Betulinic acid regulates generation of neuroinflammatory mediators responsible for tissue destruction in multiple sclerosis in vitro.

Aim: To investigate the influences of betulinic acid (BA), a triterpenoid isolated from birch bark, on neuroinflammatory mediators involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in vitro.

Methods: Encephalitogenic T cells were prepared from draining lymph nodes and spinal cords of Dark Agouti rats 8 to 10 d after immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP) and complete Freund's adjuvant. Macrophages were isolated from the peritoneal cavity of adult untreated rats. Astrocytes were isolated from neonatal rat brains. The cells were cultured and then treated with different agents. IFN-γ, IL-17, iNOS and CXCL12 mRNA levels in the cells were analyzed with RT-PCR. iNOS and CXCL12 protein levels were detected using immunoblot. NO and ROS generation was measured using Griess reaction and flow cytometry, respectively.

Results: In encephalitogenic T cells stimulated with MBP (10 μg/mL), addition of BA inhibited IL-17 and IFN-γ production in a dose-dependent manner. The estimated IC(50) values for IL-17 and IFN γ were 11.2 and 63.8 μmol/L, respectively. When the macrophages were stimulated with LPS (10 ng/mL), addition of BA (50 μmol/L) significantly increased ROS generation, and suppressed NO generation. The astrocytes were stimulated with ConASn containing numerous inflammatory mediators, which mimicked the inflammatory milieu within CNS; addition of BA (50 μmol/L) significantly increased ROS generation, and blocked ConASn-induced increases in iNOS and CXCL12 mRNA levels, but did not affect iNOS and CXCL12 protein levels. Importantly, in both the macrophages and astrocytes, addition of BA (50 μmol/L) inhibited lipid peroxidation.

Conclusion: Besides inhibiting encephalitogenic T cell cytokines and reducing NO generation, BA induces tissue-damaging ROS generation within CNS.