Institute of Bioscience, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013 Jun 24;13:145. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-13-145.
Rhaphidophora korthalsii (Araceae) is a root-climber plant which has been widely used in Chinese traditional medicine for cancer and skin disease treatment. Previous reports have recorded its immunomodulatory effects on mice splenocyte and human peripheral blood. This study investigated the potential immunostimulatory effect of Rhaphidophora korthalsii on human PBMC enriched NK cell.
PBMC was exposed to various concentrations of R. korthalsii extract and the T and NK cell population in the control and extract treated PBMC were identified by immunophenotyping. Intracellular perforin and granzyme B expressions were detected by flow cytometry and extra-cellular Granzyme B, IFN-γ and TNF-α production in the isolated NK cells were determined by ELISA. The cytotoxicity of effector NK cell towards target K562 cell was assessed by CytoTox 96 assay.
Rhaphidophora korthalsii methanol extract significantly increased PBMC NK cell population and intracellular perforin and granzyme B expressions. Moreover, the extract also enhanced the secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α which subsequently enhanced the cytotoxicity of NK cell against the NK sensitive target K562 cell line. NK cell enriched with extract treated PBMC showed better activation than NK cell directly treated with the extract.
Our findings indicated a potential IL-2 free immunotherapy through direct and indirect R. korthalsii stimulation on NK cell activation.
崖角藤（天南星科）是一种攀援植物，在传统中药中被广泛用于癌症和皮肤病的治疗。先前的研究报告记录了它对小鼠脾细胞和人外周血的免疫调节作用。本研究旨在探讨崖角藤提取物对人 PBMC 富集 NK 细胞的潜在免疫刺激作用。
将 PBMC 暴露于不同浓度的崖角藤提取物中，并用免疫表型鉴定法鉴定对照和提取物处理的 PBMC 中的 T 和 NK 细胞群。通过流式细胞术检测细胞内穿孔素和颗粒酶 B 的表达，通过 ELISA 检测分离的 NK 细胞中细胞外颗粒酶 B、IFN-γ 和 TNF-α 的产生。通过 Cytotox 96 测定法评估效应 NK 细胞对靶细胞 K562 的细胞毒性。
崖角藤甲醇提取物显著增加了 PBMC NK 细胞群和细胞内穿孔素和颗粒酶 B 的表达。此外，该提取物还增强了 IFN-γ 和 TNF-α 的分泌，从而增强了 NK 细胞对 NK 敏感靶细胞 K562 系的细胞毒性。用提取物处理的 PBMC 富集的 NK 细胞比直接用提取物处理的 NK 细胞显示出更好的激活。
我们的研究结果表明，通过直接和间接的崖角藤刺激 NK 细胞激活，可能存在一种无需 IL-2 的免疫疗法。
