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Immunomodulatory effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester in Balb/c mice

2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 4; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.intimp.2004.01.013

1878-1705

Jae Hyun Park, Jong Kwon Lee, Hyung Soo Kim, Seung Tae Chung, Juno H. Eom, Kyunga Kim, Se Jin Chung, Soon Young Paik, Hye Young Oh,

Exercise and Physiological Responses

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an the active component of propolis, is known to have anticarcinogenic, antiviral and various biological activities; however, the effect of CAPE on the immunomodulatory activity in vivo remains unknown. We have investigated the effect of CAPE on the immune system in female Balb/c mice. CAPE (0, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg) was given to mice orally for 14 days. Immunomodulatory activity was evaluated by assessment of body and organ weight, lymphocyte blastogenesis, plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay, lymphocyte subpopulation by flow cytometry and cytokine production. Even though the change of body weight was not observed in CAPE-administered group, thymus weight and/or cellularity of thymus and spleen are decreased at the all dose groups of CAPE (5, 10, 20 mg/kg). On the other hand, CAPE had no effect on B lymphocyte proliferation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) but increased T lymphocyte blastogenesis induced by concanavalin A (Con A) at the dose of 20 mg/kg. In the case of lymphocyte subpopulation, the population of T and B cells was not changed but CD4+ T cell subsets are significantly increased in exposure to CAPE. The antibody responses to T lymphocyte dependent antigen, sheep red blood cell and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) were increased more than 10 mg/kg in CAPE-treated group. Likewise, the cytokine, IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-γ were significantly increased at the dose of 20 mg/kg CAPE group. These results suggest that CAPE could have immunomodulatory effects in vivo.