Anaphylaxis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Anaphylaxis, including details on food allergies, diagnosis, treatment, causes.

Polygoni cuspidati radix inhibits the activation of Syk kinase in mast cells for antiallergic activity.

Lim BO, Lee JH, Ko NY, Mun SH, Kim JW, Kim do K, Kim JD, Kim BK, Kim HS, Her E, Lee HY, Choi WS

College of Biomedical & Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju 380-701, Korea.

The antiallergic activity of Polygoni cuspidati radix (PR) and the mechanism of action by which it functions were investigated in this study. The extract of PR exhibited potent inhibitory activity in mast cells; its IC50 values were 62 +/- 2.1 microg/ml for RBL-2H3 mast cells and 46 +/- 3.2 microg/m for bone marrow-derived mast cells by antigen stimulation, and it also suppressed the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-4 in RBL-2H3 cells. According to the in vivo animal allergy model, it inhibited a local allergic reaction, passive cutaneous anaphylaxis, in a dose-dependent manner. With regard to its mechanism of action, PR inhibited the activating phosphorylation of Syk, a key signaling protein for the activation of mast cells. It also suppressed Akt and the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK1/2, p38, and JNK, which are critical for the production of various inflammatory cytokines in mast cells. The results of the study indicate that the antiallergic activity of PR is mediated through the inhibition of histamine release and allergic cytokine production by the inhibition of Syk activating phosphorylation in mast cells.

Published 27 November 2007 in Exp Biol Med (Maywood), 232(11): 1425-31.
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