Accumulation of immature B and null lymphocytes in the periphery after intraperitoneal administration of traditional Chinese medicine, xiao-chai-hu-tang (Japanese name: shosaiko-to).

Accumulation of lymphocytes after an intraperitoneal (ip) injection of a traditional Chinese herb medicine, XIAO-CHAI-HU-TANG (Japanese name: shosaiko-to), was investigated. Shosaiko-to induced marked accumulation of lymphocytes rather than macrophages in the peritoneal cavity of ICR mice, whereas various kinds of irritants, e.g. proteose-pepton, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), OK-432 and Corynebacterium parvum, induced preferential accumulation of macrophages rather than lymphocytes. By means of analysis using two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), it was revealed that the increased lymphocyte subpopulations not only in the peritoneal cavity but also in the spleen of C3H/He mice by the injection of shosaiko-to were comprised of both immature B (IgM+ and IgD-) and null (thyl- and Ig-) cells. This effect of shosaiko-to was observed in other C5 normal strains, C3H/HeJ (LPS-nonresponder), C57BL/6, BALB/c and athymic nu/nu (ICR background) mice, but not in C5 deficient strains, AKR/J, A/J and DBA/2 mice, indicating that the accumulation of immature B and null cells in the periphery induced by shosaiko-to is closely related to the complement system.