In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Protective Effects of Codium fragile Extract on Macrophages and Human Keratinocytes in Atopic Dermatitis.

Codium fragile has been traditionally used in oriental medicine to treat enterobiasis, dropsy, and dysuria, and it has been shown to possess many biological properties. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the types of skin inflammation and barrier disruption, which leads to chronic inflammatory skin diseases. In the current investigation, the protective effects of C. fragile extract (CFE) on anti-inflammation and skin barrier improvement were investigated. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, nitric oxide generation and the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)-α were reduced by CFE. CFE also inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB-p65, ERK, p-38, and JNK. Additionally, CFE showed inhibitory activity on TSLP and IL-4 expression in HaCaT cells stimulated with TNF-α/interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Enhanced expression of factors related to skin barrier function, FLG, IVL, and LOR, was confirmed. These findings implied that CFE may be used as a therapeutic agent against AD due to its skin barrier-strengthening and anti-inflammatory activities, which are derived from natural marine products.

Korean Ginseng Berry Polysaccharide Enhances Immunomodulation Activities of Peritoneal Macrophages in Mice with Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression.

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer), a member of the Araliaceae family, is known as a traditional medicinal plant to have a wide range of health properties. Polysaccharides constitute a major component of Korean ginseng, and its berries exhibit immune-modulating properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the immune effects of crude polysaccharide (GBPC) extracted from Korean ginseng berry on peritoneal macrophages in mice with cyclophosphamide (CY)- induced immunosuppression. BALB/c mice were divided into eight groups: normal control, normal control + CY, levamisole + CY, ginseng + CY, and four concentrations of 50, 100, 250, and 500mg/kg BW/day of GBPC + CY. Mice were orally administered with samples for 10 days. Immunosuppression was established by treating mice with CY (80 mg/kg BW/day) through intraperitoneal injection on days 4 to 6. The immune function of peritoneal macrophages was then evaluated. Oral administration of 500mg/kg BW/day GBPC resulted in proliferation, NO production, and phagocytosis at 100%, 88%, and 91%, respectively, close to the levels of the normal group (100%) of peritoneal macrophages. In CY-treated mice, GBPC of 50-500 mg/kg BW/day also dose-dependently stimulated the proliferation, NO production, and phagocytosis at 56-100%, 47-88%, and 53-91%, respectively, with expression levels of immune-associated genes, such as iNOS, COX-2, IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, of about 0.32 to 2.87-fold, compared to those in the CY group. GBPC could be a potential immunomodulatory material to control peritoneal macrophages under an immunosuppressive condition.

Immune-Enhancing Effects of Crude Polysaccharides from Korean Ginseng Berries on Spleens of Mice with Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression.

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer is well known as traditional herbal medicine, and ginseng berries are known to exhibit potential immune-enhancing functions. However, little is known about the in vivo immunomodulatory activity of Korean ginseng berries. In this study, crude Korean ginseng berries polysaccharides (GBP) were isolated and their immunomodulatory activities were investigated using cyclophosphamide (CY)-induced immunosuppressive BALB/c mice. In CY-treated mice, oral administration of GBP (50-500 mg/kg BW) remarkably increased their spleen sizes and spleen indices and activated NK cell activities. GBP also resulted in the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes (coordinating with ConA: plant mitogen which is known to stimulate T-cell or LPS: endotoxin which binds receptor complex in B cells to promote the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines) in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, GBP significantly stimulated mRNA expression levels of immune-associated genes including interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in CY-treated mice. These results indicate that GBP is involved in immune effects against CY-induced immunosuppression. Thus, GBP could be developed as an immunomodulation agent for medicinal or functional food application.

Inhibitory effect of ethanol extract of Ocimum sanctum on osteopontin mediated metastasis of NCI-H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Osteopontin (OPN) is one of important molecular targets in cancer progression, metastasis as a calcium-binding, extracellular-matrix-associated protein of the small integrin-binding ligand and, N-linked glycoprotein. In the present study, anti-metastatic mechanism of ethanol extracts of Ocimum sanctum (EEOS) was elucidated on OPN enhanced metastasis in NCI-H460 non- small cell lung cancer cells. METHODS: Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Adhesion and invasion assays were carried out to see that EEOS inhibited cell adhesion and invasion in OPN treated and non-treated NCI-H 460 cells. RT-PCR was used to determine the mRNA levels of uPA, uPAR, and EGFR. RESULTS: EEOS significantly inhibited cell adhesion and invasion in OPN treated and non treated NCI-H460 cells, though EEOS did not show any toxicity up to 200 µg/ml. EEOS effectively attenuated the expression of OPN and CD44 and also OPN activated the expression of CD44 in NCI-H460 cells. In addition, EEOS effectively suppressed the expression of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and the phosphorylation of Akt at protein level in OPN treated NCI-H460 cells. Also, EEOS significantly attenuated the expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), its receptor (uPAR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) at mRNA level and reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production and MMP-9 activity in OPN treated NCI-H460 cells. Furthermore, PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 enhanced anti-metastatic potential of EEOS to attenuate the expression of uPA and MMP-9 in OPN treated NCI-H 460 cells. CONCLUSION: Overall, our findings suggest that anti-metastatic mechanism of EEOS is mediated by inhibition of PI3K/Akt in OPN treated NCI-H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells.