Activation of peritoneal macrophages by berberine-type alkaloids in terms of induction of cytostatic activity.

The antitumour alkaloids, berberine and coralyne were investigated in terms of their ability to induce chemiluminescent responses and cytostatic activity in macrophages against tumour cells in vitro. Berberine hydrochloride and sulfate, and coralyne chloride, which had no direct tumoristatic activities at a concentration of less than 0.15 micrograms/ml, activated macrophages to inhibit the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into EL4 leukemic cells. The activation of cytostatic macrophages by berberine was not augmented by the addition of a suboptimal dose of macrophage activating factor (MAF). Furthermore, a marked chemiluminescent response of macrophages was induced by treatment with berberine as well as with MAF or lipopolysaccharide. These results show that berberine and coralyne are potent macrophage activators for inducing cytostatic activity against tumour cells in vitro.