kirenol and Colitis--Ulcerative

To investigate whether kirenol, the major pharmacologically active compound of the Chinese medicinal herb. C57BL/6 mice with or without kirenol pretreatment were treated with DSS in drinking water for 7 days to induce UC. The symptoms of UC including weight loss, diarrhea and bloody stool were observed daily and graded using the disease activity index (DAI). Colon injury of the mice was assessed by measuring the length of the colon and HE staining of the colon tissue. The levels of inflammatory cytokines produced by the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) lymphocytes were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the apoptosis of the lymphocytes and CD4. The mice receiving pretreatment with kirenol showed obviously ameliorated symptoms of UC and milder pathological changes in the colon as compared with the control mice. Kirenol treatment significantly down-regulated the secretion of IFN-γ, IL-17A, IL-6 and TNF-α by the MLNs lymphocytes and increased the apoptosis of lymphocytes, especially CD4. Kirenol can protect against T cell-mediated colon injury in DSS-treated mice possibly by suppressing the secretion of inflammatory mediators and inducing apoptosis of the inflammatory lymphocytes.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Colitis, Ulcerative; Cytokines; Dextran Sulfate; Diterpenes; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; T-Lymphocytes