Ursolic acid suppresses interleukin-17 (IL-17) production by selectively antagonizing the function of RORγt protein

Tao Xu, Xiaohu Wang, Bo Zhong, Roza I. Nurieva, Sheng Ding, Chen Dong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

183 Scopus citations

Abstract

Th17 cells have recently emerged as a major player in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases via the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17, IL-17F, and IL-22. The differentiation of Th17 cells and the associated cytokine production is directly controlled by RORγt. Here we show that ursolic acid (UA), a small molecule present in herbal medicine, selectively and effectively inhibits the function of RORγt, resulting in greatly decreased IL-17 expression in both developing and differentiated Th17 cells. In addition, treatment with UA ameliorated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. The results thus suggest UA as a valuable drug candidate or leading compound for developing treatments of Th17-mediated inflammatory diseases and cancer.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)22707-22710
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume286
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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