Abstract

Cordyceps sinensis (CS), a tonic herb in Chinese traditional medicine, is an excellent antitumor agent. However, the underlying mechanisms of its antitumor effects remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the role of C. sinensis in the differentiation and function of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and attempted to elucidate its antitumor mechanisms. We isolated mononuclear cells (MNCs) from CML patients. After incubation with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interlukin-4, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), the MNCs developed the morphological characteristics of DCs in vitro (CML-DCs). The cells were separated according to phenotype by flow cytometric analyses with DC markers. The activity of IL-12 and the effects of stimulation increased in CML DCs prestimulated by polysaccharide fraction of C. sinensis (PSCS) compared to untreated CML-MNCs. Furthermore, the CML-DCs incubated by PSCS resulted in the rapid generation of the costimulatory molecules, CD86 and HLA-DR, and the enhancement of IL-12 expression and stimulatory capacity in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). In summary, these results suggested that PSCS can increase T cell immunoresponse and represent a valuable traditional agent for the rapid generation of active DCs. It may also be utilized for vaccine against CML.

Key words: Dendritic cells, Cordyceps sinensis, chronic myeloid leukemia, differentiation