P4.37 Microphyllone isolated from ehretia microphyllla suppressions tgf-beta 1 mRNA expression in cultured mouse vibrissa

S. Oomizu¹, H. Suzuko², M. Hide^1,2

¹Hiroshima Prefactural Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Higashi-Hiroshima ²Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

Objectives: Microphyllone (MP) is a unique dimeric prenylbenzoquinone, isolated from Ehretia microphylla, a material for alternative medicine in Philippine. MP shows inhibitory activity on the exocytosis in antigen-stimulated rat mast cells and on passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in BALB/c mice. Moreover, trichogenous effect was observed in BDF1 mouse by MP treatment. To clarify the mechanisms of MP actions we examined the effect of MP on gene expression of transforming growth factor (TGF) beta 1 and parathyroid-hormone-related peptide (PTHrP), which have been reported as candidates for the endogenous regulators of catagen induction in hair cycle.

Methods: Hair follicles of vibrissa and dorsal skin were isolated from C3H mice. Williams E medium supplemented with fetal calf serum, insulin, transferrin, hydrocortisone and sodium selenite, and Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium supplemented with fetal calf serum were used for culture of vibrissa and skin, respectively. Whiskers and skin were cultured in the presence of the absence of MP for 16 hours, followed by extraction pf total RNA. The expression levels of TGF beta 1 and PTHrP were determined by real-time RT-PCR.

Results: MP (10 μM) attenuated the expression of mRNA for TGF beta 1 in both cultures of vibrissa and that of dorsal skin. However, no effect of MP was observed for the expression of mRNA for PTHrP in either hair follicles of vibrissa or the dorsal skin.

Conclusions: These results suggested that MP might modulate the hair cycle by inhibiting the production of TGF beta1.

This study was supported by Cooperative Link of Unique Science and Technology for Economy Revitalization from Hiroshima Prefactural Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Japan.