Berberine attenuates experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis via rebalancing the T cell subsets

Jie Song; Jie Yang; Sisi Jing; Chong Yan; Xiao Huan; Sheng Chen; Huahua Zhong; Jun Lu; Jianying Xi; Lijun Luo; Xi Chen; Ziyuan Wang; Chongbo Zhao; Ming Chu; Sushan Luo

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577787

Berberine attenuates experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis via rebalancing the T cell subsets

J Neuroimmunol. 2022 Jan 15:362:577787. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577787. Epub 2021 Dec 11.

Authors

Jie Song¹, Jie Yang², Sisi Jing³, Chong Yan¹, Xiao Huan¹, Sheng Chen⁴, Huahua Zhong¹, Jun Lu¹, Jianying Xi¹, Lijun Luo², Xi Chen⁵, Ziyuan Wang⁵, Chongbo Zhao¹, Ming Chu⁶, Sushan Luo⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Huashan hospital Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China; National Center for Neurological Disorders, Shanghai 200040, China.
² Department of Neurology, Wuhan No.1 Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei 430020, China.
³ Department of Neurology, Jing'an District Center Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai 200040, China.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, China.
⁵ Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University. NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology (Peking University), Beijing 100191, China.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, China; Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University. NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology (Peking University), Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Department of Neurology, Huashan hospital Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China; National Center for Neurological Disorders, Shanghai 200040, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 34923373
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577787

Abstract

Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a T cell-driven, autoantibody-mediated disease. Here we show that oral Berberine (BBR) ameliorated clinical symptoms of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis(EAMG) rat model via decreasing the frequencies of Th1, Th17, Th1/17 cell subsets. JAK-STAT pathway was highlighted by transcriptomic analysis with EAMG mononuclear cells (MNCs). Surface plasmon resonance identified ligand binding interaction between BBR and JAK2, and electrostatic interaction was proposed by molecular dynamic simulation. Reduced phosphorylated JAK1/2/3 and STAT1/3 in MNCs from BBR-fed EAMG rats were demonstrated. These results suggest that BBR might improve EAMG by rebalancing T cell subsets through targeting JAK-STAT pathway.

Keywords: Berberine; EAMG; Functional enrichment analysis; JAK-STAT pathway; Molecular dynamic simulation; T cells subsets.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Berberine / pharmacology*
Female
Myasthenia Gravis, Autoimmune, Experimental / immunology*
Rats
Rats, Inbred Lew
T-Lymphocyte Subsets / drug effects*
T-Lymphocyte Subsets / immunology*

Substances

Berberine