Effects of Flos lonicerae extracts on the activation and proliferation of mouse lymphocytes in vitro

Objective To investigate the effects of Flos lonicerae(FL)extracts on the activation and proliferation of mouse lymphocytes in vitro and to elucidate the mechanism of the immunosuppressive effect of FL.Methods Lymphocytes isolated from lymphoid nodes of Balb/c mouse were stained with fluorescence-conjugated monoclonal antibodies.The flow cytometry analysis was employed to detect the effects of FL on the activation of mouse lymphocytes treated with ConA.The effects of FL on the proliferation rate of mouse lymphocytes were also analyzed by CFDA-SE staining.Results The results indicated that FL could significantly inhibit the expression of CD69,CD25,and CD71 of mouse lymphocytes treated with ConA in a concentration-dependent way,while CFDA-SE analysis showed the proliferation of mouse lymphocytes was obviously inhibited by different concentrations of FL.Conclusion The activation and proliferation of the lymphocytes treated with ConA in vitro is significantly inhibited by FL,indicating FL is a potential immunosuppressive agent.