Abstract

To explore the effects of Triptolide which has immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties on the expression of human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CD40 and Fas enduced by cytokines and the synthesis of hyaluronic acid (HA) on cultured retro-ocular fibroblasts (RFs) from patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. Cultured RFs were incubated with IL-1 (100 U/mL) or TNF-α (100 U/mL) in the presence of Triptolide. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the amount of HLA-DR, ICAM-1, CD40 and Fas. HA synthesis was measured by radioimmunoassay. At base conditions, the percentage of positive cells of HLA-DR, ICAM-1 and CD40 on RFs were 6.70 ± 3.06%, 14.89 ± 11.67% and 5.29 ± 3.02%, and the synthesis of HA was 337.8 ± 42.7 ng/ml. IL-1 or TNF-α significantly enhanced the amount of HLA-DR, ICAM-1 and CD40 and HA synthesis. Triptolide 0.01 µg/L had little effect on cytokine- induced HLA-DR, ICAM-1 and CD40 amounts, as well as HA synthesis. When the concentration ranged from 0.1 to 10 µg/L, Triptolide inhibited cytokine- induced RFs activation in a dose-dependent manner. Triptolide itself also induced Fas expression on RFs in a dose-dependent manner. Triptolide could inhibit cytokines-induced activation of RFs derived from patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy.

Key words: Triptolide, graves’ophthalmopathy, retro-ocular, fibroblasts, cytokine.