• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.233-238
• /
• 2007

Objectives : Scutellariae Radix (Hwanggeum in Korean) is the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Scutellariae Radix is well known to be used as a medicine for common cold, upper respiratory infections, and to strengthen and regulate the immune system and anemia etc. Little is understood about the roles of Scutellariae Radix in the cytokine and chemokine secretion by immune cells. This study was designed to find out the effects of Scutellariae Radix on the cytokine and chemokine secretion in human mast cells (HMC-1). Methods : We treated hwanggeum according to consistency on HMC-1 and measured cytokines and chemokines levels using flow cytometry CBA system. Results : In hwanggeum treated group, the expression of interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 (CXCL9, MIG), interleukin 8 (IL-8), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 5 (IL-5), interleukin 10 (IL-10), and interferon ${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$) were decreased significantly. Conclusion : These results suggest that hwanggeum may support some of immune diseases by means of amiliorating some chemokines or cytokines such as IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, IL-8, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IFN-${\gamma}$.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.341-347
• /
• 2010

In the present study, we investigated whether Houttuynia cordata Thumb (Saururaceae; HC) extracts have an anti-inflammatory effect in human monocytic THP-1 cells and human eosinophilic EoL-1 cells. The dried and powdered whole plants of HC were extracted with 80% EtOH. The combined extract (HC-1) was concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was diluted with water, and then successively partitioned with n-hexane, EtOAc, and BuOH to produce the n-hexane (HC-2), EtOAc (HC-3), BuOH (HC-4), and the water-soluble fractions (HC-5), respectively. HC extracts have no cytotoxicity on THP-1 cells and EoL-1 cells at a high concentration of $10\;{\mu}g/ml$ for 24 h, except HC-2 extract ($10\;{\mu}g/ml$). Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8 and Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in THP-1 cells were increased after the treatment with the extract from house dust mite or LPS. The increase of cytokine production was strongly suppressed by HC-3 extract, in comparision with other extracts. HC-3 also had inhibitory effect on Interleukin-6 production increased by mite extract and LPS in EoL-1 cells. However, HC-3 extract increased Interleukin-8 production induced by mite extract and LPS in EoL-1 cells. These results suggest that HC extracts may be used as useful agents for treating allergic disorders such as asthma and atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.135-140
• /
• 1992

The partitioning of recombinant human interleukin-2(rhII-2) in PEG 8000-dextran 38800 aqueous two-phase system has been investigated using three different sources of rhIL-2. In the case of pure rhIL-2, the solubility in a PEG-dextran two-phase system was low and most of rhIL-2 was partitioned into the bottom phase. For the recovery of rhIL-2 from insoluble protein aggregates, the inclusion bodies of recombinant E. coli were solubilized by the treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The addition of SDS significantly enhanced not only the solubility of rhIL-2 but also the partitioning of rhIL-2 to the top phase. When the ratio of SDS to rhIL-2 was 2.0, the partition coefficient(K) and the recovery yield(Y) at the top phase were 4.5 and 88%, respectively, at pH 6.8. In order to reduce the recovery steps further, SDS was directly added to the intact recombinant E. coli cells and then partitioned into the PEG/dextran aqueous two-phase system. The observed partition coefficient ($K{\cong{3.0$) and recovery yield ($Y{\geq}80%$ )of this method were comparable to the rhIL-2 recovery from insoluble protein aggregates. The results obtained in this work indicate that PEG-dextran two-phase partitioning might provide a simple way for the recovery and partial purification of recombinant proteins which are produced as inclusion bodies.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.183.2-183.2
• /
• 1991

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.228-234
• /
• 1991

- A synthetic gene coding for human interleukin-2 (IL-2) was constructed from the oligonucleotides synthesized by an automatic DNA synthesizer. The nucleotide sequence of the synthetic gene was chosen considering the preferred codons of E. coEi by not changing the amino acid sequence of IL-2 polypeptide. The synthetic gene was expressed in E. coli by placing the gene under the control of the $\lambda$ PL promoter. IL-2 was produced in the E. coli cytoplasm in the form of inclusion bodies. The recombinant IL-2 showed growth promoting activity on the IL-2 dependent cell line.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.1264-1269
• /
• 2011

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a vital cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes, and plays an important role in the regulation of cellular functions and immunity of animals. In this study, the recombinant duck IL-2 (rduIL-2) was secretory expressed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris). The recombinant P. pastoris strain was cultured in shake flasks and then scaled up in a 5.0-l bioreactor. The result showed that the maximal fresh-cell-weight of 594.1 g/l and the maximal $OD_{600}$ of 408 were achieved in the bioreactor. The rduIL-2 was purified by two steps of purification procedures, and approximately 311 mg of rduIL-2/L fermentation supernatant was obtained. SDS-PAGE showed that the purified rduIL-2 constituted a homogeneous band of ~16 kDa or ~14 kDa corresponding to the glycosylated or non-glycosylated duIL-2 protein in size, respectively. The bioactivity of rduIL-2 was determined by lymphocyte proliferation assay. The result indicated that the rduIL-2 greatly promoted the proliferation of ConA-stimulated lymphocytes in vitro. The P. pastoris expression system described here could provide promising, inexpensive, and large-scale production of the rduIL-2, which lays the foundation for development of novel immunoadjuvants to enhance both the immunity of ducks against various infectious pathogens and vaccine efficacy.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.305-314
• /
• 2000

Recombinant inteileukin-2 (IL-2) is a potent inductive stimulus for nitric oxide synthesis (NO.) and has been demonstrated as an antineoplastic agent in mice and human. But it is not let clear whether NO. can contribute to IL-2-induced therapeutic responses. Therefore, the current experiment was undertaken to clarify the effect of IL-2 on antitumor response against subcutaneous Meth-A tumor in mice. At the beginning of each experiment, normal BALB/c mice were injected subcuta-neously with $5{\times}10^6 Meth-A$ tumor cells. Some mice were implanted with osmotic minipumps con- taining 225 $\mu$l of 3.38 M $N^{\gamma}$ -monomethyl-L-arginine (MLA. an NOS inhibitor). Beginning on day 7, experimental groups were treated with a f-day course of IL-2 (50,000 lU,75,000 nJ,100,0007, 50,000 IU+MLA, 75,000 IU+MLA, 100,000 IU+MLA intraperitoneal injection every 12 hours for 5 days). The result of this experiment revealed that Meth-A tumor grew progressively in control mice. Intraperitoneal IL-2 treatment decreased tumor growth and prolonged survival. compared with con-trol mice. But no significant differences among 50.000 lU.75.000 lU and 100,000 lU of 7-2 treat-ment were observed. MLA administration prevented partially the decrease tumor growth and prolong survival of IL-2 treated mice compared with mice receiving IL-2 alone.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.260-269
• /
• 2015

The protective effects of extract powder of Angelica gigas on the degeneration of the articular cartilage in rats was investigated with monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis, The treatment of high concentration (50 μg/mL) of Angelica gigas effectively inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production induced by interleukin-1α (IL-1α) without any cytotoxicity. Specifically, mRNA and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were dose dependently reduced by extract powder of Angelica gigas. Importantly, mRNA expression in articular cartilage of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were clearly reduced. The inflammatory cytokines in blood were also reduced as well. These results suggested that the protective effects on the degeneration of the articular cartilage was derived from the inhibitory effects of mRNA and protein expression of tested inflammatory cytokines which is linked to prevent the degradation of proteoglycan (PG), the main matrix content in articular cartilage. Meanwhile, the 2 hrs incubation of decursin, a major compound of extract powder in rat whole blood rapidely converted decursin into decursinol which shows string anti-inflammatory activity. The coverted decursinol was detected after 8 hrs in whole blood by LC-MS/MS. Conclusively, the inhibitory effects of inflammatory cytokines production in osteoarthritis may be derived from the production of decursinol, which performs against inflammatroy cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.45-57
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Daucus carota sativa has been frequently used as food supplements in many of the Asian countries, and a nutritional medical drug in traditional medicine. This research investigated the effects of Daucus carota sativa extract (DCE) on acute phases of inflammation in Raw 264.7 cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in terms of the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Methods : NO, $PGE_2$, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and interleukin-6 contents were assayed by ELISA, and expressions of inflammation-related proteins such as inducible NO synthase (iNOS) were determined by immunoblot analyses. Results : DCE treatment attenuated the LPS ability to increase the productions of NO and $PGE_2$ as well as the protein level of iNOS in a concentration-dependent manner. Consistently, treatment of the cells with DCE suppressed the production of TNF-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and interleukin-6. DCE also caused decreases of inhibitor of ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ phosphorylation induced by LPS in the cells, which means DCE inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. Furthermore, DCE blocked LPS-induced phosphorylation of p38 and SAPK/JNK. Conclusion : This study showing here may be of help to understand the action mechanism of DCE, and provide the information for the medical use of Daucus carota sativa for the inflammatory disease.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.11
• /
• pp.5399-5403
• /
• 2012

Aims and Background: Human leukocyte antigen-G and interleukin-2 receptor play pivotal roles in the proliferation of lymphocytes, and thus generation of immune responses. Their overexpression has been evidenced in different malignant hematopoietic diseases. This study aimed to validate serum soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) as an additional tool for the diagnosis and follow up of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Subjects and Methods: Both markers were determined by ELISA in the serum of 33 ALL pediatric patients before treatment and after intensification phase of chemotherapy as well as in the serum of 14 healthy donors that were selected as a control group. Results: ALL patients showed abnormal CBC and high serum lactate dehydrogenase, which were improved after chemotherapy. Also, there was a non-significant increase in serum sHLA-G in ALL patients compared with the control group. However, after chemotherapy, sHLA-G was increased significantly compared with before treatment. On the other hand, serum sIL-2R in ALL patients was increased significantly compared with the control group. After chemotherapy, sIL-2R decreased significantly compared with before treatment. Conclusions: From these results it could be suggested that measurement of serum sHLA-G might be helpful in diagnosis of ALL, while sIL-2R might be useful in diagnosis and follow-up of ALL in pediatric patients.