Oridonin's therapeutic effect: Suppressing Th1/Th17 simultaneously in a mouse model of Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Oridonin is an effective component isolated from Rabdosia rubescens. It can inhibit the activation of transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B and suppress the over expression of cytokines. We postulated that oridonin may be a potential therapeutic candidate for Crohn's disease. METHODS: To confirm the postulation, we investigated clinical and immunologic modulations of oridonin in a mouse model of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis. RESULTS: It was found that oridonin attenuated trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis as represented by a reduction in colonic interferon-γ/inteleukin-17 secretion and a decrement in splenic Th1/Th17 cells and effector memory CD4(+) T cells. Oridonin treatment inhibited the proliferation of CD4(+) T cells and upregulated the apoptosis of lymphocytes by inhibiting nuclear translocation of transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B. CONCLUSIONS: Oridonin is a potential modulator for trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis and other Th1/Th17 mediated inflammatory diseases.