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. 2024 Feb 22;16(5):597.
doi: 10.3390/nu16050597.

Immuno-Enhancing Effects of Galium aparine L. in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppressed Animal Models

Seo-Yeon Lee  1 , Seo-Yeon Park  1 , Hee-Jung Park  1
Affiliations

Immuno-Enhancing Effects of Galium aparine L. in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppressed Animal Models

Seo-Yeon Lee et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This study investigates the immunomodulatory potential of Galium aparine L. (GAE) in immunodeficient animals. In this study, animals were categorized into five groups: the normal group, CYP group (cyclophosphamide intraperitoneal injection), GA5 group (cyclophosphamide + 5 μg GAE), GA50 group (cyclophosphamide + 50 μg GAE), and GA500 group (cyclophosphamide + 500 μg GAE). The CYP group exhibited significantly reduced spleen weights compared to the normal group, while the groups obtaining GAE displayed a dose-dependent increase in spleen weight. Furthermore, the GAE demonstrated dose-dependent enhancement of splenocyte proliferating activity, with significant increases observed in both LPS and ConA-induced assays. NK cell activity significantly increased in the GA50 and GA500 groups compared to the CYP group. Cytokine analysis revealed a significant increase in IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ levels in ConA-induced splenocytes treated with GAE. Gene expression analysis identified 2434 DEG genes in the extract groups. Notable genes, such as Entpd1, Pgf, Thdb, Syt7, Sqor, and Rsc1al, displayed substantial differences in individual gene expression levels, suggesting their potential as target genes for immune enhancement. In conclusion, Galium aparine L. extract exhibits immunomodulatory properties. The observed gene expression changes further support the potential of Galium aparine L. extract as a natural agent for immune augmentation.

Keywords: Galium aparine L. extract; NK cell activity; cyclophosphamide; immune stimulation; splenocyte proliferation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of Galium aparine extracts on white blood cell differential count and composition (%) in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Control group (saline), CYP: cyclophosphamide injection; G5 group: 5 mg/head GAE injection; G50 group: 50 mg/head GAE injection; G500 group: 500 mg/head GAE injection. (A) WBC number. (B) WBC differential counting. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD, showing significant differences (p < 0.05) with different letters among the 5 groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of Galium aparine extracts on T and B cell proliferation in splenocytes of Balb/c mice immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide. (A) T-lymphocyte proliferation. (B) B-lymphocyte proliferation. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD, showing significant differences (p < 0.05) with different letters among the 5 groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of Galium aparine extracts on natural killer cell activity against Yac-1 (effector cell: YAC-1 = 5:1 or 2.5:1) in the splenocytes of mice immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide. Control (saline), CYP: cyclophosphamide injection; G5 group: 5 mg/head GAE injection; G50 group: 50 mg/head GAE injection; G500 group: 500 mg/head GAE injection. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD, showing significant differences (p < 0.05) with different letters among the 5 groups.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of Galium aparine extracts on TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-γ production from ConA-stimulated primary splenocytes prepared from cyclophosphamide-treated mice. (A) TNF-α. (B) IL-6. (C) IFN-γ. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD, showing significant differences (p < 0.05) with different letters among the 5 groups for each ConA treatment condition.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes in mRNA expression. (A) Volcano plot (B) The number of up-regulated and down-regulated genes. |Fold change| ≥ 2, p < 0.05.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Top 10 terms of GO functional analysis between Galium aparine and the control. (A) Biological process. (B) Cellular component. (C) Molecular function.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Top 10 terms of GO functional analysis between Galium aparine and the control. (A) Biological process. (B) Cellular component. (C) Molecular function.
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