Immunomodulatory Effects Of Dihydroartemisinin On Mice Infected With Toxoplasma Gondii And Plasmodium Berghei

Artemisia annua is an anti-fever herbal medicine described in traditional Chinese.Artemisinin,the extract of A.annua,has been used for the treatment of malaria.Dihydroartemisinin(DHA)introduces hydroxyl groups into the original structure of artemisinin,thereby increasing its antimalarial activity.At present,DHA has been shown to display anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects,it has also been used for the treatment of lupus erythematosus,but the mechanism of action has not been very clear.Therefore,this experiment used DHA as an experimental drug to study the regulatory effect of artemisinin on the murine immune system was systematically investigated in mice infected with two different protozoan parasites(Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium berghei).After the mice were infected parasite,the DHA was treatment at different time points.The changes in the number of B cells,T helper cells(Th),CD8~+T cells,natural killer cells(NK),and natural killer T cells(NKT)in the splenic and circulatory of infected parasite mice were analyzed by flow cytometry.Serum was collected at the same time,and serum cytokines were detected using a multi-factor detection kit.The experimental data showed that the number of splenic CD8~+T cells and spleen index in the DHA group were significantly increased in a certain period of time.In T.gondii-infected mice,DHA up-regulated splenic and circulating Th cells and CD8~+T cells and downregulated splenic B cells.DHA up-regulated the number of splenic and circulating Th,CD8~+T,NK,NKT cells and DHA suppresses proinflammatory cytokine responses in P.berghei-infected mice.These experimental data show that:DHA can actively modulate the immune system of mice,mainly including(1)up-regulated the number of splenic and circulating Th,CD8~+T,NK,NKT cells;(2)to make the dysregulated cytokine levels normal;(3)inhibit B lymphocyte production;(4)maintain the balance of the host immune system.