Unripe carica papaya pulp juice enhances in vitro stem cell expansion and cytokine secretion in stem cell and peripheral blood leukocytes cell cultures

Abstract

Carica papaya is a perennial plant that possesses many nutritional and medicinal values. Various parts of the plant, including the leaves, unripe pulp, seeds and roots have been studied and are reported to be medically beneficial. The leaves for example have been used in the treatment of dengue fever, successfully boosting thrombocyte counts in previously thrombocytopenic patients. This study aims to determine if unripe papaya pulp can also boost thrombocyte production, and the possible underlying mechanism of thrombopoiesis i.e, thrombocyte production using unripe papaya pulp juice (UPPJ). Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL), both of human origin, were treated with different concentrations (2%, 5% and 10%) of UPPJ. The rate of gap closure of the in vitro DPSC scratch assay was significantly (p < 0.01) higher when treated with 10% UPPJ compared to control groups, while the cell viability remained unaffected by addition of UPPJ. Compared to control groups, IL-6 concentration was also significantly (p < 0.01) increased in DPSC and PBL culture supernatant when treated with 10% and 2% UPPJ respectively. As IL-6 is an important cytokine involved in thrombocyte production, the increased IL-6 synthesis suggests that UPPJ has the potential to induce thrombopoiesis, hence it can be considered as a viable option to treat thrombocytopenic conditions including dengue fever.