
<ArticleTitle>The flavonoid baicalin inhibits superantigen-induced inflammatory cytokines and chemokines.</ArticleTitle>
<AbstractText>Excessive release of proinflammatory cytokines mediates the toxic effect of superantigenic <prot>staphylococcal exotoxins</prot> (<prot>SE</prot>). Baicalin, a flavone isolated from the Chinese herb Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and used in China to treat infectious diseases, inhibited <prot>SE</prot>-stimulated T-cell proliferation (by 98%) and production of <prot>interleukin 1beta</prot>, <prot>interleukin 6</prot>, <prot>tumor necrosis factor</prot>, <prot>interferon gamma</prot>, <prot>monocyte chemotactic protein 1</prot>, <prot>macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha</prot>, and <prot>MIP-1beta</prot> mRNA and protein by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These data suggest that baicalin may be therapeutically useful for mitigating the pathogenic effects of <prot>SE</prot> by inhibiting the signaling pathways activated by superantigens.</AbstractText>
