2. Academic Validation
  3. Arctigenin inhibits abnormal germinal center reactions and attenuates murine lupus by inhibiting IFN-I pathway

Arctigenin inhibits abnormal germinal center reactions and attenuates murine lupus by inhibiting IFN-I pathway

  • Eur J Pharmacol. 2022 Mar 15;919:174808. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.174808.
Xin Zhang 1,  Mengjun Zou 2,  Yue Liang 2,  Yonghong Yang 3,  Lina Jing 2,  Minghui Sun 2,  Zhilin Dong 2,  Xinyuan Zhang 2,  Huabao Xiong 4,  Guanjun Dong 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China; School of Medical Laboratory, Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261053, China; Jining Key Laboratory of Immunology, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China.
  • 2 Institute of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China; Jining Key Laboratory of Immunology, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China.
  • 3 Medical Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong, 272067, China.
  • 4 Institute of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China; Jining Key Laboratory of Immunology, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5 Institute of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China; Jining Key Laboratory of Immunology, Jining Medical University, Shandong, 272067, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 35151645 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.174808
Abstract

Interferon-I (IFN-I) signaling pathway plays a vital role in the differentiation of germinal center B cells and the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Therefore, targeting the IFN-I signaling pathway could serve as an effective treatment strategy in SLE. Arctigenin is an active ingredient present in the seeds of Arctium lappa L. It has been reported to act as a negative regulator of inflammatory responses. However, the role of arctigenin remains unknown in the regulation process of the IFN-I-mediated differentiation of germinal center B cells and the pathogenesis of SLE. In the present study, we demonstrated that arctigenin alleviated the progression of spontaneous lupus in MRL/lpr mice and imiquimod-mediated lupus mice. Especially, arctigenin significantly reduced the proportions of germinal center B cells (7.1%, vs. 5.12%, p < 0.01), follicular helper T cells (11.49%, vs. 5.53%, p < 0.05), and plasma cells (2.44%, vs. 1.39%, p < 0.01) in the lupus-prone mice. In vitro studies have shown that arctigenin significantly inhibited the IFN-α-induced CD69 and interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expressions along with the phosphorylation of JAK1 and STAT1 by nearly half in murine B cells via activating PP2A. Overall, these data highlighted the role of arctigenin in regulating the IFN-I-mediated differentiation of germinal center B cells and the pathogenesis of SLE. Thus, arctigenin may be used as a potentially effective therapeutic target for the treatment of SLE.

Keywords

Arctigenin; B cell; Germinal center; IFN-α; SLE.

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