Effect of (+)cyanidanol-3 on cellular immune reactions and on superoxide dismutase activity in vitro

Immunological and antioxidant effects of the widely used hepatoprotective agent (+)cyanidanol-3 were studied in a complex in vitro test system using isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease and of healthy donors. In both groups in vitro treatment with (+)cyanidanol-3 inhibited lectin-induced lymphocyte blast transformation and chemiluminescence in a dose-dependent fashion and increased the superoxide dismutase-expression of lymphocytes without influencing the percentage of T and active T cells and antibody-dependent and spontaneous lymphocytotoxicity. The originally lower Con A-induced T cell mediated lymphocytotoxicity of patients was completely abolished, while no significant effect was seen using healthy donors' lymphocytes. (+)cyanidanol-3 markedly decreased the Con A-induced suppressor activity of patients' lymphocytes, without influencing that of normal cells. These results suggest that both antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects play an important role in the mechanism of action of (+)cyanidanol-3.