Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides potentiate the growth-inhibitory activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors against pulmonary metastatic melanoma in mice

Astragalus membranaceus (A. membranaceus) is commonly used in various herbal formulations to treat several human and animal diseases. Polysaccharides, which are the major bioactive components in the A. membranaceus, exhibit various bioactive properties. However, the ability of A. membranaceus polysaccharides (APS) to activate the mucosal immune response has not been examined. We examined the effect of intranasal administration of APS on mucosal immune cell activation and the growth-inhibitory activity against pulmonary metastatic melanoma in mice by combination treatment with immune checkpoint blockade. The intranasal treatment of APS increased the number of lineage(-)CD11c(+) dendritic cell (DCs) in the mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN) through the upregulation of CC-chemokine receptor 7 expression. Moreover, intranasal treatment of APS activated DCs, which further stimulated natural killer (NK) and T cells in the mLN. The APS/anti-PD-L1 antibody combination inhibited the pulmonary infiltration of B16 melanoma cells. The depletion of NK cells and CD8 T cells in mice mitigated the anti-cancer effect of this combination, thereby highlighting the critical role of NK cells and CD8 T cells in mediating anti-cancer immunity. These findings demonstrated that APS could be used as a topical mucosal adjuvant to enhance the immune check point inhibitor anti-cancer effect. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Intranasal administration of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides (APS) activated mucosal immune cell populations and inhibited pulmonary metastatic melanoma in mice by stimulating NK cells and T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes. The combination treatment of APS with anti-PD-L1 antibody showed a synergistic effect in inhibiting melanoma cell infiltration, with NK cells and CD8 T cells playing a critical role in mediating the anti-cancer immunity. These findings suggest that APS could serve as a topical mucosal adjuvant to enhance the anti-cancer effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors.