3.2 Effects of Interleukin-12 IL-12

3.2 Effects of Interleukin-12 (IL-12)

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is an immune regulatory factor and also an angiogenesis inhibitor. It has multiple biological functions: ① Promoting the development of naive helper T lymphocytes (Th cells) into Th1 cells, enhancing the expression of the Th1 cell IL-12Rβ2 chain, and promoting the synthesis and secretion of Th cell cytokines, especially interferon-γ (IFN-γ); ② Promoting the activation and proliferation of NK cells, enhancing their cytotoxic activity, and inducing both resting and activated NK cells to produce IFN-γ; ③ Directly activating neutrophils, strengthening their phagocytic and bactericidal abilities, and promoting the secretion of IFN-γ by peripheral blood leukocytes; ④ Promoting the division and proliferation of B cells, causing proliferating B cells to differentiate into plasma cells and secrete IgM; ⑤ Promoting the growth of hematopoietic stem cells, which can work synergistically with IL-2 to enhance the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells; ⑥ Inducing the production of IFN-γ, which in turn induces the production of interferon-induced protein-10 (IP-10) and interferon-γ-induced monokine (MIG), both of which inhibit tumor angiogenesis. IL-12 plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of tumors, infections, autoimmune diseases, and other conditions, significantly inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis, improving the body's immune function, and suppressing tumor angiogenesis. [30]

Using ELISA to measure the concentration of IL-12 in the serum of tumor-bearing mice, the experiment showed that different dosages of Pei's Shengxue Granules all increased the level of IL-12 in the serum of tumor-bearing mice. Among them, the high- and medium-dose PG groups had significant differences compared with the model group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the PG dosage groups and the ZG group (p>0.05). The experimental results show that PG can increase the level of IL-12 in the serum of tumor-bearing mice, improve the body's immune function, and inhibit tumor growth and metastasis.

In summary, Pei's Shengxue Granules has a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of H₂₂ tumors in mice; it increases the weight of the immune organs—the thymus and spleen—of tumor-bearing mice, thereby enhancing the body's non-specific immune function; it significantly inhibits VEGF expression in tumor tissue of tumor-bearing mice and simultaneously increases the level of IL-12 in the serum. This suggests that one of the mechanisms behind PG's anti-tumor effect may be downregulating VEGF expression in tumor tissue and upregulating IL-12 levels in the serum, thereby inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and achieving anti-tumor effects.

III. Conclusion