International Journal of Pharmacology1811-77751812-5700Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/ijp.2018.681.688HuangXueqin WenChengping WeiHua 52018145Background and Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by various immunological abnormalities. Triptolide is a diterpene triepoxide antibiotic compound that can be isolated from extracts of the medicinal plant, Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F., which has been used for a number of years in traditional Chinese medicine. Triptolide have immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study aimed to determine the effects of triptolide on lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice. Materials and Methods: MRL/lpr mice were divided into two groups, including model control group and triptolide-treated group. Mice were administered for 8 weeks by oral gavage. Eight weeks after treatment, the mice serum levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured with ELISA. The kidney damage of MRL/lpr mice was examined with haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence of deposition of IgG and IgM in glomeruli. Gene expression levels of Toll-like receptor (TLR9), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in kidney of MRL/lpr mice were measured using real-time PCR. One-way ANOVA, followed by Newman-Keuls test or Student's t-test were used. Results: The results showed that triptolide improved skin damage, decreased the serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 in MRL/lpr mice. Moreover, triptolide could improve renal histopathologic characteristics of MRL/lpr mice and downregulate the mRNA level of TLR9, TLR4 and NF-κB. Conclusion: These findings indicated that triptolide might have the potential therapeutic utility for the treatment of SLE.]]>Larosa, M., L. Iaccarino, M. Gatto, L. Punzi and A. Doria,20161213091320D'Cruz, D.P., M.A. Khamashta and G.R. Hughes,2007369587896Tsokos, G.C.,201136521102121Jordan, N. and D. D'Cruz,20165920Gottschalk, T.A., E. Tsantikos and M.L. Hibbs,20152015Huang, X., Z. Xie, F. Liu, C. Han and D. Zhang et al.,2014221266272Liu, Y., J. Ye, L.S. Ogawa, T. Inoue and Q. Huang et al.,20152015Rodgers, D.T., M.A. Pineda, C.J. Suckling, W. Harnett and M.M. Harnett,20152414371442Perry, D., A. Sang, Y. Yin, Y.Y. Zheng and L. Morel,20112011Keil, A., S.R. Hall, M. Korner, M. Herrmann, R.A. Schmid and S. Frese,20162016Pego-Reigosa, J.M., T. Cobo-Ibanez, J. Calvo-Alen, E. Loza-Santamaria, A. Rahman, S. Munoz-Fernandez and I. Rua-Figueroa,20136517751785Borba, H.H.L., A. Funke, A. Wiens, S.R. da Rosa Utiyama, C.M. Perlin and R. Pontarolo,20162016Zhang, B., C. Song, B. Feng and W. Fan,201612817824Zhang, H., C. Gong, L. Qu, X. Ding and W. Cao et al.,20161212791286Zheng, Y., W.J. Zhang and X.M. Wang,2013197682Ziaei, S. and R. Halaby,20166149164Li, H., G.F. Pan, Z.Z. Jiang, J. Yang, L.X. Sun and L.Y. Zhang,201536606613Sun, Y.Y., L. Xiao, D. Wang, Y.C. Ji, Y.P. Yang, R. Ma and X.H. Chen,201750847852Chen, P., T. Vu, A. Narayanan, W. Sohn and J. Wang et al.,201532640653Kokic, V., D.M. Kaliterna, M. Radic, D. Perkovic, M. Cvek and V. Capkun,201625282288Oon, S., N.J. Wilson and I. Wicks,20162016Dolff, S., M. Bijl, M.G. Huitema, P.C. Limburg, C.G. Kallenberg and W.H. Abdulahad,2011reg balance in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.]]>141197204Talaat, R.M., S.F. Mohamed, I.H. Bassyouni and A.A. Raouf,201572146153Martin, J.C., D.L. Baeten and R. Josien,2014154112Godsell, J., I. Rudloff, R. Kandane-Rathnayake, A. Hoi, M.F. Nold, E.F. Morand and J. Harris,20162016Peng, H., W. Wang, M. Zhou, R. Li, H.F. Pan and D.Q. Ye,20133212551266McCarthy, E.M., S. Smith, R.Z. Lee, G. Cunnane and M.F. Doran et al.,20145315861594Abdallah, E., E. Waked and M.A. Abdelwahab,2016352934Schwartz, N., B. Goilav and C. Putterman,201426502509Shi, L., Z. Bian, C.X. Chen, Y.N. Guo and Z. Lv et al.,2015237285295Zhang, L.Y., H. Li, Y.W. Wu, L. Cheng and Y.X. Yan et al.,2017312F769F777Horton, C.G. and A.D. Farris,20121217Wu, Y.W., W. Tang and J.P. Zuo,20153613951407Lee, T.P., J.C. Huang, C.J. Liu, H.J. Chen and Y.H. Chen et al.,2014239715723Elloumi, N., R. Fakhfakh, L. Ayadi, K. Sellami and O. Abida et al.,201765389398Wu, Y., S. He, B. Bai, L. Zhang and L. Xue et al.,201613379390Yu, C., T. Shan, A. Feng, Y. Li and W. Zhu et al.,201182709715Premkumar, V., M. Dey, R. Dorn and I. Raskin, 20102010Klawitter, M., L. Quero, J. Klasen, T. Liebscher, A. Nerlich, N. Boos and K. Wuertz,201221850859