The effect of Astragali Radix Ethanol extract on Murine CD4 T cells′ Cytokine Profiles in vitro

The effect of Astragali Radix Ethanol extract on Murine CD4 T cells′ Cytokine Profiles in vitro

Astragali Radix(AR), one of the strong tonic herbs, is known to improve immunological responses in mice and human. In this study, AR's ai-reinforcing effect was examined in the context of CD4/sup +/ T cells' TCR/CD3 induced activation responses. In order to evaluate the direct effect of AR on helper T cells, CD4/sup +/ T cells are isolated using magnetic bead and their proliferation and CD69 expression in AR treated medium were assessed with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 activation for 48h. CD4 T cells' proliferation was slightly increased but there was little effect on CD69 expression. RT PCR and ELISA equally demonstrated that IL-2 and IL-4 production was increased but IFN-ν was down-regulated. This shows AR ethanol extract favors Th2 cytokine profile under neutral conditions.