Context: Many traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) can act as either immunosuppresants or immunostimulants, properties that have lead to their increasing use as immunomodulators in the treatment of disease. Recently, our lab successfully identified a dimer epicatechin-(2β→O → 7, 4β→8)-ent-epicatechin (EEE) from the chloroform extract of Rhododendron spiciferum.
Objective: To evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of EEE in vitro.
Materials and methods: Splenocytes, peritoneal macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from BALB/c mice were incubated with different concentrations of EEE.
Results: EEE significantly stimulates splenocyte proliferation when administered either alone or in combination with concanavalin A (Con A), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and Anti-CD3. EEE enhances the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells markedly and phagocytic function of macrophage. Moreover, we found that the levels of several helper T1 (Th1) cytokines, including interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-12, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are significantly increased after EEE treatment, while the levels of Th2 cytokine IL-4 and IL-10 are significantly decreased. As a result, the ratio of Th1/Th2 is significantly increased in the presence of EEE. EEE also increased CD4 and CD8 cell populations.
Conclusion: These results indicate that EEE exhibits immunomodulatory activity and suggests that this compound could be developed as a novel immunotherapeutic agent for treating cancer and other immune-mediated diseases.
Keywords: 4β→8)-ent-epicatechin; Epicatechin-(2β→O→7; Rhododendron spiciferum; immunomodulatory effects; in vitro.