Immunological Effects of Chitosan on Bovine Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells In Vitro

Although chitosan is recognized as an immunomodulatory substance, the mechanism of action on bovine immune cells is poorly understood. Herein, we examined the effects of chitosan on PBMCs in vitro. This study analyzed proliferation reaction, IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-12 and IFN-gamma mRNA expression of PBMCs, and CD25 expression of T cells after incubation with chitosan. Chitosan stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes and increased expression of CD25 on CD4(+), CD8(+) and TcR1-N12(+) T cells in a dose dependent manner. There were dose dependent enhancement of expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-12 and IFN-gamma mRNA levels as well, but IL-8 expression did not change significantly. Our results demonstrated that chitosan could stimulate the bovine peripheral T cell function.