tretinoin and puerarin

The disruption of intestinal mucosal immune tolerance can lead to the development of intestinal immune diseases such as food allergy (FA). Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the mucosa play a critical role in maintaining peripheral immune tolerance in the intestine, and retinoic acid (RA) is absolutely required for the induction of Tregs. We have previously reported that kakkonto, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, suppresses FA in a murine FA model due to the induction of Tregs in the colonic mucosa. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the induction of Tregs remain unclear. Puerarin, an isoflavone derivative, is a major constituent of kakkonto. Thus, we investigated the effect of puerarin on the induction of Tregs. BALB/c mice were systemically sensitized and then orally challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) as an FA model. Puerarin treatment suppressed the development of allergic diarrhea in FA mice. The gene expression levels of IL-4 and mast cell protease I (mMCP-1) were significantly upregulated in the proximal colon of FA mice but were reduced by puerarin. The proportions of Foxp3

Topics: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Dendritic Cells; Disease Models, Animal; Food Hypersensitivity; Forkhead Transcription Factors; Immune Tolerance; Intestinal Mucosa; Isoflavones; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Knockout; Mice, Transgenic; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory; Tretinoin; Vasodilator Agents

Topics: Apoptosis; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Flavonoids; Humans; Isoflavones; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute; Tretinoin