Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bioscience Institute, UNESP, 18618-000 SP, Brazil.
Phytother Res. 2010 Aug;24(8):1141-6. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3086.
Propolis is a bee product and its immunomodulatory action has been the subject of intense investigation lately. The recent discovery and characterization of the family of Toll-like receptors (TLR) have triggered a great deal of interest in the field of innate immunity due to their crucial role in microbial recognition and development of the adaptive immune response. This work aimed to evaluate propolis's effect on TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression and on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta and IL-6). Male BALB/c mice were treated with propolis (200 mg/kg) for three consecutive days, and TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression as well as IL-1beta and IL-6 production were assessed in peritoneal macrophages and spleen cells. Basal IL-1beta production and TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression were increased in peritoneal macrophages of propolis-treated mice. TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression and IL-1beta and IL-6 production were also upregulated in the spleen cells of propolis-treated mice. One may conclude that propolis activated the initial steps of the immune response by upregulating TLRs expression and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in mice, modulating the mechanisms of the innate immunity.
蜂胶是一种蜜蜂产品，其免疫调节作用一直是最近研究的热点。最近 Toll 样受体（TLR）家族的发现和特征描述，由于它们在微生物识别和适应性免疫反应的发展中起着至关重要的作用，因此在先天免疫领域引起了极大的兴趣。本研究旨在评估蜂胶对 TLR-2 和 TLR-4 表达以及促炎细胞因子（IL-1β和 IL-6）产生的影响。雄性 BALB/c 小鼠连续 3 天用蜂胶（200mg/kg）处理，检测腹腔巨噬细胞和脾细胞中 TLR-2 和 TLR-4 的表达以及 IL-1β和 IL-6 的产生。与对照组相比，用蜂胶处理的小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞中基础 IL-1β产生和 TLR-2 和 TLR-4 的表达增加。蜂胶处理的小鼠脾细胞中 TLR-2 和 TLR-4 的表达以及 IL-1β和 IL-6 的产生也上调。可以得出结论，蜂胶通过上调 TLRs 的表达和促炎细胞因子的产生，激活了小鼠的免疫反应初始步骤，调节了先天免疫的机制。
