title: In vitro immunomodulatory activity of Bo-yang-hwan-o-tang.
abstract: Bo-yang-hwan-o-tang (BHT), an herbal decoction has been mainly used for improvement of blood flow in oriental medicine. Its in vivo immunomodulation was recently demonstrated but the effective mechanisms have not been described. This study was carried out to evaluate in vitro immunomodulatory activity of BHT. Water extract of BHT significantly promoted in vitro proliferative responses of mouse spleen cells (SPC) and also further enhanced the proliferation of SPC stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody. Unexpectedly, addition of BHT extract did not affect proliferation of both resting and CD3-activated T cells, whereas it showed a strong mitogenic activity on B cells. Flow cytometric analysis of CFSE-stained SPC showed that BHT-mediated enhancement of CD3-activated SPC proliferation is due to T cell, but not B cell, division. Mixed culture experiment combining T and mitomycin C-treated B cells demonstrated that BHT-mediated enhancement of CD3-activated T cell proliferation was dependent on the presence of B cells. However, B cell-derived factors were not involved in BHT effect on T cell proliferation. In the presence of B cells, BHT treatment resulted in a great enhancement in IL-2 production of CD3-activated T cells, and BHT effect on T cell proliferation was completely abrogated by addition of exogenous IL-2, indicating that IL-2 plays a critical role in BHT-mediated enhancement of CD3-activated T cell proliferation. Taken together, our data revealed that BHT possesses a potent B cell mitogenic activity and also can enhance activated T cell response through B cell regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Natural Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hyun
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong-Cheon
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Jeong-Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Do
authors.forename: Youn-Hwa
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young Kug
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: Won-Hong
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Ho Keun
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Pyung Han
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Sang-Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Nam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D007376:Interleukin-2; D010936:Plant Extracts; C479639:bo-yang-hwan-o-tang