This post is rather long.
My “Google Scholar Alerts” have notified me of a possibly interesting abstract relating to the physiology of microvascular angina (MVA): ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10....
The abstract shows that the tested MVA patients had elevated levels of a number of inflammatory molecules, particularly one called IL-12. A table in the abstract shows a 10-fold increase in the IL-12 level; such an increase looks impressive to this layman. The abstract says: “We hypothesize that the significant increase in IL-12 levels observed in these patients may contribute to endothelial microvascular dysfunction as IL-12 is a known anti-angiogenic cytokine and shown to be linked to many autoimmune diseases. These results demonstrate that a TH-1 response is present in patients with microvascular disease.” A TH-1 response is a particular type of immune response. I have discovered that IL-12 induces a TH-1 response and therefore seems to be a key molecule in the process.
IL-12 is already implicated in cardiovascular diseases, according to the internet.
I thought that it would be interesting to investigate what can be done to reduce IL12. I have found that its production or action are suppressed by ACE inhibitors, statins (the experimental statin was atorvastatin) and vitamin D3, and by omega-3 fatty acids as well as various other dietary components mostly having plant sources. So, take your statin and ACE inhibitor, get the sun on your skin and continue eating the usual healthy diet that includes fish, whole grains, vegetables and berries. (I know that some argue against eating whole grains, in particular for those suffering from leaky guts, but I am concerned here only with reducing IL-12). All or most of the dietary components are available as supplements.
My list of inhibitors of the production or activity of IL-12 is as follows:
- ACE inhibitors captopril and lisinopril significantly suppress IL-12 production and the authors consider that other ACE inhibitors will do the same. (sciencedirect.com/science/a...
- atorvastatin suppresses IL-12 production, apparently in mice. Presumably other statins will do so. (nature.com/articles/nature0...
- 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (jlb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com.... This is the most active form of vitamin D and vitamin D3 is the type of vitamin D produced by the action of sunlight on skin. The same publication also refers to dexamethasone as an IL-12 suppressor.
- a particular conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in meat and dairy products. The molecule is cis-9, trans-11 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (jimmunol.org/content/175/8/....
- butyrate (systematic name butanoate), a short chain fatty acid formed by digestion of fibre by gut bacteria. It is reported that “butyrate strongly inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines IL-12 and TNF-α by monocytes upon bacterial stimulation”. (fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/.... It appears that butyrate production may be promoted by eating arabinoxylan-rich whole grains and brans from cereals such as wheat, rye and oats (
- oily fish fatty acids EPA and DHA reduce IL-12 production in mice and man (academic.oup.com/jid/articl...; journals.lww.com/jclinrheum...
- curcumin significantly inhibits IL-12 production in mice (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
- sulforaphane that naturally occurs in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage etc) impairs the expression of IL-12 in mice. The level of immunosuppressive activity did not excite the authors. (jimmunol.org/content/192/8/...
- quercetin, a flavonoid phytoestrogen that has profound anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities, blocks IL-12 signalling (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1.... Quercetin is found in capers, red onions, berries, kale and apple skin, amongst other places.
- myricetin, a common plant-derived flavonoid that is very common in berries and vegetables, inhibits IL-12 production in mice (mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/2/90)
- parthenolide potently inhibits IL-12 production in a dose-dependent manner in mice (sciencedirect.com/science/a..., parthenolide being a compound found in the medicinal herb feverfew.
