Jin-Young Son

Soluble components of hericium erinaceum induce NK cell activation via production of interleukin-12 in mice splenocytes

AbstractAim:To investigate the immunoregulatory functions of water extracts of Hericium erinaceum (WEHE) focusing on natural killer (NK) cell-based anticancer activities.Methods:Mouse splenocytes or purely isolated NK cells were stimulated with 1-100 mg/L WEHE for 24 h followed by co-culture with 51Cr-labled Yac-1 cells for 4 h, then NK cell-derived cytolytic activity was measured using a radio-release assay. Neutralizing antibodies against mouse interleukin-12 (IL-12) were added into the WEHE-stimulated splenocytes, thereafter, cytotoxicity was measured to examine the involvement of IL-12. RT-PCR and ELISA analyses were performed to confirm the induction of transcription and the translation of IL-12 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in the WEHE-treated splenocytes.Results:WEHE enhanced the cytolytic activity of total splenocytes towards Yac-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, this activation was not observed when the NK cells isolated from the splenocytes were treated with WEHE. Furthermore, the treatment with antibodies against IL-12 abolished the effect of WEHE on splenocyte-derived cytolytic activity. RT-PCR and ELISA analyses showed the induction of IL-12 and IFN-gamma in the WEHE-treated splenocytes.Conclusion:WEHE indirectly activates the cytolytic ability of NK cells via the induction of IL-12 in total splenocytes, and possibly via other immuno-mediators or cellular components.

Myelophil, an extract mix of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, ameliorates chronic fatigue: A randomised, double-blind, controlled pilot study

OBJECTIVES To investigate the anti-fatigue effects of Myelophil, an extract of a mix of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, which has been used to treat patients with chronic fatigue. SUBJECTS AND DESIGN A randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was performed with 36 adults who complained of chronic fatigue. The subjects were divided among a control group and low- and high-dose groups (3 or 6g of oral Myelophil per day, respectively) and were monitored for 4 weeks. Fatigue severity was subjectively characterised, and the expression of 42 cytokines was evaluated using an antibody array. RESULTS Myelophil administration (3g per day) significantly decreased the fatigue severity score compared with the control (p<0.05). No changes were noted in cytokine expression. CONCLUSIONS Myelophil appears to have a pharmacological effect against fatigue, suggesting the clinical relevance of the traditional medicinal plants, Astragalus membranaceus and Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Chemotherapy-induced myelotoxicity and incidence of lung metastasis in an animal model

We examined how chemotherapy-induced myelotoxicity and the associated leukopaenia affect cancer metastasis in an animal model. Myelotoxicity was induced by a single injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or Cisplatin, administered to 7-week-old BALB/c mice. CT-26 murine colon carcinoma cells were injected into the lateral tail vein on days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 after anticancer drug injection. On day 14 after cancer cell injection, the number of pulmonary colonies was measured in a double-blind setting. Compared with Cisplatin, 5-FU induced severe leukopaenia and bone marrow suppression, while on day 5, both drugs induced severe myelotoxicity. The number of pulmonary colonies did not correlate with the severity of leukopaenia, regardless of the type or time of drug injection, except in the group pretreated with Cisplatin (3 days prior to cancer cell injection). Our results suggest that chemotherapy-induced myelotoxicity does not increase the incidence of cancer metastasis in this animal model.