Effects of Berberine on Lymphocyte Proliferation and GM-CSF Production in Mice.

Berberine, an alkaloid initially isolated from chinese herbal medicine, has antibiotic activities against a variety of organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, and chlamydia. Furthermore, berberine has shown a number of beneficial effects, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, and vasodilatory effects. In this work we have investigated the effects of berberine on lymphocyte proliferation and GM-CSF production in mice. Mouse splenocytes were incubated with berberine and concanavalin A(Con A) to observe the effects on cell proliferation. The culture supernatants of splenocytes exposed to berberine, berberine plus LPS, and berberine plus Con A were harvested to assay GM-CSF. The cell proliferation of nice splenocytes exposed to berberine only($1{\mu}g/ml$) was increased significantly more than PBS(control) group. But the Con A-induced cell growth was inhibited by berberine. The GM-CSF production from mice splenocyte culture exposed to berberine only was increased in comparison with PBS(control) group, but the production of it with LPS or Con A was inhibited by berbeline. The present findings may explain lympocyte proliferating and regulating effects of berberine.

마우스 림프구증식과 GM-CSF생성에 미치는 Berberine의 효과

본 연구에서는 berberine이 세포성 면역에 미치는 효과를 보기위하여 림프구증식과 GM-CSF생성을 보고자 하였다. 마우스 비장세포에 berberine을 작용시켰을 때 저농도에서 세포성장을 촉진함으로서 림프구증식에 자극제로서의 역할을 담당할 것으로 보인다. GM-CSF의 생성은 berberine 단독처리에 의해서 증가됨으로서 GM-CSF생성의 증가로 인한 세포성 면역반응의 상승이 예상되고 LPS나 Con A에 의한 GM-CSF의 생성을 저해함으로서 과도한 GM-CSF생성을 중간에서 차단할 것으로 보인다. 따라서 이러한 결과들은 앞으로의 추가적인 연구결과들이 있게 되면 임상에서의 면역요법과 항염증작용에 berberine이 이용될 가능성을 시사한다 하겠다.