Abstract
Lycium barbarum L. is a widely used functional food and medicinal herb in Asian countries. L. barbarium polysaccharides (LBP) are considered as one of the major medicinal components of L. barbarium fruit and exhibits a wide range of biological activities. Here, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of LBP and its uptake behaviors at the cellular level. LBP was prepared by water extraction and ethanol precipitation, and divided into two fractions based on the molecular weight distribution by ultrafiltration (LBP > 10 kDa and LBP < 10 kDa). The physicochemical properties of LBP and LBP fractions were well characterized. The LBP > 10 kDa fraction greatly enhanced the viability of macrophages RAW264.7 cells and induced cell polarization, but had weak effects to other tested tumor cell lines and normal cell line. This fraction could regulate the production of NO, TNF-α, IL-6 and ROS in RAW264.7 cells, suggesting both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. The dye-labeled LBP could be internalized into all tested cell lines and accumulated in lysosomes. The internalization of LBP in RAW264.7 cells is mainly through the clathrin-mediated endocytosis pathway. The Caco-2 intestinal transport experiment demonstrated that the dye labeled LBP could be transported through the Caco-2 cell monolayer (mimic intestinal epithelium) through clathrin-mediated endocytosis. These results demonstrate the immunomodulatory effects of LBP and its effective uptake by macrophages and intestine.
Highlights
Lycium barbarum L. has been widely used as a functional food and medicinal herb in China and other Asian countries for centuries [1]
The biological activities of polysaccharides are mainly affected by their high-order structure, the linkage mode of main chain glycosidic bonds [21], molecular weight [22], degree of polymerization, degree of branching of side chains, monosaccharide composition and functional groups [23], etc
Groups, which might be contributed by the reduction end portion of glycosides and the peptide bonds, because L. barbarium polysaccharides (LBP) is glycoprotein complexes
Summary
Lycium barbarum L. has been widely used as a functional food and medicinal herb in China and other Asian countries for centuries [1]. L. barbarium polysaccharides (LBP) are one of the major medicinal components of L. barbarium fruit and exhibits a wide range of biological activities, such as antioxidant [3,4], neuroprotection [5,6], radioprotection [7], hepatoprotection [8,9], anti-osteoporosis [10], antifatigue [11], and immunomodulation [12,13,14,15,16]. Detailed extraction steps and structural characterization are necessary for reference comparison of the biological activity of the polysaccharide
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