humoral and lymphocyte proliferative responses in HEL low-responder mice. Feeding BHT to the mice increased INF-gamma levels, but did not change IL-4 levels. Interestingly, however, the oral BHT feeding significantly increased HEL-specific antibodies of the IgG1, IgG2b, and IgG3 subtypes, which are associated with the direct stimulation of B cells. This indicates that BHT treatment enhances anti-HEL-specific humoral immune responses via the direct stimulation of B lymphocytes rather than by selective priming of specific subtypes of the helper T-cell population. This conclusion was supported by in vitro experiments, in which the presence of BHT significantly augmented B-cell mitogen-mediated proliferation of mouse splenocytes. This augmentation was closely associated with a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of around 100 kDa. The results suggest that BHT modulates antigen-specific immune responses, and might be used as a therapeutic agent for patients who need enhanced immune function.
Kim
Eun-Ha
EH
Division of Biological Sciences and The Institute for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chonbuk National University, Chonju, Korea.
Lee
Jeong-Chae
JC
Kim
Ju
J
Son
Young-Ok
YO
Chung
Gook-Hyun
GH
Jang
Yong-Suk
YS
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007723:Korea; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009113:Muramidase / Q000276:immunology
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D004527:Egg Proteins; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D009113:Muramidase