INFLUENCE OF SOME TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINES (TCMS) ON CYTOKINE-INDUCED KILLER CELLS PROLIFERATION AND ANTI-TUMOR FEATURES IN VITRO

Some traditional Chinese medical (TCM) formulations shown to have anti-tumor actions in patients with various solid tumours. However, the mechanisms of the potential anticancer action are rarely reported. In the present study, we found that extracts from pharmaceutical raw materials consisting of ROR (Red ginseng, Ophiopogon japonicus, Radix Astragali) could significantly improve the proliferation rate and cytotoxic activity of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, which is a heterogeneous population of polyclonal T lymphocytes sharing NK (Natural Killer) phenotype and functional properties. The extracts were prepared using modified ethanol-water reflux method. Pharmacodynamic test results showed that 5% ROR-adding CIK Cells group performs 2.8 folds proliferation multiples than that of no ROR-adding CIK cells group, meanwhile the cytotoxic activity to K562 tumor cell has also a significant difference between them. In conclusion, ROR-adding CIK cells group exhibits stronger proliferation and cytotoxicity than no ROR-adding CIK cells group, and the results provided a new experimental evidence for TCM’s application in CIK-immunotherapy.