Luteolin

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J Neuroinflammation. 2009 Oct 13;6:29.

Luteolin as a therapeutic option for multiple sclerosis.


Theoharides TC.
SourceMolecular Immunopharmacology and Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. theoharis.theoharides@tufts.edu

Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) remains without an effective treatment in spite of intense research efforts. Interferon-beta (IFN-beta) reduces duration and severity of symptoms in many relapsing-remitting MS patients, but its mechanism of action is still not well understood. Moreover, IFN-beta and other available treatments must be given parenterally and have a variety of adverse effects.

Certain naturally occurring flavonoids, such as luteolin, have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, including inhibition of activated peripheral blood leukocytes from MS patients.

Luteolin also inhibits mast cells, as well as mast cell-dependent T cell activation, recently implicated in MS pathogenesis.

Moreover, luteolin and structurally similar flavonoids can inhibit experimental allergic allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS in rodents. An appropriate luteolin formulation that permits sufficient absorption and reduces its metabolism could be a useful adjuvant to IFN-beta for MS therapy.

PMID: 19825165 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


J Neuroinflammation. 2009 Oct 13;6:28.

Immunomodulatory responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from multiple sclerosis patients upon in vitro incubation with the flavonoid luteolin: additive effects of IFN-beta.

Sternberg Z, Chadha K, Lieberman A, Drake A, Hojnacki D, Weinstock-Guttman B, Munschauer F.

Department of Neurology, Baird MS Center, Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA. zs2@buffalo.edu

The study is aimed to determine the role of luteolin (3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone), alone and in combination with human interferon-beta (IFN-beta), in modulating the immune response(s) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

PBMC proliferation in the presence or absence of these drugs was determined and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta, TNF-alpha), and the ratio of cell migration mediator MMP-9, and its inhibitor, TIMP-1 was assessed in the culture supernatants.

Luteolin reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, the proliferation of PBMCs, and modulated the levels of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha released by PBMCs in the culture supernatants.

Luteolin reduced the MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio via lowering MMP-9 production. In the majority of cases, luteolin, when combined with IFN-beta, had additive effects in modulating cell proliferation, IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, MMP-9 and TIMP-1.

PMID: 19825164 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

p.s. MMP-9s do the actual damage to myelin so reducing them a TAD is GREAT!!!

Also getting the ratio of MMP-9s to TIMP-1s to a 1 to 1 ration is GREAT!!!

jackD