Helal Racha, Melzig Matthias F
Institute of Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 2+4, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Sci Pharm. 2011 Apr-Jun;79(2):337-49. doi: 10.3797/scipharm.1012-15. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
Lysozyme is one of the most important factors of innate immunity and a unique enzybiotic in that it exerts not only antibacterial activity, but also antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and immunomodulatory activities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether in vitro exposure to saponins can affect the release and production of lysozyme activity in human monocytic cells THP-1, and in human epithelial cells HT-29. Lysozyme activity levels in cell culture fluids were measured using highly sensitive fluorescence-based lysozyme activity assay. Majority of the examined saponins were demonstrated to stimulate significantly the release of lysozyme activity of monocytes and epithelial cells after one hour treatment at non-toxic concentrations. On the contrary, cells treated with saponins for longer periods up to 72 hours showed tendency to decrease in the secretion and production of lysozyme activity. However, these inhibitory effects of saponins observed with long-term treatment periods were mostly associated with toxic effects of saponins to cells. The results suggested positive contribution of some saponins to lysozyme release of monocytes and epithelial cells upon short exposure. Furthermore, demonstrated ability of these saponins to enhance the release of lysozyme activity can present a new mechanism contribute to explaining important biological characteristics of saponins, including the antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory or immune-stimulating properties.
溶菌酶是固有免疫最重要的因素之一，也是一种独特的酶生素，因为它不仅具有抗菌活性，还具有抗病毒、抗炎、抗癌和免疫调节活性。本研究的目的是调查体外暴露于皂苷是否会影响人单核细胞THP-1和人上皮细胞HT-29中溶菌酶活性的释放和产生。使用基于高灵敏度荧光的溶菌酶活性测定法测量细胞培养液中的溶菌酶活性水平。大多数检测的皂苷在无毒浓度下处理1小时后，被证明能显著刺激单核细胞和上皮细胞溶菌酶活性的释放。相反，用皂苷处理长达72小时的细胞显示溶菌酶活性的分泌和产生有下降趋势。然而，长期处理观察到的皂苷的这些抑制作用大多与皂苷对细胞的毒性作用有关。结果表明，一些皂苷在短期暴露后对单核细胞和上皮细胞溶菌酶的释放有积极作用。此外，这些皂苷增强溶菌酶活性释放的能力可能是一种新机制，有助于解释皂苷的重要生物学特性，包括抗菌、抗病毒、抗炎或免疫刺激特性。
