RESEARCH - In vitro modulation of inflammatory cytokine and IgG levels by extracts of Perna canaliculus

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BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Jan 13;6:1.

In vitro modulation of inflammatory cytokine and IgG levels by

extracts of Perna canaliculus.

Mani S, Lawson JW.

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Clemson University,

Clemson, SC 29634, USA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is a predominant characteristic of autoimmune

diseases which is characterized by the increased expression of

pro-inflammatory cytokines. Soon to be published work from our

laboratory has shown that ingestion of Perna canaliculus prevents the

development of autoimmune diseases such as Systemic Lupus

Erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis in laboratory animals. The

current paper attempts to illustrate how Perna can alleviate

inflammation by modulating inflammatory cytokines, cyclooxygenase

enzymes and Immunoglobulin-G (IgG) levels.

METHODS: In the present study, hydrochloric acid [HCl] and Tween-20

were used to develop extracts of Perna. These extracts were assayed

for protein content. Increasing concentrations of these extracts were

then tested in cell culture for modulation of inflammatory cytokine,

cyclooxygenase enzymes and IgG levels. Parallel tests were run using

an available glycogen extract of Perna as a comparison to our in-house

laboratory preparations.

RESULTS: Tween-20 Perna extracts were found to be more stable and less

toxic in cell culture than HCl digest of Perna. They also assayed

higher in protein content that HCl extracts. Although both extracts

inhibited IgG production in V2E9 hybridomas, Tween-20 extracts were

more consistent in IgG suppression than HCl extracts. Overall Tween-20

extracts effectively decreased levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-2 and

IL-6 as observed using cytokine bioassays. Twenty micrograms of

Tween-20 Perna extracts induced such significant decreases in

inflammatory cytokine production that when tested on sensitive cell

lines, they very nearly abolished the decrease in viability induced by

these cytokines. Tween-20 extracts effectively inhibited both COX-1

and COX-2 cyclooxygenase activity. As a comparison, the glycogen

extract also demonstrated a similar though weaker effect on COX-1 and

COX-2 enzymes. The active components of both extracts (Tween-20 and

glycogen) were observed to possess molecular weights above 100 kDa.

Although the anti-cytokine activity of the Tween-20 extract was

destroyed by Proteinase-K treatment, the anti-COX-1 and anti-COX-2

activity of both the extracts were not sensitive to protease

treatment.

CONCLUSION: We have successfully demonstrated modulation in the levels

of inflammatory cytokines, cyclooxygenase enzymes and immunoglobulins

by our in-house laboratory preparations of Perna canaliculus, whereby

suggesting an immunomodulatory role of Perna canaliculus in regulating

inflammation.

PMID: 16412227

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16412227

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Read the full article here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1388237/?tool=pubmed

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