Herbal medicine ‘Sho‐saiko‐to’ induces tumour necrosis factor‐α and granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor in vitro in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

'Sho-saiko-to' (TJ-9) is a Japanese herbal medicine that is commonly administered to patients with chronic viral liver disease in order to improve their overall physical condition and to prevent the development of liver cancer, The present in vitro study demonstrated that, by adding TJ-9 to cell cultures, there were dose-dependent increases in production levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in peripheral mononuclear cells of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma accompanied by liver cirrhosis. Increases in the production of TNF-alpha and G-CSF in control cell cultures exposed to different herbal medicines were low, and this indicates the specificity of the response increases in production of these cytokines to TJ-9. TNF-alpha and G-CSF are known to play important roles in the biological defence mechanism. Administration of TJ-9 may, therefore, be beneficial for patients afflicted with intractable liver diseases because it could mildly induce these cytokines.

Analysis of serum cytokine levels in primary biliary cirrhosis patients and healthy adults

“…In liver disease patients, cytokine levels in the serum (1-3), cytokine production levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (4)(5)(6)(7)(8), and localization of cytokines in a lesion (9,10) are quite important not only for elucidating the pathogenesis and for understanding the pathophysiology, but also for developing new therapies. Even though measurement methods are not complicated, serum cytokines have not been regarded as immunological markers for use in general laboratory tests (11).…”

“…Since then, new cytokines have been identified one after another, and more than 30 cytokines have been reported. Cytokines (1) are glycoproteins; (2) act at a quite low level (pg~ng/ml); (3) mainly act in situ on the produced area; (4) individually express several physiological activities; (5) are produced by various cells; (6) express common activities; (7) sometimes act on each other synergistically or antagonistically; (8) are part of a cytokine network; (9) have inhibitors; and (10) are essential for maintaining the homeostasis of the body, but are also overexpressed under specific conditions such as inflammation, and are related to the development and progression of a disease.…”

Complementary and alternative medicine in chronic liver disease

“…48 Studies of TJ-9 in patients with liver cancer have shown a dose-dependent increase in tumor necrosis factor ␣ (TNF-␣) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. 49 Another class of herbal medicines, termed "supplemental medicines" or Hozai, are thought to have immunologic activities, such as activating macrophages or stimulating cytokines. TJ-108 (Ninjin-yomei-to), TJ-41 (Hochu-ekki-to), and TJ-48 (Juzen-daiho-to) have been used extensively in Japan, having been tested in vitro for cytostatic properties.…”

Xiao-Chai-Hu Tang in treating model mice with D-Galactosamine-Induced liver injury

“…(Kaneko et al, 1994). Another proposed mechanism is a dose-dependent increase in the production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (Yamashiki et al, 1992). The study demonstrated that the classic Chinese medicine formula--XCHT showed promise in relieving liver injury and merits further study.…”