Immunophenotyping of normal individuals classified on the basis of human dosha prakriti

Abstract

Background:Human variations related to immune response and disease susceptibility is well-documented in Ayurveda. Prakriti (body constitution) is the basic constitution of an individual established at the time of birth and distinguishes variations, into three broad phenotype categories such as vata, pitta and kapha. Variation in immune response is often attributed to and measured from the difference in cluster differentiation (CD) markers expressed in lymphocytes. Currently, there are no reports available on the expression of CD markers related to prakriti.Objective:This is a pilot study performed to evaluate a panel of lymphocyte subset CD markers in dominant prakriti individuals.Materials and Methods:Immunophenotyping was carried out using whole blood from a total of healthy 222 subjects, who are grouped into kapha (n = 95), pitta (n = 57) and vata (n = 70) prakritis. CD markers such as CD3, CD4, CD8, CD14, CD25, CD56, CD69, CD71 and HLA-DR were analyzed using flow cytometry method. Differences between groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparisons between groups were performed by Bonferroni or Mann-Whitney U test with corrections for type I error respectively. Significance was evaluated by ANOVA and Pearson's correlation.Results:We observed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the expression of CD markers such as CD14 (monocytes), CD25 (activated B cells) and CD56 (Natural killer cells) between different prakriti groups. CD25 and CD56 expression was significantly higher in kapha prakriti samples than other prakriti groups. Similarly, slightly higher levels of CD14 were observed in pitta prakriti samples.Conclusion:Significant difference in the expression of CD14, CD25 and CD56 markers between three different prakriti is demonstrated. The increased level of CD25 and CD56 in kapha prakriti may indicate ability to elicit better immune response, which is in conformity with textual references in Ayurveda.

Determinants of Prakriti, the Human Constitution Types of Indian Traditional Medicine and its Correlation with Contemporary Science

“…We have reported a higher level of expression of CD14 markers in pitta and CD25 and CD56 in kapha prakriti , the later correlates with higher immune response observed in individuals with kapha prakriti. [ 36 ] These observations are consistent with what is described in ayurvedic texts.…”

DNA methylation analysis of phenotype specific stratified Indian population

“…Gene expression analyses performed among the three prakriti have also identified biochemical and hematological differences [ 20 ]. Previously we have showed differences in expression of cluster differentiation markers CD14, CD25 and CD56 among prakriti phenotypes by immunophenotyping [ 21 ].…”

Genome-wide analysis correlates Ayurveda Prakriti

“…Concept of Prakriti in Ayurveda and its relationship with genomics was hypothesized over a decade ago 6 . Subsequent studies have attempted to correlate Prakriti classification with genetic information and association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in HLA-DRB1 7 , CYP2C19 8 , EGLN1 9 , inflammatory and oxidative stress related genes 10 , CD markers for various blood cells 11 12 , DNA methylation alterations 13 and risk factors of cardiovascular or inflammatory diseases have been reported 14 . While these studies have shown the association of specific genes with the phenotype of a particular Prakriti , the association of genomic variations with Prakriti classification was lacking.…”