Canscora decussata promotes adhesion of neutrophils to human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Abstract

A regulated expression of cell adhesion molecules, such as ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin, on endothelial cells is essentially required for immune surveillance. Cell adhesion molecules regulate the extravasation and migration of body's effector cells to the site of immune activation. Failure of expression of cell adhesion molecules leads to various pathological diseases as it impairs the individuals' ability to mount an inflammatory response. Our results demonstrate that an aqueous extract prepared from Canscora decussata (CdAqE), promotes the adhesion of peripheral neutrophils to human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The increased adhesion is as a result of induction of the expression of ICAM-1 and E-selectin on endothelial cells. CdAqE increases the expression of steady state transcript levels of these molecules as determined by RT-PCR. These results have implications for the usage of aqueous preparation of C. decussata for upregulation of cell adhesion molecule expression.