Immunomodulatory activity of wild Artemisia rupestris L. crude polysaccharide as an adjuvant

Objective To investigate the enhancement effect of Xinjiang wild Artemisia rupestris L. crude polysaccharides (WARCP) as an adjuvant on ovalbumin (OVA) vaccine in mice immunized intramuscularly. Methods ICR mice were randomly divided into 6 groups (5 per group), including 9 g/L NaCl group (blank control), OVA group (10 μg OVA), low dose WARCP/OVA group (OVA+50 μg WARCP), medium dose WARCP/OVA group (OVA+200 μg WARCP), high dose WARCP/OVA group (OVA+400 μg WARCP), and aluminum adjuvant (Alum)/OVA group (positive control group, OVA+100 μg Alum). ICR mice were immunized intramuscularly and weighted. The OVA-specific antibodies and subtypes in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). T cells subsets from spleen and lymph nodes were detected by flow cytometry. Results The medium-dose WARCP/OVA group enhanced IgG and IgG1 levels and increased early antibody levels (all P 0.05). The low-dose WARCP/OVA group enhanced the percentage of CD4+ T cells in spleen and CD4+ T, CD8+ T, CD4+CD44+ T cells in lymph nodes (all P<0.05). The medium dose WARCP/OVA group and the high dose WARCP/OVA group enhanced the CD4+ T, CD8+ T, CD4+CD44+ T, CD8+CD44+ T cells in spleen and CD8+CD44+ T cell in lymph nodes (all P<0.05). Conclusions Plant-derived WARCP as an OVA protein vaccine adjuvant can enhance cellular immunity and humoral immunity, and it is safe and reliable. The results in this study provide a theoretical basis for the popularization and application of WARCP. Key words: Wild Artemisia rupestris L.; Crude polysaccharides; Intramuscular immunization; Adjuvant