Ação do metabólito secundário 5-hidroxi-2-hidroximetil gama-pirona isolado de fungos do gênero Aspergillus sobre monócitos humanos in vitro

Abstract

The 5-hydroxy-2- hydroxymethyl-gamma-pyrone (HMP) is a secondary metabolite synthe-sized by some species of fungi from Aspergillus, Penicillium and Acetobacter genera. The HMP has several applications, being used as antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibitor, protective agent against radiation and antitumor. Recently, it was also shown that this metabolite acts as a macrophage activator. However, the effect of HMP in human monocytes is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of HMP on the cell viability and differentia-tion of human blood monocytes in vitro. Human peripheral leucocytes were obtained from blood bag donated from Fundation Hemocenter of Para State. Cell isolation was performed using HISTOPAQUE® 1077-density-gradient. Monocytes were treated for 24, 48 and 72 hours with 50 and 100 μg/mL of HMP. The ultrastructural analysis of treated monocytes showed spreading ability, high number of cytoplasmatic projections and vacuoles, features that are often observed in activating cells. Immunofluorescence analysis of the expression of surface protein specific for the macrophage (F4/80), demonstrated that human monocytes treated with 50 and 100 μg/mL for 48 and 72 h showed the similar pattern of expression of proteins to that of human monocytes differentiated by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CFS). The viability test used showed that HMP has no citotoxicity effect on human mon-ocytes when treated with 50 and 100 μg/mL of HMP. These results demonstrate a new role for HMP as an immunomodulator agent, inducing the differentiation of monocytes into macrophages.