Immunomodulatory activity of biosilica water on mouse dendritic cells

Biosilica is a material extracted from the shell (cell wall) of Melosira nummuloides, a type of sea diatom, and is one of the widely distributed biominerals. Recently, some studies have revealed that biosilica has a characteristic bio-modulatory activity compared to synthetic silica. However, there has been little research on the effects and action mechanisms of biosilica in immune cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of biosilica water on mouse dendritic cells (DCs), the most potent antigen-presenting cells in immunity, and whether it may alter the function of DCs. Biosilica water decreased the metabolic activity of DCs at 20% concentration (v/v) and the production of IL-1 beta in a concentration-dependent manner. And also, more cells with fragmented nuclei were observed in the DCs treated with 20% biosilica water compared to other treatment groups. The mixed leukocyte response experiment showed the biosilica water-treated DCs significantly modulated the metabolic activity and proliferation of allogeneic spleen cells compared to control DCs. This result suggests that biosilica water may modulate the antigen-presenting capability of DCs. Taken together, this study shows the immunomodulatory activity of biosilica on DCs and may affect immune responses. Further research is needed to investigate the immunological activity of biosilica water.