Abstract
Betulin and betulinic acid, plant-derived triterpenoid compounds, have been described to possess anti-inflammatory activity. In this paper, we examine the ability of both compounds to induce and modulate cytokine production in human whole blood cell cultures. The results indicate that betulin is a modest TNF-alpha inducer and also an enhancer of mitogen-induced TNF-alpha production. In contrast to betulin, betulinic acid is a modulator of cytokine production by Th1/Th2 cell subpopulations which slightly enhances IL-10 formation and inhibits IFN-gamma production, reducing IFN-gamma/IL-10 ratio from 3.6 to 2.6.
MeSH terms
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / pharmacology*
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Betulinic Acid
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Blood Cells / drug effects*
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Blood Cells / metabolism
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Cells, Cultured
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Cytokines / biosynthesis*
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Cytokines / blood
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Humans
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Interferon-gamma / biosynthesis
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Interferon-gamma / blood
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Interleukin-10 / biosynthesis
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Interleukin-10 / blood
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Leukocytes / drug effects
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Leukocytes / metabolism
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Pentacyclic Triterpenes
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Triterpenes / pharmacology*
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Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / biosynthesis
Substances
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
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Cytokines
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Pentacyclic Triterpenes
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Triterpenes
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Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
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Interleukin-10
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betulin
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Interferon-gamma
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Betulinic Acid