Inhibitory effect of rapamycin and dexamethasone on production of IL-17 and IFN-gamma in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada patients.
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.
Yang
K
K
The First Clinical Hospital of ZhengZhou University, ZhengZhou, PR China.
Wen
J
J
Liu
X
X
Kijlstra
A
A
Chen
L
L
Chi
W
W
Zhou
H
H
Huang
X
X
Yang
P
P
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*
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D020381:Interleukin-17; D003907:Dexamethasone; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D020123:Sirolimus