BACKGROUND: Cosmos caudatus Kunth is a medicinal herb used traditionally in Latin America and South East Asia to retard aging, rigidify bones and for several cardiovascular uses.
OBJECTIVE: Is to assess C. caudatus extract/fractions' antioxidant and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) migration and invasion inhibition capacity in vitro.
METHODS: Cosmos caudatus shoots were extracted by cold maceration in 50% ethanol to produce crude (CEE), and then the extract was fractionated to butanol (Bu.F), and aqueous fractions (Aq.f). Phenolics and saponins were quantified in extract and fractions by colorimetric methods and their antioxidant capacity was assayed in four different tests. Cytotoxic effect and safety level concentrations were determined for the fractions by using MTT assay. Migration and invasion inhibitory potential were measured in vitro at three different concentrations equivalent to (IC10, IC25, and IC50). Finally, invasion inhibitory index was calculated to obtain the best fraction(s) that show(s) the highest ratio of cell invasion inhibition to the total cell migration inhibition.
RESULTS: Butanol fraction yield was the lowest; nevertheless, its phytochemical contents, antioxidant activities as well as its potency were the highest. Unlike other fractions, Bu.F was strongly correlated with all antioxidant assays experimented. In addition, it has the highest inhibitory effect at IC25 against VSMCs migration and invasion that accounts for 53.93% and 59.94% respectively. Unexpectedly, Bu.F and CEE at IC10 displayed the highest invasion inhibitory index (approx. 68%).
CONCLUSION: Butanol fraction of C. caudatus offers a potentiality for the discovery of new leads for preventing atherosclerosis.
METHODS: Plasmodium berghei infection in male ICR mice was used as the rodent model of choice. The time course of IL-35 expression in the systemic circulation and tissues of P. berghei infected mice as well as their healthy control counterparts was assessed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry respectively. The effect of modulating IL-35 by recombinant IL-35 protein or neutralizing anti-Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 antibody on the cytokine environment during P. berghei infection was assessed by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the influence of modulating IL-35 on histopathological hallmarks of malaria and disease progression was evaluated.
RESULTS: Interleukin-35 was significantly up regulated in serum and tissues of P. berghei infected mice and correlated with parasitaemia. Neutralization of IL-35 significantly enhanced the release of IFN-γ, decreased the expression of IL-6 and decreased parasitaemia patency. Neutralization of IL-35 was also associated with a tendency towards increased survival as well as the absence of pathological features associated with malaria infection unlike recombinant IL-35 protein administration which sustained a normal course of infection and unfavourable malaria associated histological outcomes in P. berghei infected mice.
CONCLUSION: These results indicate the involvement of IL-35 in P. berghei induced malaria infection. IL-35 neutralization strategies may represent viable therapeutic modalities beneficial for the resolution of malaria infection.