In vitroimmunosuppressive and cytotoxic activities ofTripterygium wilfordiiextract

Abstract

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. (TW) is a traditional herbal medicine which has been widely used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. However, adverse reactions of TW such as hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity have been frequently reported in clinic. With the aim to evaluate the potency and toxicity of TW, we collected eleven batches of TW from different localities across Chinese mainland, and investigated the inhibition of their methanol extracts on the proliferation of mouse spleen lymphocytes, normal human hepatocyte (L-02) cells and African green monkey kidney (COS-7) cells. TW extracts with three different concentrations were designed as the experimental groups. Our present findings provided consistent evidence that TW had significant concentration-dependent inhibitory action on lymphocytes, L-02 and COS-7 cells. At the concentrations of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/mL, most TW groups showed statistically significant inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation when compared with the control group (p < 0.01), and the inhibition of TW extract on lymphocytes was almost equal to 1.0 mg/mL aspirin (p > 0.05). In most test groups, significant toxicities were shown on L-02 cells at 0.6 and 3.0 mg/mL (p < 0.01), and on COS-7 cells at 3.0 mg/mL (p < 0.01). At 3.0 mg/mL, almost all TW groups exerted obvious toxicities toward L-02 and COS-7 cells which were equal to or even higher than 1.0 mg/mL aspirin. In view of these results, further studies are needed to elucidate the relations among the effective component, curative effect and toxicity of TW to ensure its effectiveness and safety for human consumption.

Cordyceps militaris fruit body extract ameliorates membranous glomerulonephritis by attenuating oxidative stress and renal inflammation via the NF-κB pathway

“…32,33 Tripterygium wilfordii is a widely used herbal medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases; however, its adverse reactions including hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity have been frequently reported in the clinic. 34 CM is a traditional Chinese herb medicine. Its nature of a crude drug suggests that it is a multi-effective component, which might target many molecules in the signaling of inflammation and oxidative stress.…”

The expression of TwDXS in the MEP pathway specifically affects the accumulation of triptolide

“…Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., known as Lei Gong Teng or ‘thunder duke vine’ in Chinese, is a commonly used medicinal plant with anti‐inflammatory, immunosuppressive and anticancer effects (Sylvester et al , He et al ). The history of its medicinal usage can be traced back to the Ming dynasty (AD 1476).…”

Tripterygium�wilfordii mitigates hyperglycemia-induced upregulated Wnt/β-catenin expression and kidney injury in diabetic rats

“…Tripterygium wilfordii (TW) is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that has been used to treat a variety of primary and secondary glomerular diseases due to its effectiveness in attenuating proteinuria ( 8 ). Previous studies have demonstrated that TW has potent anti-inflammatory and regulatory properties, as well as the ability to promote mesangial cell apoptosis and protect podocytes from inflammatory injury ( 9 , 10 ). TW has been extensively used in China for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), nephrotic syndrome ( 11 ), and has been used to treat patients with DN ( 12 ); however, it has not yet been determined whether TW is able to modulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling in kidney tissue.…”