Warifteine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, decreases immediate allergic and thermal hyperalgesic reactions in sensitized animals

• Published in: International immunopharmacology Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 519 - 525
• Main Authors: Costa, H.F., Bezerra-Santos, C.R., Barbosa Filho, J.M., Martins, M.A., Piuvezam, M.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.04.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alkaloids - administration & dosage; Alkaloids - isolation & purification; Alkaloids - therapeutic use; Anaphylaxis - drug therapy; Anaphylaxis - immunology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Degranulation - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cissampelos; Cissampelos sympodialis; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Histamine Release - drug effects; Hyperalgesia - drug therapy; Hyperalgesia - immunology; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - drug therapy; Immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Lymphocyte Activation - drug effects; Macrophages, Peritoneal - immunology; Macrophages, Peritoneal - metabolism; Mast cells; Mast Cells - immunology; Mast Cells - metabolism; Medical sciences; Menispermaceae; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Ovalbumin - immunology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Scratching behavior; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Thermal hyperalgesia; Warifteine; Immunoglobulin E; Warifteine; Cissampelos sympodialis; Scratching behavior; Mast cells; Thermal hyperalgesia; Immunopathology; Allergy; Toxicity; IgE; Hyperalgesia; Alkaloid; Animal; Mast cell; Sensitization; Behavior
• ISSN: 1567-5769; 1878-1705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2007.11.009

Warifteine is a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Cissampelos sympodialis Eichl (Menispermaceae). This plant is used in the folk medicine for the treatment of airway respiratory diseases. A murine model of immediate allergic reaction was used to evaluate warifteine treatment in the IgE production, leukocyte activation, thermal hyperalgesia, mast cell degranulation and scratching behavior. BALB/c mice treated with warifteine (0.4–10 mg/Kg) 1 h before OVA sensitization reduced OVA induced paw edema as well as the OVA-specific IgE serum titers as compared with non-treated and OVA-sensitized animals. Warifteine also reduced the mice death evoked by IgE-dependent anaphylactic shock reaction at 30 min after intravenous OVA challenge. To assess the effect of warifteine treatment on T cell proliferative response, spleen cells from warifteine treated or non-treated and OVA-sensitized animals were evaluated. Spleen cells from warifteine treated animals (2.0 mg/kg) did not proliferate following OVA stimulation as compared with spleen cell cultures from non-treated animals. This response may be related with the increase of NO production as observed in peritoneal macrophage cultures treated with warifteine. Thermal hyperalgesia evoked by IgE or histamine/5-hydroxytryptamine challenge was inhibited on rats at dose of 4.0 mg/kg. Warifteine treatment (0.6 or 6.0 µg/ml) also decreased the IgEαDNP-BSA sensitized mast degranulation after DNP-BSA challenge measured by histamine release. In addition, compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior was also sensitive to warifteine treatment. These results demonstrate for the first time that warifteine treatment reduced the allergy-associated responses.