Immunomodulation in female B6C3F1 mice following treatment with Chai-Ling-Tang, a formula consisting of twelve herbs

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Chai-Ling-Tang (CLT) is a traditional Chinese herbal decoction consisting of twelve different herbs, and it has been used to treat a number of immune related disorders. However, the mechanism for its clinical effectiveness was not fully understood. In this study, CLT's effect on the immune system of female B6C3F1 mice was evaluated by examining the IgM antibody forming cell (AFC) response; natural killer (NK) cell activity; the expression of splenocyte surface markers; concanavalin (Con) A and anti-CD3 antibody-mediated T-lymphocyte proliferation; lipopolysaccharide-mediated-B cell proliferation, and the host resistances to the $Listeria$ $monocytogenes$ bacterial infection and B16F10 melanoma. The results from these studies suggest that the administration of CLT at doses between 400 and 800 mg/kg/day by gavage for 28 days modulates the immune response in female B6C3F1 mice by increasing the number, percentage, and activity of NK cells, both Con A and anti-CD3 antibody-mediated T-cell proliferation, the number of neutrophils, and the host resistance to $L.$ $monocytogenes$ infection. On the other hand, B cell activity was decreased at the 800 mg/kg dose level. In conclusion, CLT produced an enhancement of host resistance to $Listeria$ $monocytogenes$ infection possibly through modulating the function of neutrophils, T cells and NK cells in female B6C3F1 mice using a T regulatory cell-related mechanism.