Macrophages from mice administered Rhus verniciflua stokes extract show selective anti-inflammatory activity

The bark of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is used as a food additive and herbal medicine for various inflammatory disorders and cancer in Eastern Asia. RVS has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages in vitro, but whether oral administration of RVS affects the inflammatory response of macrophage needs to be verified. RVS was given orally to mice for ten days. For isolation of macrophages, intraperitoneal injection of thioglycollate was performed. For determination of serum inflammatory response, intraperitoneal injection of LPS was applied. RVS stimulated monocyte differentiation in thioglycollate-induced peritonitis by increasing the population of cells expressing CD11b and class A scavenger receptors. These monocyte-derived macrophages showed an increased uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein. When peritoneal macrophages from the RVS group were stimulated with LPS, the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in the supernatant decreased, but the level of IL-12 increased. The surface expression of CD86 was reduced, but surface expression of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules was increased. RVS suppressed the serum levels of LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6. Collectively, RVS promoted monocyte differentiation upon inflammatory insults and conferred selective anti-inflammatory activity without causing overall inhibitory effects on immune cells.