title: Immunosuppressive effects of demethylzeylasteral in a rat kidney transplantation model.
abstract: In this study, we examined the immunosuppressive activity of demethylzeylasteral (T-96), isolated from the traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. Its immunosuppressive effect was investigated using mouse splenocytes in vitro, and in an in vivo rat kidney transplant model. T-96 inhibited mouse splenocyte proliferation in a dose dependent manner. In the rat kidney transplant study, rats were randomly divided into eight groups following kidney transplantation, and different doses of T-96 or cyclosporin A (CsA) were administered to each group. T-96 alone at doses of 10 or 20 mg/kg/day significantly prolonged the survival of kidney-transplanted rats, compared with transplanted but untreated control rats. A combination of T-96 and prednisone also significantly prolonged survival: 10 mg/kg/day T-96 with 10 mg/kg/day prednisone increased the survival time to 31.8+/-6.5 days. Moreover, the combination of T-96 and prednisone was also effective in suppressing rejection of rat transplanted kidneys. These results demonstrate the strong immunosuppressive activity of T-96 and suggest a possible clinical use for T-96 as an immunosuppressive agent in the fields of organ transplantation and autoimmune disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, 200032 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wenping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zongming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chunxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yongkang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guomin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xunhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Qianzhou
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Yushen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000378:metabolism; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D051379:Mice; D018517:Plant Roots; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D029757:Tripterygium; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014315:Triterpenes; C099855:demethylzeylasteral; D003208:Concanavalin A; D016572:Cyclosporine; D011241:Prednisone