Activation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5 (STAT5) in Splenocyte Proliferation of Asthma Mice Induced by Ovalbumin

To investigate the role of signal transducer and transcriptional activator 5(STAT5)activated in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced splenocyte proliferation of asthma mice,an asthma mouse model was set up by intraperitoneal injection and aspiration of OVA with nebulizer.The proliferation of splenocytes isolated from the asthma mice was detected by [~3H]thymidine incorporation.The phosphorytation of STAT5 was examined by Western blotting and STAT5-DNA binding was measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA).OVA could pronouncedly induce the splenocyte proliferation of asthma mice in a dose-dependent manner compared with control groups.Phosphorylation of STAT5 and STAT5-DNA binding were observed in splenocytes from asthma mice induced by OVA at 1 h and 3 h.These results indicated that STAT5 signal pathway played an important role in lymphocyte proliferation of asthma mice induced by OVA.Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2004;1(6):471-474.

Differential Effects of Yin- and Yang-Chinese Tonifying Herbs on Innate and Adaptive Immunity

The present study investigated the effect of treatment with methanolic extracts of Yin- and Yang-Chinese tonifying herbs on concanavalin A (Con A)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated splenocyte proliferation (adaptive immunity) and natural killer (NK) cell activity (innate immunity) in an ex vivo mouse model. The results indicated that while treatment with most Yin herbal extracts potentiated the Con A/LPS-stimulated splenocyte proliferation, only Yang (but not Yin) herbal extracts stimulated NK cell activity. The differential effects of Yin- and Yang-Chinese tonifying herbs on innate and adaptive immunity are consistent with the Chinese medicine theory which depicts the Yin and Yang functional components of Zheng Qi (vital energy), with the Yang component being responsible for the first line of defense against invading microorganisms (i.e., innate immunity) and the Yin oner serving as a follow-up defensive response (adaptive immunity).