Preliminary Studies of in vitro and in vivo Effects of Misoprostol on Th-1 and Th-2 Cytokine Production.

Prostaglandins of the E series are known to suppress in vitro production of Th-1 cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma but have not been shown to suppress production of Th-2 cytokines such as IL-4 or IL-10. The present study used two new synthetic prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) analogs with oral bioavailability, misoprostol (MP), and enisoprost (EP), to determine if these agents (1) exert suppressive effects in vitro on cytokine production by fresh unseparated mouse splenocytes and (2) are beneficial in vivo when used in conditions mediated by excessive Th-1 or Th-2 cytokine production. Preliminary in vitro studies demonstrated that both MP and EP can inhibit mitogen-stimulated Th-1 and Th-2 cytokine production in a dose-dependent fashion.