Chan M A, Kohlmeier J E, Branden M, Jung M, Benedict S H
Department of Microbiology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Phytother Res. 1999 Sep;13(6):464-7. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1573(199909)13:6<464::aid-ptr483>3.0.co;2-4.
The Chinese traditional herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F (TWHF) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune disorders. The major active component of this herb is triptolide and most of the efficacy of this herb immunosuppression is attributed to triptolide. FK506 is also a potent immunosuppressive agent and is currently being used clinically. The present studies compare the effectiveness of triptolide and FK506 to suppress certain human T cell functions. Specifically human T cell proliferation, IL-2 and IFNgamma were compared. The results show that, overall, triptolide is more effective at inhibiting T cell proliferation and IFNgamma production than FK506 and the two compounds inhibit IL-2 production in an equivalent manner.
