a total of 2 × 10 5 mouse splenocytes per well were cultured in a humidified atmosphere at 37 ° c . and 5 % co 2 in round - bottomed 96 - well culture plates for five days with the ap compounds at 10 mm . concanavalin a ( 10 mg / ml ) and culture media were used as positive and negative controls , respectively . plates were centrifuged at 1 , 200 rpm for five minutes , and supernatants were collected . the resulting cytokine profile produced after lymphocyte stimulation was analyzed using a fluorescently - labeled protein microarray chip as indicated by the manufacturer ( raybiotech , norcross , ga ., usa ). the immunomodulatory effect of the ap compounds was assessed by in vitro stimulation of mouse lymphocytes for five days . specifically , our preliminary data shows ap - 102 , ap - 103 , ap - 104 , and ap - 205 to induce 2208 , 2575 , 2071 , and 7166 pg / ml of g - csf , respectively , and the ap - 311 , ap - 312 , ap - 102 , ap - 103 , ap - 104 , and ap - 205 induced 551 , 810 , 772 , 1125 , 782 , and 4351 pg / ml of il - 6 , respectively . these data demonstrate the immunostimulatory ability of our ap compounds . il - 6 is secreted by macrophages after a stimuli like pamps . this cytokine has an important role mediating fever and the acute phase response . the acute phase response is an early - defense system activated by the onset of infection , trauma , inflammatory processes , neoplastia , stress , and some malignant conditions . “ miller - keane encyclopedia and dictionary of medicine , nursing , and allied health ”, seventh edition , ( 2003 ) by saunders , an imprint of elsevier , inc . ; and cray et al ., “ acute phase response in animals : a review ”, comp med . 2009 december ; 59 ( 6 ): pp . 517 - 526 . it has a critical role against bacterial infections , as it is required for the resistance mechanisms against the bacteria streptococcus pneumonia . our data shows that il - 6 is produced by all the compounds tested in this project . specifically , 184 , 270 , 257 , 375 , 261 , and 1445 pg / ml of il - 6 was produced by ap311 , ap312 , ap102 , ap103 , ap104 , and ap205 . respectively . among the tested compounds , ap205 induced the highest release of il - 6 . gcsf is a glycoprotein produced by macrophages with the role of stimulating the production of granulocytes and stem cells from the bone marrow . it also has a role in the survival , proliferation , differentiation , and function of mature neutrophils and their precursors . the therapeutic role of this cytokine has been commercially exploited by several pharmaceutical corporations . specifically , cancer patients are in myelosuppression conditions , therefore , they lack of sufficient levels of white cells for disease control , making them susceptible to infections and sepsis . as gcsf has the capacity to produce granulocytes , it is used for the control of neutropenia in cancer patients , enhancing their quality of life . moreover , during the hematopoietic stem cell transplant , gcsf is administered to the transplant donor to enhance the amount of hematopoietic stem cells before collecting by leukapheresis . in our study , we observed levels of gcsf of 736 , 858 , 690 , and 2336 pg / ml , when stimulated with ap102 , ap103 , ap104 , and ap205 , respectively . this information is extremely important , as gcsf is currently used for the re - establishment of neutrophils and granulocytes in cancer patients under chemotherapy . based on this information , the compounds will perform their antitumoral activity through re - establishment of neutrophil and granulocytes . both , il - 6 and gcsf are important for the protection against several pathogenic infections . the capacity of il - 6 to promote neutrophil survival in the lung protects against h1n1 influenza . the interrelation between il - 6 and gcsf has been well documented . il - 6 and gcsf have a crucial role protecting against candida infections . interestingly , all of our compounds produce both il - 6 and gcsf , which support their potential use against infections . il - 12 is an heterodimer coded by two genes ( p35 and p40 ). the p70 heterodimer is the active form . il - 12 is involved in the differentiation of the naive t - cells to th1 . in this sense , this cytokine has the capacity of reducing the ifn - suppression mediated by il - 4 . during the innate immune response , the macrophages are the main responsible for the production of il - 12 . it stimulates the production of ifn - gamma from t and nk cells . one of the most important roles of il - 12 is its capacity to mediate the cytotoxic activity of both , the nk and the cd8 + t - cells . ifn - gamma has an anti - angiogenic activity , blocking the formation of new blood vessels , which supports tumor growth . as il - 12 induces the release of ifn - gamma , this cytokine has an indirect antineoplastic role . cultured splenocytes induced 13 , 29 , 21 , 22 , and 60 pg / ml when stimulated with ap312 , ap102 , ap103 , ap104 , and ap205 . l - 10 is mainly produced by monocytes and th2 cells . also , this is an anti - inflammatory cytokine , as in produced by treg cells . this makes il - 10 as a very important regulatory cytokine . il - 10 is a pleiotropic cytokine with several functions . it has an important role in the downregulation of the th1 - type cytokines expression . also , it promotes the survival and proliferation of b cells , with the concomitant production of antibodies . the il - 10 has an important role in the regulation of the immune response in the gastrointestinal tract , with an important anti - inflammatory role . the administration of il - 10 alleviates the undesired inflammatory effects of patients in conditions like crohn disease . also , the fact that the mastocytes also release il - 10 , suggests this cytokine to have a role in allergy control . this cytokine inhibits the production of ifn - g , il - 2 , il - 3 , tnf - a , and gm - csf produced by macrophages and treg cells . this means that it has a strong role in the regulation of the inflammatory processes . low levels of il - 10 have been correlated with several autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis . culture of splenocytes induced 14 pg / ml of il - 10 when stimulated with ap104 . no other compound induced the release of il - 10 . il - 1a is one of the major players in the induction of inflammation , fever , and in extreme cases , sepsis . it is mainly produced by macrophages , although neutrophils , epitelial cells , and endothelial cells also produce il - 1a . it is constitutively expressed in skin keratinocytes , presumably as part of the skin protective barrier mechanism . after stimulation , a precursor of this cytokine is produced by fibroblasts , macrophages , granulocytes , eosinophils , mastocytes , and basophils . also , il - 1a activates tnf - alpha . culture of splenocytes induced 20 pg / ml of il - 1a when stimulated with ap205 . no other compound induced the release of il - 1a . il - 1 beta is produced as a pro - protein by activated macrophages . in its active form , it is an important mediator of inflammation with several activities that include proliferation , differentiation , and apoptosis . it could induce undesired autoimmune effects if expressed in abnormally high amounts . culture of splenocytes induced 12 , and 19 pg / ml of il - 10 when stimulated with ap103 and ap205 , respectively . il - 2 has a critical role in important events like tolerance and activation of immunity . in the thyme it plays an important role during the development of treg cells , which has important implications in the development of tolerance . during the development of the immune response , it promotes the development of the differentiation of the naive t cells to effector cells . moreover , il - 2 promotes the differentiation of memory cells . however , one of the most important characteristics of il - 2 is its supportive role of the cell - mediated immune response , which is important against viral diseases and other intracellular pathogens . il - 2 is licensed as part of the treatment against certain types of cancers like myelomas , renal cell cancer , lymphomas , and leukemias . in clinical studies , it has been used in a vaccine formulation as an adjuvant against viral infections . culture of splenocytes induced 17 pg / ml of il - 2 when stimulated with ap102 . no other compound induced the release of il - 2 . il - 9 is produced by th - cd4 + t - cells . it stimulates cell proliferation , and prevents apoptosis . it has been found to inhibit melanomas in mouse models . culture of splenocytes induced 30 pg / ml of il - 9 when stimulated with ap205 . no other compound induced the release of il - 9 . after viral infections , il - 15 is secreted , among other cells , from mononuclear phagocytes . it induces the proliferation of nk cells . is produced as a mature protein from dendritic cells , monocytes , and macrophages . its expression could be stimulated by gm - csf and several pamps . also , monocytic herpes virus , mycobacterium tuberculosis , and candida albicans infections stimulates its expression . il - 15 regulates the activation and proliferation of t and nk cells . in the absence of the relevant antigen , it provides the signal for the survival and maintenance of memory t - cells . il - 15 and il - 2 share some receptor subunits . the balanced combination between those two cytokines is crucial for the preservation of a memory cd8 + t - cell population . culture of splenocytes induced 56 and 94 pg / ml of il - 15 when stimulated with ap311 and ap205 , respectively . il - 17 is an important mediator of the delayed - type reactions , as it increases the production of chemokines in various tissues with the intend of recruit monocytes and neutrophils to the inflammation site . this cytokine is produced by th cells , and induced by il - 23 , which result in destructive tissue damage during delayed - type reactions . the il - 17 functions as a proinflammatory cytokine that responds to the invasion of extracellular pathogens , inducing the destruction of their extracellular matrix . it acts synergistically with tnf - alpha and il - 1 . il - 17 has various regulatory functions , in which its proinflammatory activity is the most notable . this regulatory functions are associated to the response of this cytokine to allergies . it induces the production of il - 6 , gcsf , gmcsf , il1b , tnf - a , various chemokines like il - 8 , gro - alpha , y mcp - 1 , and prostaglandins like pge2 from various cell types like fibroblasts , endothelial cells , epithelial cells , keratinocytes , and macrophages . the release of these cytokines cause various effects like remodeling of the airways , which is characteristic for il - 17 . the function of the il017 is essential for the function of the th17 cells . culture of splenocytes induced 294 pg / ml of il - 17 when stimulated with ap102 . no other compound induced the release of il - 17 . similar to il - 12 , il - 23 it has a proinflammatory role . culture of splenocytes induced 27 , 58 , and 80 pg / ml of il - 23 when stimulated with ap311 , ap104 , and ap205 , respectively . ifn - gamma is mainly produced by nk and cd8 + t - cells . it plays a critical role in the differentiation lymphocytes from naive to effector t - cells , which also produce ifn - gamma . it has a critical role in both , the innate and the adaptive immune responses against an ample spectrum of infectious agents . besides activate macrophages , it induces the expression of mhc ii . it has antiviral , immunoregulatory , and anti - tumoral properties . among its capacities are : promote the activation of the nk cells , enhances antigen - presentation by macrophages , activates inos , induce the production of igg2a and igg3 from plasma cells , promotes the differentiation of the th1 cells , directing the response towards a cytotoxic immune response , increases the expression of mhc i in normal cells , and mhc ii in apcs , promotes the adhesion of lymphocytes that migrated to the inflammation site , induces the expression of the intrinsic defense mechanisms . also , it has a relevant role in the induction of granulomas . ifn - gamma is licensed for the treatment of granulomatous chronic diseases and also against osteoporosis . ap205 was the compound with the highest capacity to induce both , the highest amount and type of cytokines . it induced the release of 2336 . 49 , 20 . 29 , 19 . 45 , 1444 . 71 , 30 . 45 , 60 . 14 , 94 . 04 , and 79 . 96 pg / ml of gcsf , il - 1a , il - 1b , il - 6 , il - 9 , il - 12p70 , il - 15 , and il - 23 , respectively . from all of these cytokines , the release of gcsf is important , as in cancer patients it is used in the re - establishment of neutrophils . ap104 was the second compound with the highest capacity of inducing cytokine release . specifically , this compound induced the release of 690 . 39 , 260 . 85 , 13 . 78 , 21 . 99 , 58 . 48 , and 104 . 58 pg / ml og gcsf , il - 6 , il - 10 , il - 2p70 , il - 23 , and ifn - gamma , respectively . no other compound induced the release of ifn - g . ap - 312 induced 11 . 89 , 269 . 89 , and 27 . 89 pg / ml of il - 1b , il - 6 , and il - 12p70 , respectively . ap - 102 induced 735 . 83 , 17 . 36 , 257 . 35 , and 29 . 09 pg / ml of gcsf , il - 2 , il - 6 , and il - 12p70 , respectively . ap - 103 induced the release of 858 . 15 , 3 . 95 , 535 . 06 , and 35 . 70 pg / ml of gcsf , il - 1b , il - 6 , and il - 12p70 , respectively . our data shows that ap - 102 expresses the cytokine milieu with the highest th17 cytokine biased , followed by a close th2 biased and a smaller th1 cytokine milieu . ap - 311 and ap - 312 , induces a strong th2 cytokine milieu , followed by a th17 , and a smaller th1 cytokine profile . ap - 103 , ap - 104 , and ap - 205 showed high th2 - type cytokines , but equally comparably low th1 and th2 . it should be apparent from consideration of the above illustrative examples that numerous exceptionally valuable products and processes are provided by the present disclosure in its many aspects . viewed in light , therefore , the specific disclosures of illustrative examples are clearly not intended to be limiting upon the scope . numerous modifications and variations are expected to occur to those skilled in the art .
disclosed is the novel use of some aza - podophyllotoxin derivatives for modulation of the immune system , including a method for modulating an immune response comprising administering to a subject an effective amount of at least one aza - podophyllotoxin derivative of general formula wherein a - ring is selected from the group consisting of 1 , 3 - dioxolane , cyclopentane , 1 , 4 - dioxane , one methoxy , two methoxys , and ethyl ; and wherein e - ring is selected from the group consisting of dimethoxyanisole , veratrol , anisole , benzene , syringol , bromobenzene , chlorobenzene , 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene , 2 , 3 - dimethoxybenzene , 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethoxybenzene .