Effect of capsaicin on murine lymphocyte functions and lymphoid tissue morphology

Background: Rapid advances in neuroendocrine immunology have established the concept of bidirectional communication between the immune and neuroendocrine systems. Capsaicin suppresses the immune function by destroying substance P acting as mediatior of neuroendocrine immune system. Methods and Results: In this study, effect of capsaicin on mature murine lymphocyte functions and lymphoid tissue morphology was examined. Formally, capsaicin showed the strong cytotoxic effect on splenocyte over $10{\mu}g/ml$ concentration in citro. And proliferation and Th1-cytokine expression of splenic cells in mice that received high dose of capsaicin ($100{\mu}g/mouse$) were significantly diminished. However, low dose of capsaicin treatment did not influence these responses in vivo($1{\mu}g/mouse$) and in vitro (under $5{\mu}g/ml$). And the morphology of spleen and lymph nodes after capsaicin treatment was observed. In the spleen of mice injected with high dose of capsaicin (100, $200{\mu}g/mouse$), the size of white pulp was significantly decreased and the length of red pulp was increased, Moreover, vascularity index was diminished in a dose dependent manner. Conclusion: These results implies that immunosuppressive effect of capsaicin is associated with cytotoxic activity on lymphocyte, Th1-cytokine down-regulation and lymphoid tissue abnormalization, and this report is expected to give a hand to the study for the mechanism of action of neurotoxin of the immune system.