Effect of royal jelly and brazilian green propolis on the signaling for histamine H1 receptor and interleukin-9 gene expressions responsible for the pathogenesis of the allergic rhinitis

Abstract

The significant correlation between nasal symptom scores and level of histamine H1 receptor (H1R) mRNA in nasal mucosa was observed in patients with pollinosis, suggesting that H1R gene is an allergic disease sensitive gene. We demonstrated that H1R and interleukin (IL)-9 gene are the allergic rhinitis (AR)-sensitive genes and protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) signaling and nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling are involved in their expressions, respectively. Honey bee products have been used to treat allergic diseases. However, their pathological mechanism remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of the anti-allergic effect of royal jelly (RJ) and Brazilian green propolis (BGPP). Treatment with RJ and BGPP decreased in the number of sneezing on toluene 2,4-diissocyanate (TDI)-stimulated rats. The remarkable suppression of H1R mRNA in nasal mucosa was observed. RJ and BGPP also suppressed the expression of IL-9 gene. RJ and BGPP suppressed phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced Tyr311 phosphorylation of PKCδ in HeLa cells. In RBL-2H3 cells, RJ and BGPP also suppressed NFAT-mediated IL-9 gene expression. These results suggest that RJ and BGPP improve allergic symptoms by suppressing PKCδ and NFAT signaling pathways, two important signal pathways for the AR pathogenesis, and suggest that RJ and BGPP could be good therapeutics against AR.