Imperatorin and beta-sitosterol have synergistic activities in alleviating collagen-induced arthritis
JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY
Authors: Guo, Qingqing; Li, Li; Zheng, Kang; Zheng, Guang; Shu, Haiyang; Shi, Yingjie; Lu, Cheng; Shu, Jun; Guan, Daogang; Lu, Aiping; He, Xiaojuan
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease with complex molecular network of pathophysiology, single drug is usually not full satisfactory because it is almost impossible to target the whole molecular network of the disease. Drug combinations that act synergistically with each another is an effective strategy in RA therapy. In this study, we aimed to establish a new strategy to search effective synergized compounds from Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used in RA. Based on multi-information integrative approaches, imperatorin (IMP) and beta-sitosterol (STO) were predicted as the most effective pair for RA therapy. Further animal experiments demonstrated that IMP+STO treatment ameliorated arthritis severity of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats in a synergistic manner, whereas IMP or STO administration separately had no such effect. RNA sequencing and IPA analysis revealed that the synergistic mechanism of IMP+STO treatment was related to its regulatory effect on 5 canonical signaling pathways, which were not found when IMP or STO used alone. Moreover, LTA, CD83, and SREBF1 were 3 important targets for synergistic mechanism of IMP+STO treatment. The levels of these 3 genes were significantly up-regulated in IMP+STO group compared to model group, whereas IMP or STO administration separately had no effect on them. In conclusion, this study found that IMP and STO were 2 synergistic compounds from the CHM in RA therapy, whose synergistic mechanism was closely related to regulate the levels of LTA, CD83, and SREBF1.
Interleukin 35: Inhibitory regulator in monocyte-derived dendritic cell maturation and activation
CYTOKINE
Authors: Chen, Xi; Hao, Shengnan; Zhao, Zhonghua; Liu, Jia; Shao, Qianqian; Wang, Fang; Sun, Dong; He, Ying; Gao, Wenjuan; Mao, Haiting
Abstract
IL-35, a novel IL-12 family member, is a potent inhibitory cytokine predominantly produced by regulatory T and B lymphocytes that exerts optimal suppression in immune response. However, it remains unclear whether IL-35 plays an inhibitory role on human dendritic cells. In the present study, we focused on the possible immunosuppressive effect of IL-35 on the differentiation, maturation and function of monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs). Addition of exogenous IL-35 was able to partially suppress MoDCs differentiation in vitro. Subsequently, LPS was used for the maturation of MoDCs and IL-35 was found to mainly restrain the maturation of MoDCs, characterized by the remarkable down-regulation of costimulatory molecules, CD83 and HLA-DR as well as a reduced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-12p70, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha). Furthermore, IL-35-treated MoDCs exhibited strong inhibition in the proliferation of allogeneic CD4(+)/CD8(+) T lymphocytes. Meanwhile, IL-35-treated MoDCs also suppressed the polarization of naive CD4(+) T lymphocytes towards Th1 phenotype and impaired CD8(+) T cells allogeneic responses. And the foregoing suppression of MoDCs maturation and function by IL-35 might be due to the aberrant activation of STAT1/STAT3 and inhibition of p38 MAPK/NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Our results demonstrated for the first time that IL-35 played a critical role in modulating not only adaptive immune response, but also innate immune response. The inhibitory effect of IL-35 on MoDCs maturation and function may facilitate the development of promising therapeutic interventions in tumors and other diseases.