Open AccessNaringenin mitigates autoimmune features in lupus-prone mice by modulation of T-cell subsets and cytokines profile
Author(s) -
Amayrani AbregoPeredo,
Héctor Romero-Ramírez,
Enrique Espinosa,
Gabriela LópezHerrera,
Fabio Garcı́a-Garcı́a,
Mónica Flores-Muñoz,
Claudia Sissi,
Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Alba
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0233138
Subject(s) - naringenin , systemic lupus erythematosus , pharmacology , immunology , cyclophosphamide , flavonoid , kidney , medicine , endocrinology , chemistry , biochemistry , antioxidant , chemotherapy , disease
Naringenin is flavonoid mainly found in citrus fruits which has shown several biological properties. In this work, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of the flavonoid Naringenin. Five-month-old B6.MRL-Fas lpr /J lupus-prone mice were administered daily orally with Naringenin for seven months. We showed that Naringenin treatment at 50 or 100 mg/kg inhibited the splenomegaly and decreased the levels of anti-nuclear and anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. Furthermore, a reduction in serum concentration of TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6 was observed in the mice provided with Naringenin. Interestingly, serum levels of IL-10 increased. Naringenin decreased the frequency and absolute numbers of splenic effector memory T cells. Additionally, in order to be able to evaluate whether Naringenin prevented kidney damage, twelve-week-old MRL/MpJ-Fas lpr /J mice, an accelerated lupus model, were orally administered with Naringenin at 100 mg/kg for six weeks. Surprisingly, Naringenin treatment prevented kidney damage and reduced the development of fibrosis similar to cyclophosphamide group. Moreover, Naringenin treatment increased the percentage of regulatory T cells in this aggressive model of lupus. Together, these results suggest a potential ability of Naringenin to reduce the autoimmunity in lupus-prone mice by modulation of T-cell subsets and cytokines profile that mitigate the development of important lupus clinical manifestations.