Stimulation of cytokine production via a special standardized mistletoe preparation in an in vitro human skin bioassay.

The mistletoe preparation Lektinol is standardized with respect to bioactive mistletoe lectin, the active component of mistletoe. This standardized mistletoe preparation and its active components (mistletoe lectins) were compared in the skin2 bioassay in vitro for their capacity to stimulate interleukin 1 alpha and interleukin 6 release from skin analogue tissue, composed of human cells in their naturally secreted matrix. The standardized mistletoe preparation, its basic ingredient, aqueous mistletoe extract, and pure mistletoe lectins all stimulated IL-1 alpha and IL-6 release from skin2 tissues during 24 h incubation. The amounts of cytokines released from various skin2 tissue lots by mistletoe lectin I (ML I) (0.75-8.0 ng/ml) and by the standardized mistletoe preparation remained relatively constant across a series of different batches. Concentration-response curves to the standardized mistletoe preparation and ML I were similar for IL-1 alpha and IL-6 release. The importance of the concentration of mistletoe lectins for the cytokine-releasing action of the standardized mistletoe preparation was confirmed using a neutralizing anti-mistletoe lectin antiserum. CONCLUSIONS. Using the skin2 method it was shown that reproducible stimulation of cytokine release by a standardized mistletoe preparation from batch to batch is one of the notable features of its pharmaceutical quality. This standardized mistletoe preparation therefore represents a preparation with constant immunobiological effects. Mistletoe lectins of the standardized mistletoe preparation are the active substances in the skin2 bioassay. The skin2 method is a reliable quantitative bioassay for determination of immunopharmacological effects.