Gentian violet's effect on the histology and level of cytokines in the spleen of mice

Abstract

Other than being used as a dye in textiles, automotive, ink paper, ceramics and toilet sanitary,Gentian Violet, a triphenylmethane dye, is known by its antibacterial, antiviral, antihelminthic and anti-tumor effects. However, it is very toxic, on humans and animals, at a high concentration. Although many studies focused on determining the biological and pharmacological role of triphenylmethane dyes in mice, the effect of Gentian Violet on the immune response has not been well-known yet. This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of Gentian Violet on spleen as to histology and cytokines levels. BALB/C mice were treated intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 150 μg/mice or 5mg/kg,3 times with 48h between consecutive injections. Using a biopsy protocol(microtomy and microscopy),the histology of extracted spleen treated with GV indicated its immunomodulatory effects as compared to the positive control (LPS) and negative control (naïve + PBS) with the presence of lymphoid follicles and infiltration of. Then, a quantitative measurement of cytokines was also performed using ELISA kits. In general, Gentian Violet decreases the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1ß and leads to a trend in increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, IL-4, and IL-13. Therefore, gentian violet seems to favor ananti-inflammatory and Th2 rather than a Th1response paving the road for more studies investigating potential role of this triphenylmethane dye in immunotherapy.