Phosphorylated Radix Cyathulae officinalis Polysaccharides Act as Adjuvant via Promoting Dendritic Cell Maturation

• Main Authors: Haibo Feng, Sean P. McDonough, Jing Fan, Shiping Yang, Xuelian Zhao, Yong Lu, Yun Gan, Xiao Yi, Yung-Fu Chang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-01-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: Radix Cyathulae polysaccharide; phosphorylation modification; adjuvant; dendritic cell
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/1/106
• ISSN: 1420-3049

The aim of this study was to investigate whether phosphorylated Radix Cyathulae officinalis Kuan polysaccharides (pRCPS) used as adjuvant with foot-and-mouth disease vaccine (FMDV) can stimulate specific humoral and cellular immune responses in ICR mice. The results demonstrated that pRCPS significantly up-regulated FMDV-specific IgG, IgG1, IgG2b and IgG2a antibody levels and splenocyte proliferation. pRCPS also promoted the killing activities of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer cells (NK). In addition, pRCPS enhanced the expression levels of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ in CD4+ T cells and the level of IFN-γ in CD8+ T cells. Importantly, pRCPS enhanced the expression of MHCII, CD40+, CD86+, and CD80+ in dendritic cells (DCs). This study indicated that phosphorylation modification could increase immune-enhancing activities of RCPS, and pRCPS could promote humoral and cellular immune responses through facilitating DC maturation.