title: Immunomodulatory effect of Astragali Radix extract on murine TH1/TH2 cell lineage development.
abstract: Astragali Radix (AR), is a popular herbal medicine used to treat allergic diseases in Korea, Japan and China. Our study examined the effect of an AR ethanol extract on both in vitro and in vivo murine CD4 T cells' differentiation into Th1 and Th2 subsets. CD4 T cells from Balb/c mice were activated with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 mAb in the presence of AR for 2 d. AR treated cells showed an elevated level of IL-4 but a reduced level of IFN-gamma secretion. In addition, in vitro Th1/Th2 polarization experiments revealed that AR enhanced the levels of IL-4 in Th2 cells but reduced the levels of IFN-gamma in Th1 cells. To elucidate the effects of AR in Th1/Th2 lineage development during the in vivo condition, AR was administrated orally to BALB/c mice. The results demonstrated that AR administration significantly increased IL-4 production in both the serum and supernatant of splenocyte culture, while IFN-gamma secretion was diminished upon in vivo activation with anti-CD3 antibody. Our data clearly indicates that AR selectively alters Th1/Th2 cytokine secretion patterns and provides the pharmacological basis for AR's clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Oriental Medicine, KyungHee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kyoo-Seok
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Chongwoon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hyun-Su
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bae
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D027883:Astragalus Plant; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors; D010936:Plant Extracts