Noori Shokoofe, Taghikhani Mohammad, Hassan Zuhair M, Allameh Abdolamir, Mostafaei Ali
Department of Biochemistry, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Iran J Immunol. 2009 Dec;6(4):216-24.
Artemisia diffusa contains a new type of sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide group (Tehranolide).
Due to the existing similarity between the structures of Tehranolide and Artemisinin, it was hypothesized that Tehranolide would have similar effects as Artemisinin. In this study, the immunotherapeutic effectiveness of Tehranolide was investigated by direct intra-tumoral injection.
Tehranolide was purified from Artemisia diffusa, and its effect on the tumor volume was investigated. The splenocyte proliferation, shifting of cytokine profile, and the presence of naturally-occurring CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells were assessed to describe the anti-tumor immune response.
Analysis of immune response showed that, intra-tumoral injection of Tehranolide decreased the rate of tumor growth compared to control group. Furthermore, the proliferative response of mice treated with Tehranolide was enhanced. In comparison with the control group, production of both IL-4 and IFN-gamma was induced (p<0.05). The results indicated a decrease in tumor CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T lymphocytes in the Tehranolide-treated group compared to the control group.
Treatment of tumors with Tehranolide attenuated CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cell-mediated immune suppression and elicited a persistent anti-tumor immunity against cancer.
白花蒿含有一种新型的带有内过氧化物基团的倍半萜内酯（去氢青蒿内酯）。
由于去氢青蒿内酯与青蒿素的结构存在相似性，因此推测去氢青蒿内酯可能具有与青蒿素相似的作用。在本研究中，通过直接瘤内注射来研究去氢青蒿内酯的免疫治疗效果。
从白花蒿中纯化出去氢青蒿内酯，并研究其对肿瘤体积的影响。评估脾细胞增殖、细胞因子谱的变化以及天然存在的CD4+CD25+Foxp3+调节性T细胞的存在情况，以描述抗肿瘤免疫反应。
免疫反应分析表明，与对照组相比，瘤内注射去氢青蒿内酯降低了肿瘤生长速率。此外，用去氢青蒿内酯处理的小鼠的增殖反应增强。与对照组相比，白细胞介素-4和γ-干扰素的产生均被诱导（p<0.05）。结果表明，与对照组相比，去氢青蒿内酯处理组的肿瘤CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T淋巴细胞减少。
用去氢青蒿内酯治疗肿瘤可减弱CD4+CD25+Foxp3+调节性T细胞介导的免疫抑制，并引发针对癌症的持续抗肿瘤免疫。
