Mycophenolic acid inhibits inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase and suppresses immunoglobulin and cytokine production of B cells.

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) reversibly inhibits inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme involved in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides. Previously, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the pro-drug of MPA, was shown to exert beneficial effects on the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-like disease in MRLlpr/lpr mice. In this study, MPA's immunomodulating effects in vitro on the B cell hybridoma MAR 18.5 were investigated. The cells were exposed for MPA at either 1 or 10 microM for 24 h, and the levels of immunoglobulins, cytokines and lactate dehydrogensase in supernatants were measured. The frequency of immunoglobulin producing cells and the proliferation and viability of the cells was also investigated. MPA exposure reduced the frequency of immunoglobulin producing cells, decreased the levels of immunoglobulins and cytokines in the supernatants, and decreased the cell proliferation. MPA was slightly cytotoxic as indicated by increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and reduced viability. All MPA-induced effects were totally reversed by the addition of guanosine to the cultures. Thus, since activated B lymphocytes play a central role in lupus and our results show that B cells are targets for MPA, we propose that direct effects on B cells may be an important mechanism for the ameliorating effects of MMF in SLE.