Division of Antiviral Chemotherapy, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2011 Nov;11(11):1932-8. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2011.08.003. Epub 2011 Aug 19.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells that connect innate and adaptive immunity. DCs are considered as a major target for controlling excessive immune responses. In this study, the effect of cepharanthine (CEP), a biscoclaurine alkaloid isolated from Stephania cepharantha Hayata, on murine DCs was examined in vitro. CEP inhibited antigen uptake by DCs at a concentration between 1 and 5 μg/ml. Although CEP did not inhibit the expression of costimulatory molecules and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I in DCs, the compound inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced DC maturation determined by the expression of costimulatory molecules and MHC class I. In addition, CEP could reduce the production of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in LPS-stimulated DCs. DCs treated with CEP were found to be a poor stimulator of allogeneic T cell proliferation and interferon-γ production from the cells. These results suggest that CEP may have great potential as an immunoregulatory agent against various autoimmune diseases and allergy.
树突状细胞（DCs）是一种专门的抗原呈递细胞，连接先天免疫和适应性免疫。DCs 被认为是控制过度免疫反应的主要靶点。在这项研究中，体外研究了从Stephania cepharantha Hayata 中分离得到的双稠哌啶生物碱千金藤素（CEP）对小鼠 DCs 的作用。CEP 在 1 至 5μg/ml 的浓度下抑制 DCs 摄取抗原。虽然 CEP 不抑制 DCs 表面共刺激分子和主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）I 类的表达，但该化合物抑制 LPS 诱导的 DC 成熟，这可通过共刺激分子和 MHC I 类的表达来确定。此外，CEP 可减少 LPS 刺激的 DC 中白细胞介素-6 和肿瘤坏死因子-α的产生。用 CEP 处理的 DC 被发现对同种异体 T 细胞增殖和干扰素-γ的产生的刺激作用较差。这些结果表明，CEP 可能具有作为针对各种自身免疫性疾病和过敏的免疫调节剂的巨大潜力。
