Paeoniflorin attenuates the allergic contact dermatitis response via inhibiting the IFN-γ production and the NF-κB/IκBα signaling pathway in T lymphocytes

[Display omitted] •Paeoniflorin (PF) depressed T cell activation and promoted its apoptosis in vitro.•PF attenuated the ACD response by inhibiting NF-κB/IκBα/IFN-γ pathway in T cell.•PF may be a promising T cell targeted drug for the treatment of ACD. Paeoniflorin (PF) has been demonstrated to have an anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effect in the treatment of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). However, its clinical application is hampered by the lacking of comprehensive mechanical explanation. This research aimed to study the effect of PF on the proliferation, apoptosis and cytokines secretion as well as the expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways of T lymphocytes activation in vitro and in vivo. We found that PF depressed human T lymphocytes activation via inhibition ofinterferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production and NF-κB/IκBα and p38 MAPK signaling pathway in vitro, also PF could attenuate such ACD responses by inhibiting the production of IFN-γ and NF-κB/IκBα pathway in T lymphocytes of ACD mouse model, suggesting that PF might be useful for the treatment of T cell-mediated allergic inflammatory disorders such as ACD. This would make PF a promising T cell-targeted drug candidate for further study because of its immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects.