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Role of acidic sphingomyelinase in thymol‐mediated dendritic cell death
Author(s) -
Xuan Nguyen Thi,
Shumilina Ekaterina,
Schmid Evi,
Bhavsar Shefalee K.,
Rexhepaj Rexhep,
Götz Friedrich,
Gulbins Erich,
Lang Florian
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
molecular nutrition and food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.495
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1613-4133
pISSN - 1613-4125
DOI - 10.1002/mnfr.200900577
Subject(s) - thymol , acid sphingomyelinase , ceramide , chemistry , dna fragmentation , microbiology and biotechnology , sphingomyelin , apoptosis , programmed cell death , cell sorting , downregulation and upregulation , phosphatidylserine , caspase , stimulation , biology , biochemistry , cell , membrane , chromatography , gene , essential oil , phospholipid , neuroscience
Scope : Thymol is a component of several plants with antimicrobial activity. Little is known about the effects of thymol on immune cells of the host. This study addressed the effects of thymol on dendritic cells (DCs), regulators of innate and adaptive immunity. Methods and results : Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and fluorescence‐activated cell sorting analysis were performed in bone marrow‐derived DCs either from wild‐type mice or from mice lacking acid sphingomyelinase (ASM −/− ) treated and untreated for 24 h with thymol (2–100 μg/mL). Thymol treatment resulted in activation of ASM, stimulation of ceramide formation, downregulation of anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐xL proteins, activation of caspase 3 and caspase 8, DNA fragmentation as well as cell membrane scrambling. The effects were dependent on the presence of ASM and were lacking in ASM −/− mice or in wild‐type DCs treated with sphingomyelinase inhibitor amitriptyline. Conclusion : Thymol triggers suicidal DC death, an effect mediated by and requiring activation of ASM.