Transcription profiling of mouse dendritic cells reveals stimulatory effect of Echinacea purpurea extract on trafficking activity

To seek scientific evidence supporting therapeutic use of Echinacea, the transcriptomic effects of Echinacea purpurea extract on mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) were analyzed using primary cultures. Affymetrix DNA microarray and bioinformatics analyses of genes differentially expressed in DCs treated with [BF/S+L/Ep] for 4 or 12 h revealed that the majority of responsive genes were related to cell adhesion or motility (Cdh10, Itga6, Cdh1, Gja1 and Mmp8), or were chemokines (Cxcl2, Cxcl7) or signaling molecules (Nrxn1, Pkce and Acss1). Experiment Overall Design: BMDCs from mice were treated with [BF/S+L/Ep] or DMSO for 4 h or 12 h in duplicates.