Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Parasite Immunol. 2022 Jan;44(1-2):e12879. doi: 10.1111/pim.12879. Epub 2021 Nov 21.
Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a public health problem in endemic areas. The objective of the current study was to investigate the immunotherapeutic activities of the hydroalcoholic extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (HEG) and glycyrrhizic acid (GA) in the treatment of Leishmania major (L. major)-infected BALB/c mice. In this study, the effect of HEG and GA was checked in vitro on growth of L. major promastigote and amastigote using MTT assay and microscopic counting, respectively. For in vivo experiment, the lesion induced by L. major on BALB/c mice were treated intraperitoneally with HEG, GA, meglumine antimoniate or phosphate buffer saline (negative control) for one month. Then, the lesion development and the parasite burden of the lymph node was assessed, the cytokine response (IFN-γ and IL-4) to Leishmania antigens was evaluated using ELISA method. The results showed that HEG and GA significantly inhibited the growth of L. major promastigotes and amastigotes, the lesion development, parasite burden in the lymph nodes, level of IFN-γ and the ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 in HEG, GA and meglumine antimoniate-treated mice were significantly higher compared with the negative control group, there was no difference between the HEG, GA and meglumine antimoniate group. It is concluded that hydroalcoholic extract of G. glabra and glycyrrhizic acid showed therapeutic and immunomodulatory effects on L. major-infected BALB/c mice.
皮肤利什曼病（CL）的治疗是流行地区的一个公共卫生问题。本研究的目的是研究甘草水醇提取物（HEG）和甘草酸（GA）在治疗感染大孢子虫的 BALB/c 小鼠中的免疫治疗活性。在这项研究中，使用 MTT 测定法和显微镜计数法分别检查 HEG 和 GA 对大孢子虫前鞭毛体和无鞭毛体生长的体外抑制作用。在体内实验中，用 HEG、GA、葡甲胺锑或磷酸盐缓冲盐水（阴性对照）腹腔内治疗 L. major 诱导的 BALB/c 小鼠病变一个月。然后评估病变发展和淋巴结中的寄生虫负担，使用 ELISA 方法评估对利什曼抗原的细胞因子反应（IFN-γ 和 IL-4）。结果表明，HEG 和 GA 显著抑制大孢子虫前鞭毛体和无鞭毛体的生长，病变发展、淋巴结中的寄生虫负担、IFN-γ 水平和 IFN-γ/IL-4 的比值在 HEG、GA 和葡甲胺锑治疗的小鼠中均明显高于阴性对照组，HEG、GA 和葡甲胺锑组之间无差异。综上所述，甘草水醇提取物和甘草酸对感染大孢子虫的 BALB/c 小鼠具有治疗和免疫调节作用。
