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Differences in the effects of the antirheumatic drugs, bucillamine andd-penicillamine, on mitogen-induced proliferation of mouse spleen cells

  • Inflammation and Immunomodulation
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Abstract

The effect of bucillamine [N-(2-mercapto-2-methylpropionyl)-l-cysteine] a new antirheumatic drug, on the concanavalin A (Con A)-induced proliferation of mouse spleen cells was compared with the effect ofd-penicillamine (d-pen). Bucillamine inhibited the Con A-induced incorporation of thymidine (TdR) into mouse spleen cells in a dose-dependent fashion. At the concentration of 10−4 M, bucillamine inhibited the incorporation by approximately 80%. The inhibitory effect of bucillamine was not enhanced by the addition of copper. In contrast,d-pen showed the same degree of inhibition only in the presence of copper. (4R)-7,7-Dimethyl-6-oxo-tetrahydro-3H-1,2,5-dithiazepine-4-carboxylic acid (SA981), an intramolecular disulfide derivative of bucillamine, also showed the same degree of inhibition as bucillamine in the absence and presence of copper, whereasd-penicillamine disulfide did not show the inhibitory effect even in the presence of copper. The inhibitory effects of bucillamine and SA981 were not abolished significantly by the addition of catalase which restored the inhibition byd-pen plus copper. The mechanism of inhibition byd-pen plus copper is believed to involve the production of hydrogen peroxide resulting from the oxidation ofd-pen. The results in this study, however, indicated that the inhibitory effect of bucillamine is not due to the production of hydrogen peroxide.

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  1. Central Research Laboratories, Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Higashiyodogawa-ku, 533, Osaka, Japan

    S. Mita & K. Matsunaga

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  1. S. Mita
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  2. K. Matsunaga
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Mita, S., Matsunaga, K. Differences in the effects of the antirheumatic drugs, bucillamine andd-penicillamine, on mitogen-induced proliferation of mouse spleen cells. Agents and Actions 30, 363–368 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01966300

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