Review Article

Exploring the Drug Repurposing Versatility of Valproic Acid as a Multifunctional Regulator of Innate and Adaptive Immune Cells

Table 2

Effects of valproic acid on some cellular elements of the immune response.

CellObserved effectsReferences

MonocytesReduction of proinflammatory cytokines[49, 50]
Reduction of surface molecules[52]

MacrophagesReduction of proinflammatory cytokines[56, 5861, 66, 76]
Reduction of costimulatory molecules[61]
Reduction of ROS and NO[57, 58, 63]
Reduction of phagocytosis of extracellular pathogens[63]
Mycobacterium tuberculosis replication control[6467]

Dendritic cellsReduction of proinflammatory cytokines[59, 81, 82]
Reduction of costimulatory molecules[59, 7982]
Reduction of MHC-II[82]

NeutrophilsReduction of phagocytosis[90]
Reduction of chemotaxis[90]
Cellular arrest[84]
Apoptosis[68]

EosinophilsEosinophilia in some clinical studies[9397]

BasophilsReduction in total numbers in mouse autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome models[99]

Mast cellsReduction of cellular proliferation and viability[100]

NK lymphocytesReduction of cellular proliferation[109]
Reduction of cytotoxic activity[101106]

Tγδ lymphocytesApoptosis[110, 111]

B cellsInhibition of differentiation of B cell into plasma cell[112115]

T CD4+ lymphocytesReduction of cellular viability[120, 129]
Reduction in proinflammatory cytokines[50, 124, 126, 128]

T CD8+ lymphocytesReduction of cytotoxic activity[116]
Reduction of cellular viability[120]

Treg lymphocytesIncrease of cellular proliferation[122, 124, 125, 127, 135, 136]
Increase in FoxP3 expression[126, 133, 134]
Increase of suppressor activity[135137]

ROS: reactive oxygen species; NO: nitric oxide; MHC-II: major histocompatibility molecule II.