الفهرس 
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Abstract
Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) have been newly used as carriers for
vaccines against several viral infections. We developed a prophylactic vaccine for
hepatitis C virus (HCV) using CD11c+ DCs expanded in vivo by Berberis vulgaris root
extract (BRE) and loaded ex vivo with HCV-NS3 (EDC-NS3). Methods:
Characterization of BRE was done through the assessment of the phytochemicals,
antioxidant, anti-HCV, anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the
immunomodulatory effects. Female BALB/c mice were treated with BRE, and then the
splenic CD11c+ DCs were purified and efficiently loaded ex vivo with HCV-NS3
protein for vaccine preparation. IL12, IFN-γ, IL4, IL10, MHCII, CD3, NO, indoleamine
2, 3 dioxygenase (IDO) and total proteins were evaluated. In addition, the cytotoxic Tlymphocyte
and the humoral immune responses were examined. Moreover, liver
function tests were assessed. Results: The results showed that BRE has potent
antioxidant activities and it contains phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid and triterpenoid
compounds in different quantities. In addition, BRE inhibited HCV replication and
HepG-2 cell growth and enhanced lymphocytes proliferation. Moreover, CD11c+ DCs
progressly expanded in vivo by BRE. Also, the results showed that, immunization with
EDC-NS3 (vaccine) overexpressed IL12, IFN-γ and IL4, upregulated MHCII and
induced strong HCV-NS3 specific cellular and humoral immune responses. In contrast,
the CD3 level, IDO activity, and IL10 expression were downregulated, while the levels
of NO and total protein were slightly changed. Also, abnormal liver function tests were
observed postvaccination. Conclusion: EDC-NS3 vaccine immunization serves as a
new modality for immunoprophylaxis of HCV but further investigations were required to confirm its safety on the liver and other organs.