Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Florence, Italy.
J Neuroimmunol. 2010 Jan 25;218(1-2):28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Nov 24.
Azathioprine (Aza), 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 6-Thioguanine (6-TG) are thiopurine drugs widely used as immunosuppressants/anti-inflammatory agents in organ transplantation and chemotherapy. Aza is well tolerated and effective in modifying the course of MS. Here we investigated the action of 6-MP on human dendritic cells (DCs). We described for the first time that 6-MP impairs in vitro differentiation of DCs, has an inhibitory effect during DC activation processes inducing a functionally less immunogenic phenotype. Moreover, 6-MP significantly reduces DC IL-23 production and CCR7 expression, at the same time induces IL-10 augmentation. All these findings add a novel action mechanism in Aza immune modulation.
硫唑嘌呤 (Aza)、6-巯基嘌呤 (6-MP) 和 6-硫鸟嘌呤 (6-TG) 是广泛用作器官移植和化疗中免疫抑制剂/抗炎剂的硫嘌呤药物。Aza 在改善 MS 病程方面具有良好的耐受性和疗效。在这里，我们研究了 6-MP 对人树突状细胞 (DCs) 的作用。我们首次描述了 6-MP 可损害 DCs 的体外分化，在 DC 激活过程中具有抑制作用，诱导具有较低免疫原性表型的功能。此外，6-MP 还可显著降低 DC 产生 IL-23 和 CCR7 的表达，同时诱导 IL-10 的增加。所有这些发现为 Aza 的免疫调节增加了新的作用机制。
