Carthamus tinctorius Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Dendritic Cell Vaccines via Polarization toward Th1 Cytokines and Increase of Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes

Carthamus tinctorius (CT), also named safflower, is a traditional Chinese medicine widely used to improve blood circulation. CT also has been studied for its antitumor activity in certain cancers. To investigate the effects of CT on the dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine in cancer treatment, cytokine secretion of mouse splenic T lymphocytes and the maturation of DCs in response to CT were analyzed. To assess the antitumor activity of CT extract on mouse CD117+ (c-kit)-derived DCs pulsed with JC mammal tumor antigens, the JC tumor was challenged by the CT-treated DC vaccine in vivo. CT stimulated IFN-γ and IL-10 secretion of splenic T lymphocytes and enhanced the maturation of DCs by enhancing immunological molecule expression. When DC vaccine was pulsed with tumor antigens along with CT extract, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were dramatically increased with a dose-dependent response and more immunologic and co-stimulatory molecules were expressed on the DC surface. In addition, CT-treated tumor lysate-pulsed DC vaccine reduced the tumor weight in tumor-bearing mice by 15.3% more than tumor lysate-pulsed DC vaccine without CT treatment. CT polarized cytokine secretion toward the Th1 pathway and also increased the population of cytotoxic T lymphocytes ex vivo. In conclusion, CT activates DCs might promote the recognition of antigens and facilitate antigen presentation to Th1 immune responses

Potential Use of Plectranthus amboinicus in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Plectranthus amboinicus (P. amboinicus) is a folk herb that is used to treat inflammatory diseases or swelling symptoms in Taiwan. We investigated therapeutic efficacy of P. amboinicus in treating Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) using collagen-induced arthritis animal model. Arthritis was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with bovine type II collagen. Serum anti-collagen IgG, IgM and C-reactive protein (CRP) were analyzed. To understand the inflammation condition of treated animals, production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β from peritoneal exudates cells (PEC) were also analyzed. P. amboinicus significantly inhibited the footpad swelling and arthritic symptoms in collagen-induced arthritic rats, while the serum anti-collagen IgM and CRP levels were consistently decreased. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were also decreased in the high dosage of P. amboinicus group. Here, we demonstrate the potential anti-arthritic effect of P. amboinicus for treating RA, which might confer its anti-rheumatic activity. This differs the pharmacological action mode of indomethacin