Isoeleutherin and eleutherinol, naturally occurring selective modulators of Th cell-mediated immune responses

Jeong Ho Hong, Eun Sun Yu, Ah Reum Han, Joo Won Nam, Eun Kyoung Seo, Eun Sook Hwang

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Natural compounds possessing naphthopyran moiety have been attracted by their anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral activities, as well as anti-tumor activities. Although chemical structures were critical for the potential biological activities, the detailed functional mechanisms remained unclear. Here, we have studied the effects of naphthopyran derivatives (eleutherin, isoeleutherin, and eleutherinol) on T helper cell-mediated immune responses to understand the mechanisms of their anti-microbial and anti-tumor activities. The study revealed that isoeleutherin, which has 1,4-naphthoquinone ring with α-methyl group, selectively and specifically stimulated IFNγ production through the activation of T-bet gene transcription, thus enhancing Th1-mediated immune responses. However, a natural naphthopyran-4-one, eleutherinol dramatically inhibited both IFNγ and IL-2 productions during Th cell activation by suppressing the gene transcriptions of cytokines. Therefore, we suggest that the chemical modification and chirality of naphthopyran moiety in isoeleutherin and eleutherinol may be critical for the selective modulation of T helper cell-mediated immune responses.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)278-282
    Number of pages5
    JournalBiochemical and biophysical research communications
    Volume371
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008 Jun 27

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by Ewha Womans University Research Grant of 2005, National R&D program for Cancer Control of National Cancer Center (0620380) and in part by NCRC program of MOST and KOSEF (R15-2006-020). T-bet-deficient mice were kindly provided by Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher at Harvard University.

    Keywords

    • Eleutherin
    • Eleutherinol
    • IFNγ
    • IL-2
    • Isoeleutherin
    • Naphthopyran
    • Naphthoquinone
    • T helper cell

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Biophysics
    • Biochemistry
    • Molecular Biology
    • Cell Biology

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