Effects of Tripterygium wilfordii saponins and interleukin-10 on dendritic cells from human peripheral blood.
AIM
To study the effects of Tripterygium wilfordii (TII) and IL-10 on human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) and CD80 expressions and IL-12 p40 subunit production and transcription of dendritic cells (DC) in human peripheral blood from healthy volunteers in vitro.


METHODS
DC were generated by culturing plastic-adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells with GM-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-4, and TNFalpha. The expressions of HLA-DR and CD80 were examined by flow cytometry after the cells were stained with immunofluorescence antibodies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis were used to detect IL-12 p40 protein level and mRNA transcription, respectively.


RESULTS
TII 5 - 20 mg/L and IL-10 50 - 200 microg/L greatly down-regulated the membrane expressions of HLA-DR and CD80 on DC in a concentration-dependent manner. IL-12 p40 production and mRNA transcription were also inhibited in DC both by TII and by IL-10.


CONCLUSION
TII and IL-10 exert immunosuppressive role via inhibiting membrane expressions of HLA-DR and CD80 and synthesis of IL-12 p40 subunit in DC.