title: Immunostimulatory activity of aqueous extract isolated from Prunella vulgaris.
abstract: Prunella vulgaris (P. vulgaris) has been used as a traditional medicine in the clinical treatment of herpetic keratitis and for its antioxidative and antimicrobial activities. In this study, we examined the immunostimulatory and antitumor activity of P. vulgaris in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Thus, we investigated the effects of an aqueous extract of P. vulgaris (PVAE) on macrophage function. We found that PVAE stimulated macrophage phagocytic activity, nitric oxide (NO) production and cytostatic activity. In addition, PVAE induced gene expression and production of macrophage-related cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6. Transient transfection revealed that NF-kappaB mediated the PVAE-induced increases in macrophage-related cytokine expression levels. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP Kinase) were also significantly activated by the PVAE-induced NF-kappaB activation. Pretreatment with NF-kappaB inhibitor and MAP Kinase inhibitors inhibited the NO production and the phagocytic activity induced by PVAE. This demonstrates that PVAE stimulates macrophage activation via NF-kappaB transactivation and MAP kinase activation.
authors.affiliation: BK21 Project Team, Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Research Center for Proteineous Materials, Chosun University, 375 Seosuk-dong, Gwangju 501-759, South Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jae Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Yong Pil
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chul Yung
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Jong Kwon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Hye Gwang
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031347:Prunella / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D016328:NF-kappa B; D010936:Plant Extracts; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases