Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory activity of oligopeptides derived from oat (Avena nuda L.) (OOPs). Healthy female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to five groups, given deionized water (control) and 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 g/kg body weight (BW) of OOPs daily by intragastric administration. Seven assays were performed to determine the immunomodulatory effects of OOPs on immune organ ratios, cellular and humoral immune responses, macrophage phagocytosis, and natural killer (NK) cell activity. Spleen T lymphocyte subpopulations (by flow cytometry), serum cytokine and immunoglobulin levels (by multiplex sandwich immunoassays) were determined to evaluate how OOPs affected the immune system. Our results showed that OOPs could significantly improve innate and adaptive immune responses in mice through the enhancement of cell-mediated and humoral immunity, macrophage phagocytosis capacity, and NK cell activity. We concluded that the immunomodulatory effects might be attributed to increased T and Th cell percentages, serum interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-1 α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) secretions as well as immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgG, and IgM productions. These results indicate that dietary OOPs could be considered as promising immunomodulators with dosages ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 g/kg BW.
Highlights
With growing unhealthy lifestyles as well as the exposure to stress and environmental extremes, impacts on the immune system have drawn great attention [1]
We aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of oat (Avena nuda L.) oligopeptides (OOPs) by intragastric administration in BALB/c mice with deionized water treatment as a control, and explored the possible mechanisms
OOPs, mainly composed of small molecule oligopeptides derived from oat (Avena nuda L.) bran, can be potential immunomodulators to enhance adaptive and innate immunities which form the immune system in vertebrates
Summary
With growing unhealthy lifestyles as well as the exposure to stress and environmental extremes, impacts on the immune system have drawn great attention [1]. Several drugs and chemicals have been developed as immunostimulants to modulate human immunity; further investigations of other approaches are required due to their high cost and inevitable side effects [2]. Nutritional interventions have raised great expectations for their effectiveness and wide applications to enhance innate and adaptive immunities as well as resistance to diseases. Various active ingredients derived from natural foods have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in immunity enhancement. Bioactive peptides derived from food proteins have been shown to be promising in immune modulation for their low-molecular weights, highly digestible and absorbable features, and immunomodulatory, Nutrients 2019, 11, 927; doi:10.3390/nu11040927 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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