The Synergistic Immunosuppression Of Multiglucosides Of Tripterygium Wilfordii And TGP, And Their Preventive And Therapeutic Action On Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Currently available immunosuppressive drugs display a narrow therapeutic window between efficacy and toxic side effects. Multiglycosides of Tripterygium Wilfordii (GTW), a major immunosuppressive component, has been proved to be effective both in the treatment of some autoimmune diseases, such as glomerulonephritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythmatosus, and in the inhibition of allograft rejection after renal transplantation. However, Its toxic side effects, which are often associated to the digestive system, urinary and reproductive systems, and hematopoietic system, have seriously limited its clinical application and further development. One possible strategy to overcome these limitations is to use the combination of drugs to achieve a powerful therapeutic effect, and to reduce the incidence of unwanted side effects provided that the combination is not also synergistically toxic. This experiment was thus designed to study the synergistic immunosuppressive effect of GTW and TGP, an other active component from a traditional Chinese Medicinal herbal, and their...