Genistein, a selective protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, inhibits interleukin-2 and leukotriene B4 production from human mononuclear cells.

In this study, genistein, a selective protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, inhibited peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation and interleukin-2 production from cultures that were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus A23187, or PHA plus PMA, and genistein effectively blocked the PHA plus IL-2-induced PBMC proliferation. Further, we also found that genistein inhibited LTB4 production from A23187-stimulated cultures whereas H-7, a PKC inhibitor, had no effect on LTB4 production. Our results suggest that PTK may be necessary for the synthesis of LTB4.