TRIPTERIGIUM WILFORDII EXTRACT AS A REGULATOR OF SPONTANEOUS AND IN VITRO STIMULATED CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS

Abstract

Background. The analysis of traditional, primarily Chinese, medicine is the subject of close attention of modern medicinal substances developers. One of the important, frequently used plant substrates is Tripterygium Wilfordii, which is used as an antiinflammatory agent, including for the treatment of skin diseases. However, the mechanisms of action of this agent, particularly in such a widespread disease as atopic dermatitis, still need to be investigated. Aim. To study of the effect of Tripterygium Wilfordii extract on in vitro cytokine production in normal and atopic dermatitis patients. Materials and Methods. In a culture of the effect of Tripterygium Wilfordii extract on spontaneous and phytohemagglutinininduced synthesis of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, TNFα, IFNγ was evaluated in mononuclear cells culture obtained from healthy donors and patients with atopic dermatitis using enzyme immunoassay test systems Cloud-Clone Corp. (CCC, Wuhan) Results. It was found that the level of spontaneous cytokine synthesis in patients with atopic dermatitis was significantly increased, while the response to the mitogenic stimulus was sharply reduced, absent or inverted. Tripterygium Wilfordii extract in all samples, except for intact cells of healthy donors, showed a pronounced inhibitory effect. Conclusions. Under in vitro conditions, cultured mononuclear cells of patients with atopic dermatitis produce a greater amount of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, TNFα, IFNγ, which indicates the activation of the cytokine function. Tripterygium Wilfordii extract has a pronounced inhibitory effect, especially on activated cells. The use of Tripterygium Wilfordii extracts seems reasonable for promising pharmaceutical substances.