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A homogalacturonan from Hippophae rhamnoides L. Berries enhance immunomodulatory activity through TLR4/MyD88 pathway mediated activation of macrophages.
International journal of biological macromolecules
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 2017
Pages: 1039 - 1045
Sources ID: 106316
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Our previous study isolated a natural high-methoxyl homogalacturonan (HRWP-A) from Hippophae rhamnoides and showed antitumor activity in vivo. In this study, the immunomodulatory activity and mechanisms of action of HRWP-A were further investigated. Results showed that HRWP-A could recover the body condition and activated macrophage in Cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressed mice. Further, we investigated the possible mechanism underlying the effects of HRWP-A on mouse peritoneal macrophages. qPCR and western blot revealed that HRWP-A upregulated the expression of TLR4 mRNA in vitro. This process was accompanied by a clear increase in MyD88 expression and p-IκB-α, but these effects were largely abrogated by pretreatment with anti-TLR4 antibodies. The effects of HRWP-A on macrophage NO, IL-1β and IL-6 production were also inhibited by anti-TLR4 antibodies and were greatly influenced by the NF-κB inhibitor PDTC. Moreover, HRWP-A failed to induce the production of NO, IL-1β and IL-6 in peritoneal macrophages prepared from C3H/HeJ mice, which have a point mutation in the Tlr4 gene, suggesting the involvement of the TLR4 molecule in HRWP-A-mediated macrophage activation. These results may have important implications for our understanding of the structure-activity relationship of immunopotentiating polysaccharides from medicinal herbs.