title: Flavonoids inhibit the production of cytokines/chemokines and induce apoptosis in human neutrophils.
abstract: Neutrophils play an important role in the pathophysiology of inflammatory processes, where their concentration and activity are usually extremely high, due to a variety of soluble factors, namely cytokines and chemokines. Cytokines and chemokines are responsible for the delay of the neutrophils' constitutive apoptotic pathway, contributing for their accumulation at the inflammatory site, potentiating the tissue damage by the continuous production of reactive oxygen species and granule enzymes. Thus, the modulation of neutrophils' apoptosis and the production of cytokines and chemokines are seen as new therapeutic targets.[1] Flavonoids may be considered promising molecules in the resolution of the inflammatory process, due to their potential to interfere with pro-inflammatory signaling pathways. In this study, a series of flavonoids were tested for their capacity to interfere in human neutrophils apoptosis, assessed by flow cytometry after simultaneous staining with Annexin-V labeled with fluorescein and propidium iodide.[2] Their capacity to modulate the production of cytokines and chemokines were also evaluated, in human whole blood, using a commercial ELISA kit.[3] The studied flavonoids showed promising features for simultaneously induce apoptosis and inhibit the cytokines / chemokine's production. Overall, this work reveals promising flavonoids for the modulation of the inflammatory process.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto (REQUIMTE), Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Portugal.. Electronic address: lelinhah.9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto (REQUIMTE), Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Portugal.
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto (REQUIMTE), Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Luís Costa
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto (REQUIMTE), Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Portugal.
authors.forename: Eduarda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernandes