Capparis Spinosa L. promotes anti-inflammatory response in vitro through the control of cytokine gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Moutia et al. BMC Immunology
Capparis Spinosa L. promotes anti- inflammatory response in vitro through the control of cytokine gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Mouna Moutia 2 3
Khadija El Azhary 0
Anass Elouaddari 5
Abdellah Al Jahid 5
Jamal Jamal Eddine 5
Fouad Seghrouchni 4
Norddine Habti 2 3
Abdallah Badou 0 1
0 Research team Health and Environment, Cadi Ayyad University, Polydisciplinary Faculty , Safi , Morocco
1 Present Address: Cellular and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University , Casablanca , Morocco
2 Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University , Casablanca , Morocco
3 Laboratory of Hematology and Cellular and Genetic engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University , Casablanca , Morocco
4 Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, National Institute of Hygiene , Rabat , Morocco
5 Laboratory of Synthesis, Extraction and Physicochemical study of organic molecules, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, Hassan II University , Casablanca , Morocco
Background: Capparis Spinosa L. is an aromatic plant growing wild in dry regions around the Mediterranean basin. Capparis Spinosa was shown to possess several properties such as antioxidant, antifungal, and anti-hepatotoxic actions. In this work, we aimed to evaluate immunomodulatory properties of Capparis Spinosa leaf extracts in vitro on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy individuals. Results: Using MTT assay, we identified a range of Capparis Spinosa doses, which were not toxic. Unexpectedly, we found out that Capparis Spinosa aqueous fraction exhibited an increase in cell metabolic activity, even though similar doses did not affect cell proliferation as shown by CFSE. Interestingly, Capparis Spinosa aqueous fraction appeared to induce an overall anti-inflammatory response through significant inhibition of IL-17 and induction of IL-4 gene expression when PBMCs were treated with the non toxic doses of 100 and/or 500 μg/ml. Phytoscreening analysis of the used Capparis Spinosa preparations showed that these contain tannins; sterols, alkaloids; polyphenols and flavonoids. Surprisingly, quantification assays showed that our Capparis Spinosa preparation contains low amounts of polyphenols relative to Capparis Spinosa used in other studies. This Capparis Spinosa also appeared to act as a weaker scavenging free radical agent as evidenced by DPPH radical scavenging test. Finally, polyphenolic compounds including catechin, caffeic acid, syringic acid, rutin and ferulic acid were identified by HPLC, in the Capparis spinosa preparation. Conclusion: Altogether, these findings suggest that our Capparis Spinosa preparation contains interesting compounds, which could be used to suppress IL-17 and to enhance IL-4 gene expression in certain inflammatory situations. Other studies are underway in order to identify the compound(s) underlying this effect.
Capparis Spinosa; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Anti-inflammation; Cytokines; Gene expression; Cell proliferation; Cell viability
Background
Among Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs),
there are Monocytes, Natural Killer cells, B cells and T
cells. Naïve CD4+ T cells can differentiate into several
distinct subpopulations including Th1, Th2 and Th17
cells. Identification of these T cells subsets is based
mainly on their immunological functions that are
supported by the specific cytokines these different cells
produce. Th1 cells are characterized by high secretion of
IFN-γ and IL-2. These cells are responsible for
intracellular pathogen elimination [
1
]; but are also involved in
the development of organ-specific autoimmune diseases,
as well as chronic inflammatory disorders [
2
]. Th2 cells
are implicated in humoral immunity and provide
protection against parasites. They also play a major role in the
initiation, maintenance, and amplification of human
allergic inflammation [
3
]. Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-10
and IL-13, which are involved in allergic asthma [
3, 4
].
Th17 cells produce mainly IL-17A and IL-17F and take
a major part in the clearance of extracellular bacteria
and fungi, due to their capacity to recruit and activate
Neutrophils [5]. In contrast, they promote the
pathogenesis of cancer [
6
], several autoimmune and inflammatory
diseases [
7
], such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid
arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and contact
dermatitis [
8, 9
]. New compounds could have a great
interest, in several pathophysiological situations such as
autoimmunity [7] and cancer [
6
], if they are able to
suppress the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such
as IL-17. These molecules could be synthetic or natural,
extracted from plants.
Capparis Spinosa L. (C.S.) is an aromatic plant
growing wild in dry regions around the Mediterranean basin
[
10, 11
]. Different parts of this plant, including the
flowe (...truncated)