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Immunoregulatory effects of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F and its extracts in clinical practice

  • Dan Luo
  • Zhengyun Zuo
  • Hongyan Zhao
  • Yong Tan
  • Cheng XiaoEmail author
Review
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Abstract

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) and its extracts have long been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and kidney disease due to their anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and other pharmacological effects. However, the clinical immunoregulatory effects of TwHF and its extracts remain unclear, so we reviewed their effects for use in clinical practice. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the recent literature on the immunoregulatory effects of TwHF and its extracts in clinical studies. TwHF and its extracts affect the proliferation and activation of Tand B cells; ratio of Tcell subsets; inflammatory response of monocytes, macrophages, and immunoglobulins; and secretion of many cytokines. Together, these effects dictate immune function in a variety of diseases. TwHF and its extracts can be used alone or in combination with existing therapies against many immune disorders through immunomodulation.

Keywords

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F immunoregulation clinical studies 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81673844, 81573845, 81373773, and 81760838), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 7142144), China Scholarship Council Fund (No. 201609110029), the International Cooperation Project of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. GZYYGJ2017014), and the International Cooperation Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology (No. 2014DFA31490).

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Copyright information

© Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  • Dan Luo
    • 1
    • 2
  • Zhengyun Zuo
    • 3
  • Hongyan Zhao
    • 4
  • Yong Tan
    • 5
  • Cheng Xiao
    • 2
    Email author
  1. 1.Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Changping DistrictBeijingChina
  2. 2.Institute of Clinical MedicineChina-Japan Friendship HospitalBeijingChina
  3. 3.Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese MedicineNanchangChina
  4. 4.Experimental Research CenterChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBeijingChina
  5. 5.Institute of Basic Research in Clinical MedicineChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBeijingChina

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