Effect of camellia oil on GATA-3 expression and IL-4 secretion in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with asthma

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of camellia oil on GATA-binding protein 3(GATA-3)expression and interleukin 4(IL-4)secretion in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)of children with asthma.

MethodsPBMCs in heparinized blood of asthmatic children were separated by density gradient centrifugation.PBMCs were treated with 10, 50, 100 and 200 μmol/L camellia oil for 24 h.MTT assay was used to detect the effect of camellia oil on the activity of PBMCs, ELISA was applied to determine the effect of camellia oil on the IL-4 secretion, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was employed to measure the expression of GATA-3 mRNA and IL-4 mRNA, and Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression of GATA-3 protein in PBMCs treated with camellia oil.

ResultsCompared with control group, 10, 50 and 100 μmol/L camellia oil had no significant effect on the activity of PBMCs(P>0.05), but 200 μmol/L camellia oil could significantly reduce the activity of PBMCs(P < 0.01);the secretion level of IL-4 in PBMCs treated with different concentrations of camellia oil decreased significantly(P < 0.01), and 50 μmol/L camellia oil had the best effect(P < 0.01);the expression of GATA-3 mRNA and IL-4 mRNA in PBMCs treated with different concentrations of camellia oil were significantly inhibited(P < 0.05), and 50 μmol/L camellia oil had the best effect(P < 0.05);the expression of GATA-3 protein in PBMCs treated with different concentrations of camellia oil was decreased(P < 0.05), and 10 μmol/L camellia oil had the best effect(P < 0.05).

ConclusionsCamellia oil can inhibit GATA-3 expression and IL-4 secretion in PBMCs of asthmatic children, and has potential therapeutic effect on asthma.