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Korean mistletoe lectin (KML-IIU) and its subchains induce nitric oxide (NO) production in murine macrophage cells

  • Published:
Journal of Biomedical Science

Abstract

Synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) is one of the important effector functions of innate immune cells. Although several reports have indicated mistletoe lectins induce immune cells to produce cytokines, studies regarding the activities of the lectins in the production of NO have been very limited. Here, we report on the induction of NO synthesis in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7, by Korean mistletoe lectin (KML-IIU). When the macrophage cells were treated with KML-IIU in the presence of a suboptimal concentration of IFN-γ, NO production was induced in a concentration-dependent manner. Significantly higher levels of NO were induced by subchains of the KML-IIU (A and B), which have lower toxicities, as compared to the hololectin. Furthermore, expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene was elevated in accordance with the level of NO production. When the synthase was inhibited by iNOS inhibitors (L-NIL and L-NAME), NO production was specifically reduced in a concentration-dependent manner. Our studies demonstrate that the KML-IIU and its subchains induce NO production in murine macrophage cells via activation of the iNOS gene expression, suggesting that the KML-IIU subchains may be used as an immunomodulator to enhance the effector functions of innate immune cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Food and Biosciences, Handong Global University, Pohang, 791-708, Korea

    Tae Bong Kang, Kwan Hee Lee, Jong␣Bae Kim & Seong Kyu Song

  2. Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Nonsan City, Korea

    Yung Choon Yoo

  3. Division of Structural and Computational Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637511, Singapore

    Ho Sup Yoon

  4. Department of Immunology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Chungju City, 380-701, Korea

    Erk Her

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  1. Tae Bong Kang
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Correspondence to Seong Kyu Song.

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Kang, T., Yoo, Y., Lee, K. et al. Korean mistletoe lectin (KML-IIU) and its subchains induce nitric oxide (NO) production in murine macrophage cells. J Biomed Sci 15, 197–204 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11373-007-9210-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11373-007-9210-2

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