title: Schisandrin B inhibits Th1/Th17 differentiation and promotes regulatory T cell expansion in mouse lymphocytes.
abstract: Schisandrin B (Sch-B), the most abundant active ingredient of the fruit of Schisandra chinensis, has been proposed to have antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of Sch-B on differentiation of T helper cells (Th). Using mouse splenic lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A (Con A) in vitro and ex vivo as inflammation models, we found that Sch-B significantly inhibited secretion of Th1 and Th17 related cytokines, such as IFN-γ and IL-17. In addition, we found that Sch-B suppressed the differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells into Th1 and Th17 cells, while promoted their differentiation into the regulatory T cells (Treg) in vitro. We further found that Sch-B suppressed transcription of Th1-related T-box transcription factor, T-bet, and Th17-related transcription factor, retinoid related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt), while enhanced transcription of Treg-related transcription factor forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) in naive CD4+ T cells under Th cell polarization conditions. Furthermore, the effect of Sch-B on the T cell differentiation was abrogated by heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin. Taken together, we conclude that Sch-B can modulate differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells into specific lineages of effector cells, which may have potential benefits for treatment of autoimmune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi Province, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Jiping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Yinhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhijie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal Science and Animal Model of Human Disease, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Tianfu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi Province, China. Electronic address: dc@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D034242:Cyclooctanes / Q000494:pharmacology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D017705:Lignans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D057132:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032141:Schisandra / Q000276:immunology*; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor
chemical_list: D034242:Cyclooctanes; D016207:Cytokines; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C498833:Foxp3 protein, mouse; D017705:Lignans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D057132:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor; C015499:schizandrin B; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; C496542:Hmox1 protein, mouse
keywords: Cytokines; Immunomodulatory; Schisandrin B; T helper cells