REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1621367
Luteolin as a multifaceted immunomodulator: insights into its effects on diverse immune cell populations and therapeutic implications
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Hematology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Luteolin, a natural flavonoid, exerts broad immunomodulatory effects across multiple immune cell populations, positioning it as a promising candidate for treating inflammatory diseases, infections, and cancer. This review synthesizes current evidence on luteolin’s effects on T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils. Luteolin promotes the differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and suppresses pro-inflammatory T helper 17 (Th17) and Th2 responses, thereby restoring immune balance in sepsis, allergies, and autoimmunity. In macrophages, it skews polarization toward the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype via the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/STAT6 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) pathways, while inhibiting nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. Neutrophil functions are dampened by reduced oxidative stress, adhesion molecule expression, and induction of apoptosis. Luteolin may enhance NK-cell cytotoxicity and DC-mediated antigen presentation while curbing eosinophil and basophil activation in allergic disorders. Despite preclinical successes, future research should prioritize mechanistic insights, structural optimization, and clinical translation to unlock luteolin’s full therapeutic potential.
Keywords: Luteolin, modulation, T cells, Natural Killer cells, Dendritic Cells, Macrophages, Granulocytes
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhao, Li, Gao and Su. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Long Su, sulong@jlu.edu.cn
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