University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi, United States
Purpose: Immulina is a high-molecular weight polysaccharide preparation from Arthrospira platensis with Braun’s lipoproteins as its major immune enhancement component. Previous studies have shown it activates Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 signaling pathway, resulted in activation of nuclear factor NF-κB and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in monocytes/macrophages. Animal studies revealed consumption of Immulina could elevate the production of IgA and IL-6 from isolated Peyer’s patch cells, indicating an impact to innate immune system. However, evidence of enhanced innate immunity is still limited. Here, we aim to explore whether orally given a recently developed aqueous Immulina formulation (nano-Immulina) in our lab could impact the innate immune biomarkers in mice peripheral blood. Methods: Immunophenotyping of major circulating innate immune cells (Natural killer cells, monocytes, neutrophils) population was performed in mice orally given nano-Immulina via flow cytometry. Next, a flow-cytometry based immune functional assay was tested and standardized to evaluate the circulating neutrophil phagocytosis activity. Results: Immunophenotyping revealed no significant change of major innate immune cells population in mice blood after 21 days of nano-Immulina treatment. However, a significant enhancement of neutrophil phagocytosis activity was observed. Conclusion: The results indicated that oral gavage of nano-Immulina could enhance the function of innate immune cells in mice peripheral blood but did not break the balance of a normal immune system by changing the cell populations directly.
