Extract of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f (TWHf) has immunosuppressive activity and has
been used as anti-inflammatory agent in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Recent
studies have demonstrated that triptolide is the major active component in the extract that
inhibits antigen or mitogen-induced T cell proliferation. In attempting to investigate its effect
on activation of T lymphocytes, we found triptolide induces apoptotic death of T cell
hybridomas and peripheral T cells but not that of thymocytes. The triptolide-induced …