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Treatment of allergic inflammation and hyperresponsiveness by a simple compound, Bavachinin, isolated from Chinese herbs

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 10, pages 497–505 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Asthmatic inflammation is mediated by a type 2 helper T cell (Th2) cytokine response, and blocking Th2 cytokine production is proven to have a potent therapeutic effect against asthmatic inflammation. Using IL-4-green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter mice, we demonstrated that Bavachinin, a single compound isolated from a Chinese herb, significantly inhibited Th2 cytokine production, including IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13. Notably, this compound almost completely blocked inflammation in the ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized animal asthma model. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this chemical selectively affects the level of GATA-3, most likely by affecting the stability of GATA-3 mRNA. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the potential therapeutic value of this single compound derived from Chinese herbs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30890143), the Key Program for International S&T Cooperation Projects of China (2010DFB34000) and the National Basic Research Grant of China (2010CB529104) to ZY.

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Author notes

  1. Dr ZN Yin, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. E-mail: yinzn@nankai.edu.cn

  2. Dr M Wang, No. 29, 13th Avenue, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, China. E-mail: minw@tust.edu.cn

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology (Tianjin University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, China

    Xi Chen & Min Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

    Ti Wen, Jun Wei, Zhenzhou Wu, Puyue Wang, Zhangyong Hong, Liqing Zhao & Zhinan Yin

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China

    Ti Wen

  4. Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE and MOH, Fudan University Shanghai Medical College, Shanghai, China

    Bin Wang

  5. Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Richard Flavell

  6. Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China

    Shumei Gao

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  1. Xi Chen
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Chen, X., Wen, T., Wei, J. et al. Treatment of allergic inflammation and hyperresponsiveness by a simple compound, Bavachinin, isolated from Chinese herbs. Cell Mol Immunol 10, 497–505 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2013.27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2013.27

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