title: Inhibitory effect of rapamycin and dexamethasone on production of IL-17 and IFN-gamma in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of rapamycin (RAPA) and dexamethasone (DEX) on the production of IL-17 and IFN-gamma by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) patients and healthy individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples were drawn from 10 active VKH patients and 10 healthy individuals. PBMCs were cultured with or without anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies in the presence or absence of different concentrations of RAPA or DEX for 72 h. IL-17 and IFN-gamma concentrations in the supernatants were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The expression of IL-17 and IFN-gamma was significantly increased in active VKH patients compared with that in healthy controls. Both RAPA and DEX were able to significantly inhibit the production of IL-17 and IFN-gamma by PBMCs from patients and healthy controls. RAPA was able to completely inhibit IL-17 production at a dosage of 10 ng/ml but only partially suppressed IFN-gamma production even at a much higher concentration (1000 ng/ml). DEX inhibited the production of both IL-17 and IFN-gamma by approximately 70%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that both RAPA and DEX inhibit the production of IL-17 and IFN-gamma by PBMCs. RAPA is much stronger in inhibiting the production of IL-17 than DEX.
authors.affiliation: The First Clinical Hospital of ZhengZhou University, ZhengZhou, PR China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kijlstra
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014607:Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D020381:Interleukin-17; D003907:Dexamethasone; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D020123:Sirolimus