Anti-inflammatory effects of UDCA on splenocytes exposed to PMA/ionomycin

Abstract

Immunosuppressive therapy after organ transplantation is routinely used to prevent rejection of the organ, because this decreases the risk of adverse events, infection, and malignancies. Recently, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which is isolated from the dried bile of adult Chinese bears, has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of acute rejection of liver allograft during early phase of liver transplantation. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of UDCA on the proliferation of splenocytes exposed to PMA plus ionomycin. Our results demonstrated that UDCA decreased the splenocytes' proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The decreased cell proliferation was accompanied with the decreased secretion of cytokines such as IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α. In addition, the pretreatment of UDCA on splenocytes stimulated with PMA plus ionomycin decreased the mRNA levels of cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α) and costimulatory molecules (B7.2 and PD-L1). These results suggest the beneficial effect of UDCA on organ transplantation by decreasing lymphocyte proliferation.