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. 2019 Oct 9;24(20):3632.
doi: 10.3390/molecules24203632.

A Polysaccharide Isolated from Codonopsis pilosula with Immunomodulation Effects Both In Vitro and In Vivo

Yuan-Feng Zou  1 , Yan-Yun Zhang  2 , Yu-Ping Fu  3 , Kari Tvete Inngjerdingen  4 , Berit Smestad Paulsen  5 , Bin Feng  6 , Zhong-Kai Zhu  7 , Li-Xia Li  8 , Ren-Yong Jia  9 , Chao Huang  10 , Xu Song  11 , Cheng Lv  12 , Gang Ye  13 , Xiao-Xia Liang  14 , Chang-Liang He  15 , Li-Zi Yin  16   17 , Zhong-Qiong Yin  18   19
Affiliations

A Polysaccharide Isolated from Codonopsis pilosula with Immunomodulation Effects Both In Vitro and In Vivo

Yuan-Feng Zou et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

In this study, an acidic polysaccharide from Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L. T. Shen (WCP-I) and its main fragment, WCP-Ia, obtained after pectinase digestion, were structurally elucidated and found to consist of a rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) region containing both arabinogalactan type I (AG-I) and type II (AG-II) as sidechains. They both expressed immunomodulating activity against Peyer's patch cells. Endo-1,4-β-galactanase degradation gave a decrease of interleukine 6 (IL-6) production compared with native WCP-I and WCP-Ia, but exo-α-l-arabinofuranosidase digestion showed no changes in activity. This demonstrated that the stimulation activity partly disappeared with removal of β-d-(1→4)-galactan chains, proving that the AG-I side chain plays an important role in immunoregulation activity. WCP-Ia had a better promotion effect than WCP-I in vivo, shown through an increased spleen index, higher concentrations of IL-6, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in serum, and a slight increment in the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and CD4+/CD8+ T lymphocyte ratio. These results suggest that β-d-(1→4)-galactan-containing chains in WCP-I play an essential role in the expression of immunomodulating activity. Combining all the results in this and previous studies, the intestinal immune system might be the target site of WCP-Ia.

Keywords: Codonopsis pilosula; Peyer’s patch; immunomodulation; polysaccharide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Elution profiles. (A) elution profile of WCP by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sepharose Fast Flow; (B) size exclusion chromatography elution profile of fraction WCP-I (black) and its degradation product by pectinase (red).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cell viability of Peyer’s patch cells. Cell viability was expressed as the absorption value in 450 nm according to the manufacturer’s instructions for CCK-8 kits. The different marked letters indicate a significant difference, p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
IL-6 secretion in the supernatant culture of Peyer’s patch cells. The different marked letters indicate a significant difference, p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immune organ indexes of C3H/HeJ mice treated with WCP-I and WCP-Ia. The different marked letters indicate a significant difference, p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cytokine secretion in serum of C3H/HeJ mice treated with WCP-I and WCP-Ia. The different marked letters indicate a significant difference, p < 0.05.
Figure 6
Figure 6
sIgA secretion of C3H/HeJ mice treated with WCP-I and WCP-Ia. All the values show sIgA concentration in ileum tissues, and the different marked letters indicate a significant difference, p < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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