Effect of acetylsalicylic acid, ascorbate and ibuprofen on the macrophage system

The influence of ascorbic acid (CAS 50-81-7), acetylsalicylic acid (CAS 50-78-2) and ibuprofen (CAS 15687-27-1) on macrophages of C57BL/6 mice was investigated in vitro. It has been shown that ascorbic acid or acetylsalicylic acid alone did not stimulate or inhibit the production of interleukin-6, whereas a combination of both substances caused a significant stimulation. The viral replication in L929 fibroblasts was not affected by ascorbate and/or acetylsalicylic acid. In addition, the tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) synthesis of peritoneal macrophages was neither stimulated nor inhibited by both substances, alone or in combination. The oxygen radical production, however, was definitely inhibited by ascorbic acid, the effect of acetylsalicylic acid was far less marked, but at the high concentrations the inhibition was clearly discernible. Ibuprofen, a propionic acid derivate, was able to reduce the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus in L929 fibroblast cells. At the highest concentration of ibuprofen, 100 micrograms/ml, 34% of the fibroblast were able to survive. This protective effect declined as the ibuprofen concentration decreased. Ibuprofen could not stimulate peritoneal macrophages to secrete TNF, whereas the oxygen radical production was significantly reduced. In addition, ibuprofen activated mouse macrophages to produce interleukin-6 in a dose dependent way. The results of the in vitro experiments presented clearly show that ascorbic acid, acetylsalicylic acid in ibuprofen influenced the unspecific immune system.