Anti-inflammatory effects of triptolide in human bronchial epithelial cells

Triptolide (PG490, 97% pure) is a diterpenoid triepoxide with potent anti-i nflammatory and immunosuppressive effects in transformed human bronchial ep ithelial cells and T cells (Qiu D, Zhao G, Aoki Y, Shi L, Uyei A, Nazarian S, Ng JC-H, and Kao PN. J Biol Chem 274: 13443-13450, 1999). Triptolide, wi th an IC50 of similar to 20-50 ng/ml, inhibits normal and transformed human bronchial epithelial cell expression of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 stimul ated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or IL-1 beta. Nuclear runoff and luciferase reporter gene assays demonstra te that triptolide inhibits IL-8 transcription. Triptolide also inhibits th e transcriptional activation, but not the DNA binding, of nuclear factor-ka ppaB. A cDNA array and clustering algorithm analysis reveals that triptolid e inhibits expression of the PMA-induced lgenes tumor necrosis factor-alpha , IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 alpha, intercellular adhesion mol ecule-1, integrin beta (6), vascular endothelial growth factor, granulocyte -macrophage colony-stimulating factor, GATA-3, fra-1, and NF45. Triptolide also inhibits constitutively expressed cell cycle regulators and survival g enes cyclins D1, B1, and A1, cdc-25, bcl-x, and c-jun. Thus anti-inflammato ry, antiproliferative, and proapoptotic properties of triptolide are associ ated with inhibition of nuclear factor-kappaB signaling and inhibition of g enes known to regulate cell cycle progression and survival.