title: The Immunomodulatory Activity of Jacaric Acid, a Conjugated Linolenic Acid Isomer, on Murine Peritoneal Macrophages.
abstract: This study aims at demonstrating the immunomodulatory property of jacaric acid, a conjugated linolenic acid (CLNA) isomer that is present in jacaranda seed oil, on murine peritoneal macrophages. Our results showed that jacaric acid exhibited no significant cytotoxicity on the thioglycollate-elicited murine peritoneal macrophages as revealed by the neutral red uptake assay, but markedly increased their cytostatic activity on the T-cell lymphoma MBL-2 cells as measured by the fluorometric CyQuant® NF Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that jacaric acid could enhance the endocytic activity of macrophages and elevated their intracellular production of superoxide anion. Moreover, jacaric acid-treated macrophages showed an increase in the production of nitric oxide which was accompanied by an increase in the expression level of inducible nitric oxide synthase protein. In addition, the secretion of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interferon-γ, interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, was up-regulated. Collectively, our results indicated that the naturally-occurring CLNA isomer, jacaric acid, could exhibit immunomodulating activity on the murine peritoneal macrophages in vitro, suggesting that this CLNA isomer may act as an immunopotentiator which can be exploited for the treatment of some immunological disorders with minimal toxicity and fewer side effects.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, HKSAR, China.
authors.forename: Wai Nam
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, HKSAR, China.
authors.forename: Kwok Nam
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D054697:Cytostatic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007536:Isomerism; D008042:Linolenic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D054697:Cytostatic Agents; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D008042:Linolenic Acids; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C579118:jacaric acid