Pharmacological actions of tetrandrine in inflammatory pulmonary diseases.

Tetrandrine is a principle from a traditional Chinese medicine of the root of
Stephania tetrandra S Moore approved by State Drugs Administration of China as a
new drug for the treatment of silicosis. Except for its antiinflammatory,
antifibrogenetic, immunomodulating effects and antioxidant effects, tetrandrine
presents antiallergic effects, inhibitory effects on pulmonary vessels and airway
smooth muscle contraction, and platelet aggregation via its nonspecific calcium
channel antagonism that suggested its potential in the treatment of asthma,
pulmonary hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In
general, the clinical results to date with tetrandrine in asthma and pulmonary
hypertension have been exciting. The last 10 years have witnessed great leaps
forward in our understanding of the molecular biology and biochemistry of chronic
inflammatory diseases as well as the treatment drugs, which may create
opportunities for future therapeutic innovation, development of tetrandrine
derivatives or new extracts from other Chinese medicine. The current article
briefly reviews the basic and clinical pharmacology of tetrandrine as well as the
in vitro and in vivo data supporting the view that tetrandrine is as a novel drug
for the treatment of silicosis, asthma and pulmonary hypertension.