Eighteen different crude drugs were extracted with hot water and saline, and protein
fractions were prepared from the extracts by ammonium sulfate precipitation. Mitogenic
activities of the protein fractions were examined both on human peripheral blood lymphocytes
and on mouse spleen cells. Potent mitogenic activities for both human and/or mouse
lymphocytes were found in the protein fractions of four crude drugs, namely, Bupleuri
radix, Pinelliae tuber, Sophorae radix, and Zedoariae rhizoma. Target specificities
of these mitogens were investigated by using isolated T and B cells and lymphocytes
from athymic nude mice. Sensitivity to protease digestion as well as water-soluble,
ammonium sulfate precipitable nature assures that the substances responsible for the
mitogenic activities are proteins.
Mitogenic activity - protein fraction - Chinese crude drug - target lymphocyte - Bupleuri
radix - Pinelliae tuber - Sophorae radix - Zedoariae rhizoma
