Download Effect of honey as an immunomodulator against invasive

Journal of Apicultural Research 53(1): 84-90 (2014)
© IBRA 2014
DOI 10.3896/IBRA.1.53.1.08
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Effect of honey as an immunomodulator against
invasive aspergillosis in BALB/c mice
Donya Nikaein1, Ali Reza Khosravi1*, Zahra Moosavi2, Hojjatollah Shokri3, Ahmad Erfanmanesh4,
Hassan Ghorbani-Choboghlo1 and Hadi Bagheri5
1
Mycology Research Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
3
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran.
4
Academic Center of Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran.
5
Faculty of veterinary medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2
Received 21 October 2012, accepted subject to revision 16 August 2013, accepted for publication 1 October 2013.
*
Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]
Summary
Invasive aspergillosis has become an increasing problem in immunocompromised patients in recent years. Due to increased antimicrobial
resistance, natural agents with medicinal and immunomodulatory effects have gained more attention. Honey is a natural substance with
documented antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects. In this study the effects of three Iranian honeys on some aspects of
innate immunity and survival rate during invasive aspergillosis were investigated. For this purpose, mice were divided into 10 groups (honey
alone, honey and infection, negative and positive controls) each containing 10 individuals. Mice were treated with honey (1.5g/kg BW/orally)
for 10 days. At day 6, Aspergillus fumigatus conidia (5 × 105/ml) were injected intravenously to the infected groups. Mice were euthanized at
day 11, and spleen and peritoneal cell culture was performed. Pro-inflammatory cytokine production using ELISA and killing assay was also
performed. For survival rate, 10 mice from each infected group were considered and monitored for 30 days. The results showed that honey
treatment could significantly increase IL6 and IL1β production in infected mice as well as improve macrophage killing (p < 0.05). Also mice
treated with honey had a greater survival time than the infected group. Our results suggest that honey could boost the immune system and
increase survival time in invasive aspergillosis.
Efecto de la miel como inmunomodulador contra la
aspergilosis invasiva en ratones BALB/c
Resumen
La aspergilosis invasiva se ha convertido en una emergencia en pacientes inmunodeprimidos, en los últimos años. Debido al aumento de la
resistencia a los antimicrobianos, agentes naturales con efectos medicinales e inmunomoduladoras han ido ganando más atención. La miel es
una sustancia natural con efectos documentados antimicrobianos, anti -inflamatorios y de curación de heridas. En este estudio se investigaron
los efectos de tres mieles iraníes sobre algunas partes de la inmunidad innata y la tasa de supervivencia durante la aspergilosis invasiva. Para
este propósito, los ratones se dividieron en 10 grupos (miel solo, miel e infección, y controles negativos y positivos) cada uno conteniendo 10.
Los ratones se trataron con miel (1.5g/kg BW / vía oral) durante 10 días. El sexto día se inyectaron por vía intravenosa conidios de Aspergillus
fumigatus (5 × 105/ml) a grupos infectados. Los ratones fueron sacrificados en el día 11, y se hicieron cultivos celulares de bazo y del
peritoneo. Además, se evaluó la producción de citoquinas pro-inflamatorias mediante ensayos ELISA y de muerte. Para la tasa de
supervivencia se consideraron 10 ratones para cada grupo infectado y se monitorizadron durante 30 días. Los resultados mostraron que el
tratamiento con miel podría aumentar significativamente la producción de IL6 y IL1 en ratones infectados, así como mejorar la muerte de
macrófagos (p < 0,05). También los ratones tratados con miel tuvieron un mayor tiempo de supervivencia que el grupo infectado. En cuanto
a los resultados, se sugiere que la miel podría estimular el sistema inmune y aumentar el tiempo de supervivencia en la aspergilosis invasiva.
Keywords: Honey, Aspergillus fumigatus, invasive aspergillosis, immunomodulation, inflammatory cytokines