Immune activities comparison of polysaccharide and polysaccharide-protein complex from Lycium barbarum L

Lycium barbarum L., known as wolfberry, is an important Chinese herbal medicine. In the research, we purified water-soluble polysaccharide-protein complex (LBPF4) and polysaccharide (LBPF4-OL) from the fruiting bodies of L. barbarum L. The monosaccharide and amino acid composition of LBPF4 and LBPF4-OL was elucidated with fractional acid hydrolization, GC/MC and NMR techniques. LBPF4-OL molecular weight was 181 kDa, as determined by high-performance gel-permeation chromatography (HPGPC). In vitro assay, we found that LBPF4 induced splenocyte proliferations depended on both B cells and T cells, but LBPF4-OL induced splenocyte proliferations mainly depended on B cells. ELISA results showed that both LBPF4 and LBPF4-OL significantly induced TNF-α, IL-1β and NO production on macrophage. We also found that both LBPF4 and LBPF4-OL can enhance macrophage phagocytosis. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) studies suggest that LBPF4 100 μg/ml treatment can more effectively increase NF-κB activity than LBPF4-OL. Taken together, our results demonstrate that LBPF4 can enhance T, B cells and macrophages functions, but LBPF4-OL can only enhance B cells and macrophage functions. This is partly due to LBPF4 being able to more significantly enhance lymphocytes NF-κB activity.