[Mechanism of treating rheumatoid arthritis with Tripterygium wilfordii hook. II. Effect on PGE2 secretion].
PBMC from normal adults and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were cultured in the absence or presence of various concentrations of T2, indomethacin, dexamethasone for certain periods of time. The amounts of PGE2 in the cell-free supernatants were measured by radioimmunoassay, and a significant reduction of PGE2 production by PBMC cultured with 2-50 micrograms/ml of T2 was found. The percentages of inhibition of PGE2 production in the cultures with 2 micrograms/ml, 10 micrograms/ml and 50 micrograms/ml of T2 were 44.1 +/- 5.3%, 89.5 +/- 4.9% and 84.3 +/- 8.5% respectively. The PGE2 concentrations in the culture supernatants of RA PBMC were higher than those in the supernatants of normal PBMC, but the inhibitory effect of T2 on RA PBMC production of PGE2 was similar to that on normal PBMC. In comparison with indomethacin, the inhibitory effect of T2 on PGE2 production was less remarkable. However, T2 exhibits therapeutic effects on RA which are superior to any other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of T2 on PGE production may only be one of its therapeutic mechanisms in the treatment of patients with RA.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029757:Tripterygium
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D015232:Dinoprostone