Immunomodulatory effects of astragalus polysaccharide on Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells co-cultured with cervical cancer cell lineImmunomodulatory effects of astragalus polysaccharide on Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells co-cultured with cervical cancer cell line

OBJECTIVE:To investigate immunomodulatory effects of Astragalus polysaccharides(APS)on the co-culture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)with He La cervical cancer cell line.METHODS:To assess the proliferation of PBMCs,carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester(CFSE)-labeled PBMCs were co-cultured with He La cells and treated with different concentrations of APS.Supernatants of cell culture were collected for cytokines assay via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The impact of APS on the proliferation of PBMCs,induction of regulatory T cells(Tregs),and myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)was carried out by flow cytometry.RESULTS:It was observed that APS could increase the proliferation of PBMCs co-cultured with He La cells(P<0.05).However,APS had no significant effects on the induction of Tregs and MDSCs in the co-culture assay(P>0.05).Furthermore,ELISA results demonstrated that APS could decrease IL-10 and TGF-βconcentration(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The above-mentioned characteristics showed that APS might be able to modulate immune responses and improve anti-tumor effects through increasing the proliferation of PBMCs and decreasing inhibitory cytokines secretion as critical mediators of immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment.