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Oh, Pae, Choi, Kwon, Yun, Choi, Kwon, Park, and Chung: Effects of Oral Administration of Phellinus linteus on the Productions of the Th1- and Th2-type Cytokines in Mice
Original Article

Immune Network 2003; 3(3): 182-187.

Published online: 30 September 2003

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4110/in.2003.3.3.182

Effects of Oral Administration of Phellinus linteus on the Productions of the Th1- and Th2-type Cytokines in Mice

Gi-Su Oh1, 2, Hyun-Ock Pae1, Byung-Min Choi1, Ji-Wung Kwon3, Yeong-Ho Yun3, Jeong-Ho Choi3, Tae-Oh Kwon2, 3, Young-Chul Park4, Hun-Teag Chung1, 2

1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Cheonbuk 570-749, Korea.

2Medicinal Resources Research Center of Wonkwang University, Iksan, Cheonbuk 570-749, Korea.

3Division of Horticulture and Pet Animal-Plant Science, College of Life Science and Natural Resources, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Cheonbuk 570-749, Korea.

4Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (BK21 Program), Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan 602-714, Korea.

Correspondence to: Hun-Taeg Chung, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, 344-2 Sinyong-dong, Iksan, Cheonbuk 570-749, Republic of Korea. (Tel) 063-850-6762, htchung@wonkwang.ac.kr

Copyright © 2003 The Korean Association of Immunologists

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background

The mushroom Phellinus linteus (PL) has been shown to have the anti-tumor and immunostimulatory effects. We hypothesized that the hot water extract of PL (WEPL) exerts its significant immunostimulatory effect by inducing production of the Th1-derived cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) by T lymphocytes.

Methods

T lymphocytes were isolated from the mice fed with 200 mg/kg of WEPL once a day for 4 weeks, and then stimulated with the mitogen concanavaline A (Con A). IFN-γ gene and intracellular protein expressions were analyzed by RT-PCR and flow cytometry, respectively. The production of IFN-γ was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

WEPL significantly enhanced the transcription of IFN-γ mRNA. The effect of WEPL on IFN-γ expression was further supported by a concomitant increase in the number of cells with intracellular IFN-γ protein as well as the secretion of IFN-γ. However, WEPL did not modulate either gene expression or protein secretion of interleukin-4, a Th2-associated cytokine, by Con A-stimulated T lymphocytes.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that one of the potentially beneficial anti-tumor and immunostimulatory effects of WEPL may be mediated through the enhancement of IFN-γ secretion by T lymphocytes.

Keywords: Phellinus linteus, interferon-γ, immunity, T lymphocyte

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