Effects Of Geniposide And Its Metabolite Genipin On Human Peripheral Blood T Lymphocytes

Objective: Eczema is a kind of pruritic, recurrent skin disorder which has serious impact on patients'lives. The pathogenesis of eczema is closely related to typeⅣallergy, and the imbalance between Th1 and Th2 cell subsets plays an important role. The effectiveness of Fu Fang Fu Ling Tang (FFFLT) in treating eczema has been proved by previous experimental research and clinical trial. FFFLT is composed of Poria cocos, Paeonia lactiflora Pall, Gardenia jasminoides, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Alisma orientalis, Phellodendron amurense, Angelica sinensis and Spirodela polyrrhiza. Geniposide is an active constituent in FFFLT, and geniposide is a metabolic product of genipin in human body. T cell plays an important role in immunologic recognition and response,as well as immunoregulation in vivo. We employed human peripheral blood T cell as a model to study the effect of genipin and geniposide on T cell proliferation and production of Th1 and Th2 cytokines, providing experimental base for treatment of eczema and further research to develop novel drugs.Methods: The inhibition of Geniposide and Genipin on the proliferation of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes activated by PMA was measured by Sulforhodamine B (SRB) method. The levels of IFN-γand IL-4 in the supernatant of activated human peripheral T cells were measured by ELISA.Results: Geniposide and Genipin at various concentrations inhibited proliferation of activated human peripheral T lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.01). Geniposide and Genipin reduced IFN-γlevel in the T lymphocyte supernatant (P<0.01), but had no effects on IL-4 level (P>0.01).Conclusions: Geniposide in FFFLT and its metabolite Genipin inhibited proliferation of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes after activation in a dose-dependent manner. Geniposide and Genipin reduced IFN-γlevel in T lymphocytes supernatant in a dose-dependent manner. The anti-inflammation mechanism of these compounds may be related to the inhibition of T lymphocyte proliferation and the decrease of IFN-γ.